Reese Kaplan -- Spread the Blame Where it Belongs, Not Everywhere

One of the more ludicrous sentiments I've heard expressed quite a bit lately during the Mets slide (prior to the 12 strikeout pitching and slugfest hitting victory on Wednesday) is the need for a perfect scapegoat on whom to blame the long string of losses and lackluster play.  No one is completely innocent when the wheels come off but the value of one's misdeeds doesn't always equal someone else's performance.

Yes, we can all sit here and bemoan the lack of offense, the non-existent middle relief, the veterans sleepwalking through their at-bats, lack of speed, the inconsistent and underwhelming starting pitching and the inability to improve at various aspects of the roster.  I most recently gave Billy Eppler a very low grade on his work improving the output from Mets players, but even he alone is not the core issue at hand.

However, there is one name that is moving from whispers to low level media tripe assigning the won-lost record's exclusive fault at the feet of Hall of Fame bound manager, Buck Showalter.  

Buck?  

The last time I looked he is sporting a 123-85 record at the helm of Flushing's finest which by my math is a .585 winning percentage.  If that level of performance remained consistent throughout this 2023 season the club would finish (rounded to a full integer) with 95 wins.  Yes, it's a dropoff from the 101 of last year but it is hardly the root cause of the current losing streak.

So what is a manager's job?  

Well, the first thing would be the nuts and bolts activities of choosing a lineup, selecting which pitchers to deploy and actively questioning the boys in blue when the calls they make do not pass muster.  

The second (and perhaps more criticial skill set) is in motivation.  Now the way you arouse the best performance out of a slumping veteran ballplayer like Starling Marte is not exactly the same approach you would take with a newcomer to the major leagues who is not exactly firing on all cylinders.  On the former people might have some questions for Showalter, but isn't that job about correcting hitting something the batting instructor should be attacking under metrics provided by the manager?  

Now on the latter is where it's going to get real interesting.  Everyone is well aware that Brett Baty, Francisco Alvarez and now Mark Vientos have been inserted into the day-to-day activities for the NY Mets.  Pretty soon newly minted second baseman Ronny Mauricio could be joining them.  How do you help these rookie level players adjust to the vagaries and pressures of The Show while also not obsessing over the local fire-fueled media when something goes wrong.  

Under the previous ownership there were very few hot prospects to promote and almost never was a big paycheck asked to step aside for young blood.  

The times they are a-changing and now it appears that it is not beyond belief that by year's end the lineup could feature Pete Alonso at 1B, Ronny Mauricio at 2B, Francisco Lindor at SS, Brett Baty at 3B, Francisco Alvarez behind the plate, Jeff McNeil in LF, Brandon Nimmo in CF and Starling Marte in RF with Mark Vientos becoming the primary DH regardless of whether the pitcher is a lefty or righty.  

Now who could have envisioned a Wilpon-led or Rojas-led or Collins-led or Callaway-led Mets lineup that integrated young and old successfully?  It's too soon to forecast complete failure for a stellar multi-named Manager of the Year in Buck Showalter completely incapable of doing so.  The club is quite fortunate to have him on hand and there doesn't appear to be anyone readily available (including in-house options like Carlos Beltran or Eric Chavez) who would improve over what Showalter has done.  

I'm certainly not shy about calling folks out onto the carpet who deserve it, but Buck Showalter is not the cause of the current Mets problems.  He is not among the lowest hitting batters in the league.  He is not failing to swing for the fences.  He is not married to his existing roster at all costs.  

Didn't Luis Guillorme just get sent packing for not delivering in order to create an opening for Vientos?  Tommy Pham, Daniel Vogelbach and others are likely facing a change in address unless something drastic happens to their performance.  If Vogelbach's inability to hit the long ball is blamed 100% on Buck Showalter, then, well, I have a cornfield in Iowa available for sale that is every bit as realistic for baseball fans.