Buck Showalter’s Managerial Approach Once Again Shows Its Flaws

The New York Mets needed just six more outs to cement their first series win since June 1. However, the Philadelphia Phillies struck for four runs in the eighth inning to dish out a 7-6 loss to the reeling Mets. Once again, a large theme in the game was manager Buck Showalter‘s decision making, specifically relating to the bullpen.

The most noteworthy decision occurred in the eighth inning. Showalter’s first choice to get the Mets to the ninth inning unscathed ran into major issues. Josh Walker was called upon to face two left-handed hitters, Bryce Harper and Bryson Stott, with a righty sandwiched in between. Walker walked both lefties and allowed a hit to the right-handed batter. This forced Showalter’s hand to make a move, this move: forgoing his elite reliever David Robertson and calling upon Jeff Brigham.

Brigham walked one and hit two batters with the bases loaded. The Phillies led 7-6 after trailing 6-3 entering the frame and that was that.

The move to bring in Walker made sense. The hope was Walker would do his job, get his left-handed opponents out and New York would be able to go to Robertson for the ninth. Sometimes things do not go to plan and that is where managers should make their money.

Instead of opting to throw Robertson, Showalter insisted on disregarding the present to ensure he had Robertson ready for the bottom of the ninth inning. A ninth inning, which given the circumstances, looked to be in doubt. Pitching Robertson, who mowed down the Phillies in the previous game on only 13 pitches, would have given the Mets a much better chance to make it to the ninth with some sort of lead. Then Showalter could have addressed the ninth inning in a much lower leverage situation with either Brigham or Vinny Nittoli.

This managerial mindset is something fans have seen from Showalter in the past. Even going back to last season, Showalter’s tendency seems to always favor thinking about the future even though when it clearly means it may jeopardize the current state of a ball game. It is one of the reasons why pundits seem to constantly praise the veteran manager for “keeping his bullpen fresh,” even when this means throwing away a few ball games.

As mentioned, we saw this on display during New York’s historic 2022 season and it haunted the Mets at points. Especially down the stretch as New York lost their National League lead. However, given all their winning overall it was not nearly as big of a talking point as it should have been.

Whether it be turning to the back of the bullpen in a two-or-three run game late in the contest, or the example we saw today, Showalter seemingly always prioritizes the future. A philosophy that certainly has its drawbacks, especially for a team that needs every victory they can get. It is also one that appears Showalter will keep going to, as after Sunday’s game he showed no remorse for his eighth inning decision making by saying, “What else can you do?”

Another underrated aspect of Sunday’s game that had a meaningful impact was Showalter’s decision to pull Carlos Carrasco after four innings. It was no secret Carrasco was laboring at points, especially in the second inning when he had to strand the bases loaded. However, he turned in one of his better half innings in the fourth, striking out two. Despite this, with a two-run lead, Showalter still opted to go to the bullpen with Carrasco only at 78 pitches.

As a result, the Mets needed to navigate five more innings with two of their main arms, Adam Ottavino (26 pitches on Saturday) and Brooks Raley (back-to-back outings), both unavailable. Pulling Carrasco early, despite being below 80 pitches, put the Mets in a real poor spot.

If the Mets won the ball game that decision probably is not looked back upon (though, without an off day tomorrow, the bullpen is now even more taxed than it was). Additionally, maybe if Carrasco is left in, he struggles like he did at points earlier in the game and Showalter is then criticized for leaving him in. The bottom line is given the state of the bullpen and his new-found success in the fourth, it would of been nice to see Carrasco at least start the fifth.

The Mets have a lot of issues right now. Buck Showalter is nowhere near the only reason the team finds themselves with a 35-42 record, 15.0 games back of the NL East, and 8.5 games back of a Wild Card spot. However, he is certainly a key factor in everything. If things continue to go south, it will be really interesting to see how long of a leash Showalter has.

For those curious, Showalter is under contract through the 2023-24 season. Though, that can easily change.