If we learned anything these past few weeks, it’s that Steve Cohen intends to deliver on his promises — at least the ones he has control over. A year ago he talked about the Mets being champions in “three to five years,” and that was catnip for the constituents, but even the most devoted Mets fan understands no owner can possibly guarantee a title.
Cohen did insist he hadn’t bought the Mets to help them add to his fortune, and indeed pledged that he would take advantage of the $14 billion or so war chest he brought to the office in the procurement of players. And look: say what you will about Francisco Lindor’s debut, but Cohen sure paid him. He sure paid Max Scherzer. In one day he bought three positional free agents.
He said something else that first day, which also resonated.
“I don’t like people learning on the job on my dime,” he said, and from the moment those words left his mouth it was clear that Luis Rojas, to name one prominent employee, would have to show an awful lot in his second year as the Mets manager — his second year of learning on the job, as a first-time skipper.
Rojas had the Mets in first place for over 100 days but couldn’t close the deal, and so he will be spending this baseball season, whenever baseball season begins, in The Bronx instead of Queens. We can assume that Cohen still holds true to that belief because he wound up hiring Billy Eppler as his chief baseball man — and however you want to characterize Eppler’s tenure with the Angels, he won’t be learning on the job here.
Now Cohen (and Eppler) needs to hire a manager.
And if Cohen remains true to his opening valedictory address, there is but one name that makes sense when they ultimately get around to filling that job.
Buck Showalter.
Brad Ausmus, with close ties to Eppler, has managed before, though he was stuck with some lousy teams after finishing first with his first team, the ’14 Tigers. Joe Espada may well be a fine manager-in-waiting — after all, even Showalter was a manager-in-waiting before he became an actual manager once upon a time — but as a first-timer he would, literally, be learning on the job. On Cohen’s dime.
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The truth is, the team Eppler and Cohen have already cobbled together — and the one that seems destined to emerge from the lockout — is a team custom-designed for Showalter’s particular talents.
There will be plenty of veterans, and Showalter likes having vets he can trust in his clubhouse. There will be plenty of intriguing players of younger vintage — think Pete Alonso, Jeff McNeil, Brandon Nimmo — whose experiences as major leaguers have largely been shaped by the stone hands of Mickey Callaway and the inexperienced ones of Rojas.
And the team itself, to be blunt, could use an intestinal makeover. Let’s use that phrase instead of the over-battered and uber-bloodied “culture,” because what the Mets crave transcends culture. They seek serious baseball leadership. It’s perfectly fine to smile in the game; that’s supposed to be the point.
But Showalter’s teams, in addition to almost always being of a superior collective baseball IQ, also take care of their business properly. The McNeil-Lindor silliness would have never have escalated to burlesque slapstick on the Showalter Mets, to name one recent fiasco. And the Mets’ long-standing habit of sending mixed messages through the media would almost certainly cease.
The Mets, under Showalter, would be a Showalter team. That may mean they’re a couple of degrees less flamboyant, maybe a few layers less fun-loving. You could look it up — the personalities of Showalter’s teams will never be confused with the ’86 Mets, the ’93 Phillies.
But you can also look this up:
In the space of two years, the Yankees went from 71 wins to 88 under Showalter.
In the space of two years, the Diamondbacks went from zero wins to 100 under Showalter.
In the space of two years, the Rangers went from 72 wins to 89 under Showalter.
In the space of two years, the Orioles went from 66 wins to 93 under Showalter.
And none of those teams were anywhere near as far along as the Mets are now. Showalter is missing one line to his résumé, the one where he managed a world champion, and for now it is almost certainly the one that will ever allow him fair consideration for Cooperstown. If he ever gets another shot, it’s going to be his last shot.
Steve Cohen and Billy Eppler should let him have that last shot in the same city where he took his first.
