The Braves and Phillies are showing serious signs of life, but Showalter isn’t panicking.
A week and a half ago, the Mets had a 10.5 game lead in the National League East.
That was then, this is now. Their 10.5 game lead, which felt more like 20.5 games, was sitting at 5.5 games heading into Sunday’s action.
10 games in 11 nights, on the west coast, has produced a 4-5 record with Sunday night’s finale against the Angels putting a bow on it.
During that time, however, the Braves won 10-straight games. Moreover, the Phillies, after firing Joe Girardi, have won nine-straight games.
Reason for concern? Anyone worried yet? Because the manager’s not.
“I haven’t looked at the standings since we left New York,” Showalter said Saturday. “All that stuff, there’s nothing we can do about it, right? When you look at how good those [NL East] teams are, it’s kind of obvious at some point, they’re going to get going.”
Adversity will always find its way to the dinner table, it’ll never wait for an invite. The Mets, for as great as their 2022 has gone so far, were going to eventually hear the footsteps in their division.
The difference with this team, however, is their manager and the calm he brings to the room.
Showalter wasn’t spitting out clichés when he said there’s nothing the Mets can do about how well the Braves and Phillies are playing. He’s also been around the game long enough to know it was a matter of time before they get rolling — those lineups are too talented to stay dormant all year.
In past seasons, how much confidence would the players have in the manager at that time? Mickey Callaway and Luis Rojas proved not to be the answer. With Terry Collins, there was more of a confident feeling — however, Alka-Seltzer was required to keep nearby.
With Showalter, when he speaks, there’s rarely ever any second-guessing his thought process. It’s not just because he knows how to charm the media. It does, however, have everything to do with his resume as a successful leader.
What the Mets have in Showalter, they didn’t have with the previous two managers, is over 30 years of legit credibility in the room.
What truly matters is what the Mets do while their division rivals are getting their respective acts together. 61 games into their schedule, they still haven’t loss three straight games. They’re a resilient group.
Their schedule gets easier in July. Additionally, there’s the pending return of two Cy Young arms in Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom.
This team has the talent, along with the moxie, to withstand whatever challenges come their way.
Moreover, in Showalter, they have a manager that can be counted on to keep the temperature in the clubhouse where it needs to be.
If he’s not panicking, neither should any of us.
Anthony Rushing is on Twitter @TonyRushingNY
Baseline Sports NY is on Twitter @Baseline_NY
