The Gosuke Katoh era will have to wait.
Katoh, who was called up to the taxi squad after the Mets had two infielders get hurt on Friday, was not in the starting lineup on Saturday. The two injured infielders, Jeff McNeil and Eduardo Escobar, were lifted from the game in the same inning on Friday. Escobar experienced tightness in his left side and McNeil suffered a thumb laceration when Phillies’ first baseman Rhys Hoskins stepped on it.
McNeil seems to be fine, at least fine enough to start at second base on Saturday and hit eighth. He did, however, goof up his first defensive play on Saturday night. In the first inning, McNeil made a wide throw to first base that kept the inning alive rather than completing a double play.
“I’m anxious to see how he feels [Sunday] on a quick turnaround, especially with that first throw,” Buck Showalter said. “He was quick to say that wasn’t going to be a problem.”
McNeil will clearly not need an IL stint, and it still seems unlikely that Escobar will either. Showalter characterized the results of Escobar’s physical tests as “good.”
“Escy feels as good as you could expect today,” Showalter said, noting after Saturday’s game that he was an option off the bench if needed. “There was nothing there that should be long term. It’s just a matter of how long we’re willing to wait. It’s like, he might be a little sore. What can he do? What can he not do? Can he run? Can he play defense? Can he hit left-handed? Can he hit right-handed? We’re trying to figure out all this stuff and then make a good decision.”
McNeil took some time before the game to explain what happened on the odd-looking play at first base that opened up a gash on his thumb.
“I think my hand just got stuck under his cleat,” he said. “I’m not 100% sure. I was just trying to avoid the tag, maybe make something happen. When I got back to the dugout, nothing really hurt. I took off my [batting] glove and blood was kind of going everywhere. I was kind of a little bit shocked with that.”
The 2022 All-Star also said that he didn’t even realize anything was wrong until he took off that batting glove, saying it “didn’t feel like much” at the time. Prior to Saturday’s game, he took some swings in the cage to see how he was feeling, and it was apparently good enough to report for duty.
“I got two stitches in it, but I woke up today feeling pretty good,” McNeil said. “We were just testing it. It felt pretty good.”
All the questions about his lineup led Showalter to wax on and on about the timing of his pregame decisions. For a 7:10 p.m. game, lineups must be submitted by 6 p.m., and it is his understanding that the reasons for that are gambling related.
“I had a guy who used to jump out from behind the cars at the old Yankee Stadium,” Showalter remembered. “They would tell me, I can get to the parking lot, but they’d have it on tape. If somebody mugged me, at least they’d have it on tape. I’ll never forget this. He’d always ask about the health of our pitchers. Finally, someone said, ‘You do realize he’s betting on the games?’ I’ll never forget that guy. ‘How’s Jimmy Key, how’s he feeling?’ I finally put two and two together. He was betting on the games!”
SPOT THE DIFFERENCE
Saturday marked the third time that Showalter had the pleasure of following Max Scherzer with Jacob deGrom. The manager was asked how his pocket aces are similar, as well as ways that they are different.
“They both have a talented hand,” he said. “I say that a lot. You see it quickly, the guys who can manipulate the baseball and make it do different things.”
Scherzer is much more of an outward guy, whereas deGrom (who threw six shutout innings against the Phillies on Saturday) maintains a very high level of privacy off the field and stoicism on it.
“They’re both very competitive,” Showalter said. “The similarities, there’s not that many. They’re totally different. That’s one of the beauties of baseball, and sports in general. They like watching the game. They’re both baseball players. They like watching stuff offensively and asking good questions. I love when they plop down in my office and just talk shop.”
Above all else, though, they are Max Scherzer and Jacob deGrom. No matter what metric you try to use, what sort of personal bias you carry, you must admit that they are among the most talented pitchers to ever grip the seams. If you ask Showalter though, that hasn’t led to any sort of inflated ego.
“They both understand the weight their words carry,” Showalter acknowledged. “Some people get kind of drunk with people listening, and because you pitch well, they understand the weight their words carry and the reflection it has on their teammates, their organization, their fans. They choose them wisely. Max and Jake are pretty polished with that.”
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