Joe Musgrove and the San Diego Padres made history on Sunday night at Citi Field, becoming the first squad to hold their opponent to just one hit in a winner-take-all game. Mets manager Buck Showalter tried to get in Musgrove’s head with a check for foreign substances in the sixth inning. That attempt didn’t work, and SNY’s Gary Cohen had some strong words about it.
So strong, in fact, that the beloved play-by-play man’s opinion was booed during SNY’s post-game show following the Mets’ 6-0 loss Sunday night. Here’s what he had to say:
Strong words from Gary Cohen here. The crowd didn't like it. pic.twitter.com/wmf2BSOSFQ
— Sports TV News & Updates (@TVSportsUpdates) October 10, 2022
Cohen knew this was going to be unpopular by the way he tried to be careful with his phrasing. I agree with Cohen, as I pretty much said the same thing when recapping New York’s Game 3 loss.
But of course, Mets fans in attendance were sad, disgusted, and mad after watching their team look lifeless in a win-or-go-home situation. They were bound to boo something like that.
Showalter was asked about his request to have Musgrove checked during his post-game press conference. Here’s what he had to say about it (quote via Sports Illustrated):
Obviously, I love him as a pitcher, always have, and that’s the only thing I feel kind of bad about. But it won’t cast anything. He’s too good a pitcher, they’re too good a—without getting into a lot of things, the spin rate, different things that I’m sure you’re all aware of. When you see something that jumps out at you. I get a lot of information in the dugout. We certainly weren’t having much luck the way it was going, that’s for sure.
I’m charged with doing what’s best for the New York Mets, and if it makes—however it might make me look, or whatever, I’m gonna do that every time and live with the consequences. I’m not here to not hurt somebody’s feelings. I’m gonna do whatever’s best for our players and the New York Mets. I felt like that was best for us right now. Pretty obvious reasons why it was necessary.
As Cohen said, Buck was well within his rights to make the request. But the timing of it did smell of desperation for a manager watching his club’s chances of a deep postseason run disappear right in front of him. This is an aspect of the game that will likely blow over within the next week or two. I find it hard to believe it’s a “consequence” Showalter will have to live with. I mean, it’s not like this changed the complexion of the game at all. Things were already out of reach and it just got worse from there.
For anyone who thinks Mets announcers are “homers”, though, they need to watch this clip. One of the reasons why Cohen is such a great broadcaster is the fact that he’s not afraid to criticize New York if he feels it’s appropriate.
Matt Musico can be reached at matt.musico@xlmedia.com and you can follow him on Twitter: @mmusico8.
