CHICAGO – Play better.
Buck Showalter’s response Thursday when asked about Marcus Stroman’s chest thumping and screaming in the Mets dugout the previous night was to remind him that his team could have prevented it.
“It really doesn’t surprise anyone, does it?” Showalter said about Stroman’s party. ‘It’s kind of his way of working, isn’t it? If you don’t like it, do something about it. Play better.”
Stroman, who signed with the Cubs last season after pitching for the Mets, gave up two runs in eight innings for the win.
Before leaving the mound, he yelled into the Mets’ dugout.
A Mets player who witnessed the scene later told The Post, “Show some respect. Be a pro. It’s not just about you.”
Showalter stayed with Daniel Vogelbach on Thursday because of other options at DH (including rookie Mark Vientos, who pinch-hit in the ninth inning). Vogelbach – who went 1-for-3 with a run scored on Thursday – entered the game in May with a .188/.316/.292 slash and was in a 1-for-14 (.071) slump over his previous seven games.
“He hit some balls hard, but I’d like to think he’s close,” Showalter said before the Mets’ 10-1 win on Thursday night. “We know what he’s capable of, it just hasn’t happened to him consistently yet. But he’s hit some balls hard that they’ve caught, especially on the ground. He’s able to get the ball in the air a little bit. He hit a ball the other day that we thought had a chance.”
Showalter said much of his decision making about playing Vogelbach or Vientos is based on projections.
“I get a lot of good input and take it all in,” Showalter said. “There’s a lot of work in it.”
Showalter cited Vogelbach’s track record for offensive production as a factor he takes into account.
“It hasn’t happened as consistently as it has in the past, but there’s only one way to get back to that,” Showalter said. ‘He and Mark [Canha] they’re both doing a great job and that was a little challenge for them early in the year. Pitchers have thrown them a lot of good pitches to get an early lead in the count and that’s usually not the case with those two guys.
