Mets bench coach Dave Jauss is having himself quite a month.
After the 64-year-old tossed perfect strike after perfect strike to Pete Alonso to help the slugger win his second straight Home Run Derby, Jauss found himself leading the Mets after manager Luis Rojas was ejected on Sunday afternoon, with the Mets trailing and trying to avoid a fourth straight loss to the lowly Pirates.
Jauss took over after Rojas was tossed, watched his team mount a six-run comeback, then led New York to a wild 15-11 victory in extra inning on Monday night.
Jauss came into his postgame press conference on Monday grinning from ear to ear, but that's nothing new.
"I'm happy all the time," Jauss said. "You see me before the game, you know that. I'm happy all the time."
There was good reason to be happy on Monday night, with the Mets taking a late lead on a James McCann home run and winning it in 11 innings after overcoming another Edwin Diaz hiccup. With the Phillies winning seven of their last 10 games, the Mets' grip on first place in the NL East was slipping away before Jauss and company snagged two straight improbable wins to temporarily quiet the panic that was ensuing after the team's latest cold streak.
Jauss may be the temporary leader with Rojas' two-game suspension about to be completed, but whatever role he has in the dugout, he remains a believer of the 2021 Mets.
"The front office down to the manager, down to the coaching staff, the trainers and the payers, that clubhouse, that dugout, that group of people, men and women…have a bond that they are together at 3:00 when we're taking early work, at 5:30 when we're taking BP, at 6:30 when we're doing an advanced meeting report to get ready for the starter, and then at 7:00 to play a game together," Jauss said.
Jauss showed he wasn't just a placeholder for Rojas, turning to McCann as a pinch hitter for Tomas Nido, and McCann responded with a two-run blast to left to give the Mets a 9-8 lead.
"That's been done a few times already this year," Jauss said. "It was set a couple innings before if the situation arose. McCann and Nido are both good hitters, McCann is a really good hitter against lefties also, and dangerous in this park, but let's not forget about Nido's line drive double to the gap in right center field…it's not a big move. It was a big move result-wise, but it was not a big move."
Jauss didn't bother to conceal his joy when talking to reporters after the Mets' big victory, and still has yet to see New York lose when he is in a managerial role. But Monday night was likely his most memorable win as the skipper, watching the Mets come out on top in an 11-inning, five-hour marathon.
"Concession stand must've made a whole lot of money tonight," Jauss laughed.
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