Buck Showalter seemed to get a little testy with reporters on Tuesday night after the Mets blew a 4-1 lead to the Braves, as the manager clearly didn't have much interest in answering questions about the two-hour rain delay.
For Gio, Showalter's response was another suggestion that he doesn't seem as engaged and committed this year as he was in his first year as manager, noting the thrill of being back as a skipper after years of being away may have worn off.
"He came back rejuvenated last year because he wasn't in the game in a while," Gio said. "Now he's of course a little older…and this season they had, he poured everything into it. He was there and working hard.
"I think he came back like 'Ugh, I gotta do this all over again?'"
Gio noted Showalter's viral clips of talking about things like FaceTime and iPhones during spring training, and how they could have been signs that the longtime manager's focus just wasn't what it was in 2022, and the team's current struggles likely aren't helping.
"Stuff like that, we did not hear any of that last year," Gio said. "I understand they were winning last year and not this year, but even spring training, everything was him spinning some yarn about some story…the team's not prepared. It's just a totally different Buck Showalter this year.
"In spring training, he didn't seem like he cared as much…it just seems like he poured everything into last year because it was his first year back, and this year, he just doesn't have it in him as much as he had in the prior year."
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