Mickey Togs

For the fifth time in six years, the New York Mets are in the market for a manager.

Buck Showalter was fired after a disappointing season in which baseball’s highest-spending team tumbled from contention by midsummer.

The 67-year-old Showalter said before the 2023 finale against Philadelphia that he will not return next year, and a few minutes later the Mets announced the club had decided on the change. 

New York plans to introduce David Stearns as president of baseball operations on Monday, placing him above general manager Billy Eppler. Showalter’s departure with a season remaining on his three-year contract clears the way for Stearns to pick the next manager.

Showalter is 1,726-1,665 (.509) in 22 seasons as a big league manager with the Yankees, Diamondbacks, Rangers, Orioles and Mets — guiding all those organizations to the playoffs besides Texas.

He’s won four Manager of the Year awards — tied with Hall of Famers Tony La Russa and Bobby Cox for most all-time — and is the only skipper to win the prize with four different teams.

Showalter ranks 19th in major league history in wins, but Gene Mauch (1,902) is the only manager with more who never won a pennant.

The New York Jets pulled out a dramatic 31-21 victory over the Denver Broncos at Empower Field on Sunday, but it was not easy. The Jets needed a 39-yard fumble return for a touchdown by cornerback Bryce Hall after linebacker Quincy Williams knocked the ball out of Russell Wilson’s hands to secure the victory.

“It was gritty,” Jets coach Robert Saleh said. “It wasn’t pretty.”

There were no style points for the Jets in this one, but the win moves them to 2-3, ending a three-game losing streak and keeping hope alive that they can make something of this season even without Aaron Rodgers.

Running back Breece Hall provided most of the offense, rushing for 177 yards, including a 72-yard touchdown, on the same field where his season ended a year ago with a torn ACL.

Hall carried a Jets offense that went 0-for-5 in red-zone trips, settling for five Greg Zuerlein field goals.

The New York Giants fell to 1-4 on Sunday with a 31-16 loss to the 4-1 Miami Dolphins. 

The Giants also lost quarterback Daniel Jones to a neck injury when he was sacked by Andrew Van Ginkel in the fourth quarter. That was the sixth time Jones was sacked on Sunday and the 28th time this season. 

Coach Brian Daboll said Jones was “getting hit quite a bit.” Daboll did add that Jones told him he would be “OK.”

“Overall we’ve gotta do a better job offensively,” Daboll said. “We’re not doing a good enough job.”

The Dolphins scored touchdowns of 76 and 69 yards en route to compiling 524 yards of total offense. Miami now has 2,568 total yards of offense in five games, most in NFL history.

The Giants still don’t have an offensive touchdown in the first half of games this season, but they do have a touchdown thanks to Jason Pinnock’s 102-yard score on an interception return. The Giants still trailed at the half, 17-10. They have been outscored 94-19 in the first half of games this season, with four Graham Gano field goals being their only offensive points.