PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. — Buck Showalter is trying to use his time wisely.
With the owners’ lockout about to hit Day 80, Showalter’s days are less hectic and much slower. He gets ample time to sleep. He has time to meet and get to know his coaching staff in person, rather than Zoom calls. He has time to study his new players and prepare for their arrivals at spring camp. He even has time to notice large paw prints on one of the backfields, paw prints that he believes belong to a panther.
And though minor leaguers have arrived at the Mets facility, beginning to stretch and warm up and greet one another after the long offseason, it is quiet at the Clover Park grounds without major leaguers. The absence of 40-man roster players is stark.
