The New York Mets were swept over the weekend by the Miami Marlins, the worst-team in major league baseball, and rumors swirled that manager Mickey Callaway would lose his job by Monday morning rush hour.
The Mets dropped to 20-25 on the season after losing three games in a row including back-to-back shutouts. It was a true low point in a season on the brink of total implosion. However, Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen assured everyone that Mickey Callaway’s job is safe.
“I, the front office, and the entire ownership group has support of Mickey Callaway as our manager,” Brodie Van Wagenen said in an interview with SNY. “Mickey is our manager now, Mickey is our manager going forward. We wanted to communicate it without any ambiguity that this coaching staff had the support of us. And we wanted the players to recognize the accountability that exists on all parties. We’re not looking to blame a manger and we’re not looking to blame any adversity through injuries. He has our full support to lead this team for the foreseeable future.”
That sounded more like a carefully-worded PR blast than a true vote of confidence from the GM. The bottom line is that Callaway’s days as skipper of the Mets are numbered. Only wins can save his job.
While the Replacement Yankees have taken over first place in the AL East without the bulk of their stars, the New York Mets floundered. After the sweep, everyone expected the worst with Callaway. Even though Brodie Van Wagenen assured his job was safe, there are no guarantees in professional sports. Especially when it comes to coaches for New York City sports teams.
Rough Start for the Mets
The Mets (21-25) got off to a sizzling 11-1 start last season in Mickey Callaway’s rookie season as manager. The Mets cooled off and produced another losing season with a 77-85 record. Callaway improved upon 70 wins in 2017, but he could still not get the Mets over the hump.
The Mets are on the verge of their ninth losing season in the last 11 years. The appearance in the 2015 World Series seems more like an anomaly that the dawn of a new era for the Mets. The Mets fizzled out of the Wild Card game in 2016 and had not made the playoffs the last two seasons.
The Mets just lost their highest-paid player to a freak injury. While rehabbing another injury, Yoenis Cespedes stepped in a hole on his ranch in Florida and fractured his ankle. He will be out the rest of the season.
The Mets have a couple of amazing young pitchers like Jacob deGrom and Noah Syndergaard, but the rotation has been lackluster this year. They also have one of the best closers in the game with Edwin Diaz, but the rest of the bullpen struggled. The Mets have a team ERA of 4.48, which is ranked #12 out of 15 in the National League. Opposing teams are hitting .250 against them, which is also #12 out of 15 in the NL.
Pete Alonso, hard-hitting rookie first baseman, leads the teams with 15 home runs and 35 RBI. He’s been one of the better stories to come out of Queens in the first quarter of the season.
On Deck: Girardi
Joe Girardi is a name that has been thrown around a lot these days. The former Yankees catcher won a title as a member of the Yankees and later as a manager. Girardi stepped aside after ten seasons at the helm when Aaron Boone took over last season. He has been an analyst for MLB and Fox Sports, but he has not taken on another coaching job since he left the Bronx Bombers.
Girardi is a proven winner and he had experience handling the circus-like atmosphere of NYC sports media. His name has come up on multiple occasions as the next manager of the New York Mets. However, Girardi is a smart guy. He actually has an engineering degree from Northwestern University. Will he be wise enough to pass on the Mets drama and wait for a better opportunity to return to the dugout?
