Despite the Mets admittedly parting with Jarred Kelenic to keep Edwin Diaz away from the Phillies, the team did not push Diaz in high leverage situations. Case in point was the April 15 game against the Phillies.
In that game, Jeurys Familia would walk the bases loaded in the bottom of the eighth. At that time, it was clear Familia didn’t have it, and the Mets needed to get the last out of the inning to preserve the Mets 6-5 lead. Instead of going to Diaz, the Mets would turn to Robert Gsellman, who walked in the tying run.
At that point and all season long, there were questions why Mickey Callaway wouldn’t use Diaz for more than one inning, especially in circumstances like those which demanded it. We’d soon learn Callaway was directed not to use Diaz outside the ninth inning, and he was not to be used for more than an inning. What we didn’t quite know was who gave the order.
Mike Puma of the New York Post reported it was Mets COO Jeff Wilpon who made that decision, and he gave the direct order to Callaway.
Of course, this left Callaway as the one to deliver the message and to absorb the criticism. According to Puma, Callaway was of the understanding this was part of his job. His serving as a “human shied” applied not just to the front office and ownership but also to the players.
In addition to not using Diaz instead of Gsellman, Callaway took heat for removing Steven Matz in the August 14 game against the Braves. According to Puma, Callaway approached him with bench coach Jim Riggleman and pitching coach Phil Regan, and Matz’s “facial expressions indicated he wanted out” of that game.
Between the Diaz news and the Matz news, it is no wonder players were reported to like him, but in the end, “there was wide-spread belief in the clubhouse that Callaway was a prop for the front office.”
The task ahead of Brodie Van Wagenen is to find a replacement for Callaway who will not only take ownership of decisions made by ownership, but also someone who could better deliver those messages to the media and the team. Not only that, they are going to have to find someone who is going to be able to accept directives provided to him directly by Jeff Wilpon.
