Photo: Mets.com

With the team sitting ten games below .500 and 13-and-a-half games back of Atlanta in the National League East, it’s easy to blame the folks in charge for a tough season.

In a situation like what the New York Mets are facing — taking into account precisely how they got here — there’s really only one place to point the finger.

Handed a solid core of positional cogs in Michael Conforto, Brandon Nimmo, Jeff McNeil, Amed Rosario, and newcomers Pete Alonso and Dominic Smith, the organization chose to fill out gaps with sub-par, replacement-level (if that, in some cases) players instead of making an actual push.

Instead of supporting a high-quality rotation in Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard, Zack Wheeler, Steven Matz, and the surprisingly-effective Jason Vargas with a top-notch bullpen, the Mets went after questionable, expensive targets (hey, Jeurys Familia) and have seen first-hand the damage they caused (5.63 bullpen ERA is 28th in MLB).

Most of that blame falls on ownership for not giving the green light to do their jobs with the proper level of conviction — and without crippling budgetary restraints.

Nevertheless, we’re here to talk about the front office, as well as the Mets’ coaching staff’s respective roles in this current debacle, not the fellas upstairs.

Things have gone awry, no question. Now, that’s not to say there’s not enough time for the Mets to turn things around — let’s just say the outlook does not look good.

Brodie Van Wagenen – Grade: F

Depending on how Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen handles the upcoming July 31 trade deadline, 2019 may not end up looking like the disaster it appears to be now.

If he pulls pocket aces in a return on Wheeler, despite a lackluster, disappointing season, he still has the chance to salvage something from another lost year in Flushing.

Though, leading up to now — which is what we’re here to discuss — Van Wagenen’s first half-season at the helm of the Mets has been tumultuous.

Mets skipper Mickey Callaway hasn’t helped the situation with his mismanagement of in-game situations, but we’ll get to him in a few.

The trade of two of the franchise’s best young talents in Jarred Kelenic and Justin Dunn for aging star Robinson Cano and young closer, Edwin Diaz could arguably go down as one of the more one-sided trades in the history of the game. Not a great way to start your tenure, Brodie.

Bringing in a number of fringe major-leaguers to fill out the Mets’ 40-man roster (and populate new Triple-A affiliate, Syracuse’s roster with recognizable names, most likely) in Carlos Gomez, Rajai Davis, Matt Kemp, Adeiny Hechavarria, and others would have been fine if players on the major league roster weren’t dropping like flies and underperforming.

In a perfect world, they wouldn’t have seen much of Citi Field at all in 2019. But as it turned out, Van Wagenen’s choice to go the cheap route backfired horribly. Again, probably not all his fault, but he’s the face now, right?

Tendering Travis d’Arnaud just to release him. Trading a viable prospect in right-hander Neraldo Catalina to Tampa Bay in exchange for Wilmer Font, just to designate him for assignment on Friday. Same goes for the Keon Broxton mess.

Some might say rookie mistakes, but Van Wagenen has a doctorate in how MLB front offices work thanks to his last form of employment. Could he have really misjudged the situation that drastically? Well, maybe.

Truth is, we won’t know for a while if Van Wagenen’s vision is one that can take this organization back to relevance. General managers aren’t expected to come in and fix an organization in half a season. Hopefully, he gets time to let his plan develop.

Mickey Callaway & Co. – Grade: F

Bringing in seasoned MLB manager Jim Riggleman as Callaway’s bench coach was supposed to alleviate pressure off the second-year skipper when it came to on-field strategy and such. No such luck.

Hitting coach Chili Davis was supposed to help the Mets hone in on their situational hitting skills or lack thereof. The team’s .771 OPS with runners in scoring position is good for 20th in baseball. The Mets’ 102 wRC+ (11th in MLB) and .321 wOBA (17th) are decent enough, so it’s fair to say he’s doing something right.

Pitching coach Dave Eiland was shown the door on June 20 despite the starters having racked up 7.4 wins above replacement, good for seventh in baseball at the time. Obviously, the bullpen’s lack of production led to his demise.

Since octogenarian Phil Regan took over as the pitching coach, Mets relievers have pitched to a 6.93 ERA, second-worst in baseball over that span. As much as we enjoy having Regan around, something’s gotta give when it comes to accountability.

And that’s where Mickey Callaway comes in. Despite having experienced, capable baseball minds around him, the managing novice still, without fail, finds ways to magnify his inexperience.

His run-in with Mets beat writer, Tim Healey of Newsday was embarrassing enough, but considering that was the most fire we’ve seen or heard over one-and-a-half seasons of mediocre-to-bad baseball is a bad sign for the manager who preaches of doing one’s job with conviction.

As Van Wagenen noted on Friday, Callaway’s job is most likely safe through the end of the season. As we saw last year, Mickey was able to rally his troops after a demoralizing June to finish the year on a high note.

A strong home stretch likely won’t save his job, but it would surely bode well for the guys who will be here next year, trying to get the job done.