The New York Mets have had anything but a smooth ride since former MLB pitcher-turned-pitching coach Mickey Callaway took the reins ahead of the 2018 season. After a historically-potent start to his tenure — 11-1, to be exact — the wheels almost immediately fell off.
After a solid showing in the second half of last season and a front office regime change followed by an array of additions — both major and depth-minded –, the Mets have continued to exhibit inconsistent play, organizational-wide miscommunication, and on-field underperformance.
After Sunday’s 5-3 loss to the Cubs — a defeat that could arguably lay squarely on the shoulders of Callaway for sticking with Seth Lugo when it was abundantly clear he did not have his best stuff — a bad situation was made worse by the Mets’ skipper’s shortness with the media when being asked simple, entirely valid questions about not using Edwin Diaz for five outs.
Taking three-of-four from the Cubbies in Chicago could have done wonders for the confidence level of this team. Callaway’s inaction on Sunday — and countless other times throughout his short stay in Flushing — likely cost this team a much-needed win. That’s unacceptable.
That could have been the least of this team’s worries heading into the final leg of their 11-game road trip. Instead, the Mets head to Philadelphia with much more than missed opportunities on their minds.
Callaway’s post-presser skirmish with Tim Healey of Newsday (MMO report here) put an entirely new paint job on the dilapidated house the 2019 Mets are slowly transforming into.
Aside from the questionable on-field decisions he’s made, his confounding responses to simple questions in press conferences, and his multiple — not as dire as Sunday’s, of course — tense moments with the media, it appears that Mickey Callaway’s time in New York is drawing rapidly to a close.
Whatever the current atmosphere is within and around this organization, the truth is that this team is still within striking distance to rein this spiraling season back in. Despite a 37-41 record, the Mets sit four games behind a Wild Card spot. Maybe a managerial change is a catalyst this group needs to finally break out.
As Mike Puma of the New York Post noted on Sunday evening,”[there’s] lots of distrust among [the] coaching staff, players, and front office”.
That’s never a great sign. That little tidbit included with Sunday’s mess makes it crystal clear that the situation has crossed the point of no return.
