Mickey Callaway
With the Mets taking 2/3 from the Tigers, the team is finally back to .500 effectively letting them hit the reset button and start anew:
1. The Mets should have swept the Tigers, but it’s hard to complain about winning two out of three and eight of nine, especially after being swept by the Marlins.
2. It won’t last, but with a pair of three run homers in the series, Adeiny Hechavarria is looking like the slugging second baseman Robinson Cano was supposed to be.
3. Wilson Ramos‘ power has returned exactly when the Mets needed. He hit three homers in the series and had four extra base hits against the Tigers after entering the series with just two homers and five extra base hits.
4. On Saturday, Ramos joined with Tomas Nido to hit three homers to carry the Mets offense in the 13 inning win. So far, Nido has been fine as a defensive minded back-up.
5. Todd Frazier is also stepping up. His bunt to beat the shift was almost as amazing as the diving stop he made to save a run. Over his last eight games, he’s hitting .321/.424/.429.
6. The Mets have completely mismanaged their outfield situation.
7. Brandon Nimmo was very hurt, and the Mets response was to drop him in the lineup, not get him checked out.
8. It’s fair to say Keon Broxton didn’t earn playing time, but the team had the chance to get him playing time and reap the rewards the Orioles are. To make it worse, the $500,000 bonus pool money was a nothing return as it needs to be spent by June 15 and any player deserving of the amount has been long signed.
9. That’s not to see there still aren’t players who could surprise. For example, not too long ago, the Mets signed Gerson Molina, who is impressing after not having played baseball in nearly three years.
10. Carlos Gomez is hitting .133. Aaron Altherr followed a homer in his first at-bat as a Met by going 0-for-5 and is now 2-for-36 on the season. Rajai Davis was designated for assignment.
11. As Sandy Alderson and Alejandro De Aza showed, and we’re seeing it again, you can’t completely overreact to the struggles of bench players for almost the sole purpose of throwing some red meat to your fans.
12. As great as it is to see Michael Conforto back, let’s hope he’s actually ready. Given what happened with Ryan Church, Mets fans should be holding their breath with the team flying to Los Angeles.
13. It didn’t work, but bringing in Edwin Diaz in the eighth was absolutely the correct move. It should also be noted with him needing 13 pitches to get that last out, pulling him after the inning was also the correct move.
14. Mickey Callaway pulled all the right strings in the Mets 13 inning victory, and he’s been much better recently.
15. Drew Gagnon deserves a pass for his tough outing. That said, it’s fair to question if he’s ready for that late inning set-up role.
16. Jason Vargas has only gone five innings against the five worst offenses in baseball. This is what an effective long man looks like, not a fifth starter. That’s still better than what Noah Syndergaard did.
17. Syndergaard has been quite mercurial this year, and it might be because of the new ball. He’s talked about having difficulty getting a grip, and if you track it, pitchers who use a slider instead of a curve seem to be disproportionately affected by the new ball.
18. Give Zack Wheeler credit for his ability to put a tough inning or start behind him and still go deep in a game. If he can just find a way to get into a groove the first time through the lineup, he’d be Cy Young material.
19. Seeing Pete Alonso and Dominic Smith play, the Mets should not be 100% convinced Alonso is the guy, especially as Alonso continues to regress.
20. You should take the time to read Nick Francona’s interview with Paul Lukas on Uni Watch, especially today.
With the Tigers having a bottom five offense, you knew Jason Vargas was good for five. Seriously, the only teams Vargas has gone five innings has been against the five worst offenses in baseball (Reds, Marlins, Tigers). As with the typical Vargas start, the question is how would the Mets get enough innings from their relievers to get through the game. The reason that was an issue today was this game went 13.
One reason it went 13 was Wilson Ramos carried the Mets offense today.
His second inning homer tied the score at 1-1. His fourth inning RBI single gave the Mets a 2-1 lead. After Tyler Bashlor surrendered a two run homer to Brandon Dixon, Ramos responded with his second homer of the game:
I am @WRamosC3 and I am here to save you. ? pic.twitter.com/yWEtSpRWRC
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 25, 2019
After having just two homers entering this series, Ramos has three homers over his last two games. He now looks like the catcher the Mets believe they were signing, and with the injuries the team had sustained, it couldn’t have come at a better time.
It also seemed like today was the perfect time to use Edwin Diaz for four outs.
Robert Gsellman was in his second inning of work, and he was in trouble. After hitting a double earlier in the inning, Josh Harrison was on third with two outs. Mickey Callaway went to Diaz.
Because the Mets are making JaCoby Jones look like Al Kaline (recycled joke), he got the game tying RBI single.
Not only did this mean, Diaz would blow his first save as a Met, but with him throwing 13 pitches, it meant the Mets would need relievers to step up big starting in the ninth.
Those relievers did step up big, and it looked all the bigger considering they got themselves into trouble.
Wilmer Font pitched a scoreless eighth and ninth and tenth. In the tenth, the Tigers had two on and one out. Font struck out Grayson Greiner and Jones to end the jam.
Daniel Zamora took the ball in the eleventh. He’d allow two hits in the inning, but no real threat would mount as Ramos picked Gordon Beckham off first on what was supposed to be a bunt play:
Tigers challenge call that Gordon Beckham is out at 1B in the 11th; call stands, runner is out. Powered by @Mitel. pic.twitter.com/rNHw5cymKC
— MLB Replays (@MLBReplays) May 26, 2019
For a moment, it looked like the Mets would take that momentum into the bottom of the inning and win the game.
After Tomas Nido flew out to begin the inning, Ramos walked. With his backup catcher already in the game and the Mets looking to pull out the win, Callaway pinch ran Steven Matz.
As is the Mets luck, Dominic Smith and Todd Frazier followed with bloop hits, but Matz couldn’t score. Matz’s inability to score looked fatal because Aaron Altherr struck out, Adeiny Hechavarria popped out to end the inning, and the Tigers had the bases loaded with one out against Hector Santiago in the 12th.
Santiago stepped up striking out Jones on three pitches (after walking two of his last three batters) and getting John Hicks to fly out to end the jam. Santiago then breezed through the top of the 13th, and with him due up second in the bottom of the inning, you wondered if Callaway was going to stick with him.
On Buck Farmer‘s third pitch to Nido, it would become a moot point:
Use the force, Tomás. #MetsWin pic.twitter.com/EYJ4kQlTkX
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 26, 2019
The homer gave the Mets a 5-4 victory and once again pulled the Mets to within a game of .500. With Nido hitting the homer, it was once again an unsung hero. With Nido homering, it was the Mets catchers with all the offense.
Consider this, Ramos and Nido combined to go 4-for-6 with three homers and all five RBI. The rest of the lineup was 3-for-38. When you take out Todd Frazier, who made a nice play in the field to save a run earlier in the game, going 2-for-5, this means the Mets lineup was 1-for-33 with that hit coming from Dominic Smith, who entered the game in the ninth.
Looking at it, Callaway might have had his best game as a manager. He made the right calls (even if they didn’t work out), and he put all of his players in a position to succeed. His bullpen did, and eventually so did Nido.
Game Notes: In typical Mets fashion, Brandon Nimmo‘s injury was worse than the Mets led us to believe. He has a bulged disc in his neck with whiplash.
The Mets offense got home runs from Amed Rosario, Adeiny Hechavarria, Pete Alonso, Aaron Altherr, and Wilson Ramos resulting in eight runs scored. In essence, even though the lineup has been decimated by injuries, they did their job against Gregory Soto and the Tigers pitching staff.
This should have been the Tigers tenth straight loss. It wasn’t because Noah Syndergaard and Drew Gagnon were bad.
The Tigers went up 2-0 in the first before Syndergaard recorded an out. Actually, that’s not technically correct as the second run scored on a Miguel Cabrera sacrifice fly.
That lead grew to 4-0 in the second when JaCoby Jones, a career .195/.297/.335 career hitter who looked like Al Kaline tonight, hit a two run homer.
For a second, it looked like Syndergaard calmed down, and the Mets would rally to give him a 5-4 lead. He’d lose that lead surrendering a solo homer to Cabrera in the fifth.
The Mets handed him back the lead after the inning, and he’d hand it right back in the sixth leading to his having to be bailed out by Tyler Bashlor.
On the one hand, with Syndergaard due up in the bottom of the inning, you understand Mickey Callaway sticking with him, especially on a night where Edwin Diaz was unavailable. However, this is the same Callaway who loves double switching.
Despite it all, the Mets went to the top of the seventh with a 7-6 lead. Unfortunately, Gagnon just didn’t have it tonight.
There was a brief instant when you thought he’d get out of it. After a John Hick‘s double, the Tigers had runners at second and third with one out. Todd Frazier made a nice play on a Josh Harrison grounder keeping the runner at third and getting the out at first.
There was no bailing out Gagnon when Jones hit an RBI double after that giving the Tigers an 8-7 lead. After a Brandon Dixon RBI single, it was 9-7 Tigers.
In the bottom of that inning, it looked like the Mets were primed to come back again, but a Frazier double play killed that rally.
Ramos homered in the eighth, and later in the inning, Dominic Smith came up with Hechavarria at second with two outs. He’d strike out against Joe Jimenez to end the inning.
With that, the Mets would lose this game 9-8. They lost the game to a team who lost nine straight and were 11 games under .500. They lost the opportunity to get back to .500.
Game Notes: In addition to Altherr, Hector Santiago made his Mets debut. He pitched scoreless ninth. Like Altherr did tonight, former Met Keon Broxton hit a homer in his first at-bat with his new team.
Well, if you missed yesterday’s game against the Nationals, you were lucky because apparently today was the matinee of that game. While not quite Jacob deGrom and Max Scherzer, Steven Matz and Stephen Strasburg proved to be capable understudies.
For the most part, Strasburg kept what was a woeful Mets lineup at bay. He’d keep the Mets off the board completely through four, but the Mets would get to him in the fifth. Carlos Gomez hit a leadoff single, and he’d steal second and move to third with no outs as Yan Gomes, who had a nightmare of a game, threw the ball into center.
Carlos Gomez on losing his shoe:
“My left foot is smaller than the right, so I had to tie that left shoe really tight. And when I ran, I went too fast.”pic.twitter.com/C7ReRRKvpX
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) May 23, 2019
The play was made all the more fun by Gomez’s shoe coming off between second and third. To his credit Strasburg limited the damage to just one run which came off a Juan Lagares sacrifice fly.
Again, it was Gomes who hurt Strasburg in the sixth. After J.D. Davis singled and Strasburg hit Todd Frazier with a pitch, Strasburg would throw one in the dirt. While it was ruled a wild pitch, it was one Gomes should have had. This meant instead of having the double play in order with one out, the sudden ground ball hitting specialist Wilson Ramos would have an RBI chance.
Ramos would deliver with an RBI single scoring Davis, and Pete Alonso would make it 3-0 on a sacrifice fly. After the inning, Strasburg was done having struck out five Mets with only two of the three runs allowed being earned.
With the way Matz was cruising, you would think that was a sufficient enough lead. Certainly, it seemed that way with how Matz’s curveball was unhittable and his Houdini act. He was in trouble in the first and second with first and third with out one. Both times, he induced an inning ending double play. First, it was Howie Kendrick. Then, it was Gomes, who again, had a horrible day.
In the third, the Nationals had the bases loaded, but they couldn’t score as Anthony Rendon struck out looking at a curveball. It was one of a career high 27 curveballs Matz would throw with 16 of them being called strikes. Matz would not have one 1-2-3 inning all day, but it seemed like it wouldn’t matter as the Nationals kept shooting themselves in the foot and Matz would unleash a curve when needed.
That was until the sixth. Juan Soto hit a lead-off double, and he would score on what was a Brian Dozier infield single. On the play, Adeiny Hechavarria would throw the ball away. Dozier got greedy trying to go first to third on the play as he sought to take advantage on what he thought was Matz not paying attention to him at second. This led to an easy 1-5 put out.
With the way this game was going and how the Nationals season has been going, you sensed a team at its boiling point. We’d see them unleash their fury in the top of the eighth when Kendrick was called on a check swing Home Plate Umpire Bruce Dreckman called himself. Kendrick complained and was tossed. Then Nationals manager Dave Martinez had himself an old fashioned ejection:
Dave Martinez got his money's worth pic.twitter.com/Xr5vDcP2uQ
— SNY (@SNYtv) May 23, 2019
The narrative will be this fired the Nationals up. Seeing them tee off on Robert Gsellman, maybe that’s true. For example, it did seem to wake up Gomes. He came up with runners at the corners with two out. Gomes’ double pulled the Nationals within one and put runners at second and third.
Now, it should be mentioned yesterday, the Mets have changed their stance. Mickey Callaway can now use Edwin Diaz for more than three outs. Callaway said Diaz being dry humped yesterday and pitched the previous two days. It should also be noted with all the injuries Ryan O’Rourke was called up. That meant the Mets had three lefties in the pen at their disposal. Instead, Callaway stuck with Gsellman, who admittedly has good numbers against left-handed batters.
The decision cost the Mets as Gerardo Parra hit a two RBI single giving the Nationals a 4-3 lead. Typically, you would believe this to be a back breaking hit which would have sent the Mets into a loss. Then again, this is the Nationals bullpen, who would need to significantly improve to be classified as terrible.
Wander Suero would come on to hold the lead, and right off the bat, it looked like history was going to repeat itself when Dominic Smith led off the inning with a pinch hit double. For a second, it seemed he would be stranded there as Alonso and Frazier would strike out back-to-back. For some reason, the Nationals would then decide to put the g0-ahead run on base to face Gomez. That would prove to be a huge mistake:
Carlos Go-Ahead. ??? pic.twitter.com/OEeEHO6EB4
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 23, 2019
After that homer, the Mets were up 6-4, and finally, we would see Diaz for the save. After a 1-2-3 ninth with two strikeouts and Rendon doing his best Robinson Cano impersonation, the Mets had a four game sweep, and they are now within a game of .500. This also means the Mets are now within one game of being taken seriously again.
Game Notes: During the game it was announced the Mets claimed Aaron Altherr off waivers. To make room for him on the roster, the Mets designated Tim Peterson.
It doesn’t matter who is the General Manager or the manager. The Mets always want to tell everyone else they are wrong, and they are smarter than you. There is plenty of history on this front during the Wilpon Era.
Steve Phillips told us Alex Rodriguez was a 24 and 1 player. So, instead of pursuing A-Rod, he signed Tsuyoshi Shinjo, Kevin Appier, and Steve Trachsel to try to improve the team. When that didn’t work, he made a series of questionable moves over the ensuing two years which somehow led to Roger Cedeno being a center fielder. Ultimately, Bobby Valentine was fired, and he was not too far behind.
There were plenty of decisions past that point. The most recent example was Terry Collins‘ insistence that Michael Conforto was a platoon bat because he was a young left-handed hitter the team had no time to develop because they were trying to win. Somehow this led to Matt Reynolds making a start in left field despite never having played the position in his life.
Now, we are in the era of Brodie Van Wagenen and Mickey Callaway, and things remain the same way.
With Dominic Smith jumping out of the gate hitting well, Pete Alonso showing no signs of being overwhelmed as a rookie, and the team’s questionable outfield depth, everyone said it was time for Smith to get reps in the outfield again. Everyone included Mets hitting coach Chili Davis. The Mets scoffed at the idea and instead insisted it was better for Smith to be a younger version of Julio Franco or Lenny Harris.
The Mets gave up Jarred Kelenic and Justin Dunn in a deal which helped bring them Edwin Diaz. There were big games early in the season where the team needed their closer to go more than four outs. That was all the more the case with Jeurys Familia‘s struggles. But no, we were told Diaz is just a three out pitcher who was to be saved for save chances only.
To begin the season, Jacob deGrom had no consistency with the catchers behind the plate. That became more of an issue with Wilson Ramos not hitting or framing. Given how deGrom has reached Greg Maddux like status with this team, the strong suggestion was to make Tomas Nido his personal catcher as deGrom was the one pitcher who could easily overcome his lack of offense, especially with Nido’s pitch framing. Instead, the Mets said deGrom was not pitching well enough to warrant a personal catcher.
J.D. Davis was atrocious at third base. In fact, by DRS, he was the worst third baseman in the Majors. With him clearly not suited to the position, everyone said to the Mets they should at least try Davis in left field. It wasn’t until the Mets literally had no other choice that it would happen.
And that’s where we are now. The Mets are under .500 and in third place. Callaway’s job has seemingly become tenuous. Conforto and Brandon Nimmo are on the IL while Jeff McNeil is dealing with an abdominal issue. Justin Wilson is on the IL, and Familia just had another poor performance. Suddenly, the Mets, who knew better than everyone, suddenly don’t anymore.
Now, Smith will get reps in left field, and Davis can start playing out there more. Diaz can pitch more than three outs when the situation merits. Nido will now be deGrom’s personal catcher. Of course, the Mets waited a long time to finally admit they actually don’t know better than everyone. The question now is whether they waited too long.
Fortuantely, the Mets finally listened to everyone. Now, the goal is to finally get through to them that everyone else is indeed smarter than they are and that the Yankees financial model is sustainable. In fact, it could be sustainable for the Mets as well if they were willing to try.
In tonight’s game, you got to see reasons why the Mets should and should not fire Mickey Callaway.
For starters, there’s Zack Wheeler, who has been a different pitcher working with Callaway and Dave Eiland. While he’s had his struggles against the Nationals this year, he came to pitch tonight.
Over his first six innings, he allowed just two hits with one of those being a second inning Juan Soto solo homer. Entering the seventh, the score was tied 1-1 partially thanks to a Jeff McNeil fifth inning RBI single. With Wheeler at 99 pitches, you expected Callaway to pull Wheeler.
However, with Wheeler dominating and the Mets in a stretch of 14 straight games without an off day, Callaway pushed him. When Wheeler struck out Soto, you got a sense it was the right move. It probably still was even with Gerardo Parra hitting a single and Brian Dozier getting his first hit off a Mets pitcher this year. Unfortunately, that was a two run home run giving the Nationals a 3-1 lead.
While you may question sending Wheeler out for the top of the seventh, you have to give Callaway credit for utilizing his bench to take the lead in the bottom of the inning.
Wilson Ramos led off the inning with a single off Wander Suero, who was in his second inning of work. After Carlos Gomez struck out, Callaway sent up a pair of pinch hitters for Juan Lagares and Wheeler.
Dominic Smith walked putting the tying run on base. Then, J.D. Davis came up for Wheeler. Apparently, the Nationals are the only team who doesn’t have a scouting report on him because with two strikes against him, Suero didn’t throw a fastball to him. Nope, he hung a curveball, and Davis hit it off the top of the right field wall and out for a go-ahead three run homer:
See. You. Later. ???@JDDavis26 for the lead! pic.twitter.com/zrIisT8QiO
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 22, 2019
The Mets had a lead with an opportunity to win their first game when trailing in the seventh. For some reason, Callaway went to Jeurys Familia despite his pitching 1.1 innings yesterday and struggling in that second inning, and that’s nothing to say of his coming off the IL recently.
Familia didn’t have it. Howie Kendrick hit a leadoff single, and he scored on a Trea Turner RBI double. Kendrick was able to score there partially because Davis, who is not a left fielder, couldn’t handle a ball hit to the corner.
Callaway went to Daniel Zamora to get Soto and Parra out. Soto jumped all over the first pitch hitting a go-ahead RBI double. After Zamora retired Parra, Tyler Bashlor came in and got Victor Robles out. Certainly, with how good Bashlor has been of late and with Familia going more than an inning yesterday, Callaway looked bad when Bashlor got that huge out.
We’d soon forget that as Callaway’s team played hard for him. That started with Pete Alonso, a player vocal in his support of Callaway, hit a mammoth homer in the eighth, tying the game:
WOW. ? @Pete_Alonso20 pic.twitter.com/co4wTra096
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 22, 2019
Seriously, no one could quite tell if that was fair or foul. What we do know was that was Tommie Agee-esque, and it’s a new Mets rookie record for most first half homers.
With that homer and Edwin Diaz pitching a scoreless ninth, the Mets had a chance at a walk-off win.
Even with Tanner Rainey allowing that blast to Alonso, the Nationals stuck with him for the ninth. After striking out Gomez, he walked Adeiny Hechavarria and Davis back-to-back.
Kyle Barraclough came in and got deep into McNeil’s kitchen. McNeil hit a bloop toward second. Dozier got cut waiting on it. This led to getting Davis out at second easily, but Hechavarria and McNeil were easily safe. This put the game in Amed Rosario‘s hands . . . and feet.
METS WIN!!! pic.twitter.com/CQFdgKwmQM
— SNY (@SNYtv) May 22, 2019
Rosario hit a high chopper to short. Turner had to back up on it, and just as he was about to throw, McNeil jumped in his line. Maybe it made a difference, and maybe it didn’t. Whatever the case, the throw was a tad high, and with Rosario absolutely busting it down the line, he was safe by a half step, and the Mets won the game 6-5.
A week ago, the Mets lose this game. However, a team playing for a manager they apparently seem to like and respect, they pulled this one out. Even with a couple of questionable moves, maybe Callaway is the right guy for the job. He was at least for tonight.
Game Notes: Brandon Nimmo was a late scratch from the lineup with a neck injury.
As if things weren’t bad enough with the Mets after losing five straight to two of the worst teams in baseball, the Mets were a full blown disaster before the game.
Yoenis Cespedes fell into a hole and broke his right ankle. This ensures he’s done for the year, and the team can no longer sell him as a “trade deadline acquisition.”
Seth Lugo was put on the IL with shoulder tendinitis, and he was replaced on the roster by Hector Santiago. To make matters worse, Brodie Van Wagenen tried to sell this as improving the roster.
Van Wagenen, “I will be the one, along with the rest of the front office team, that will continue to make improvements to this roster as we go forward like we have today with the purchase of Hector Santiago’s contract.”
— Michael Mayer (@mikemayer22) May 20, 2019
Robinson Cano was benched for a few reasons with one of them purportedly being disciplinary. The only problem there is Cano said Mickey Callaway never informed him of that.
Speaking of the lineup, for about a week now, the Mets has pinpointed Drew Gagnon as today’s starter only to switch it to Wilmer Font with no explanation.
There’s probably a multitude of things overlooked here but it’s hard to keep track of the Mets drama and incompetence. The one thing we do know is for seemingly the first time in a week, the Mets were better off getting on the field and playing a game.
For the first time in nearly a week, the Mets played well.
In the first inning, Amed Rosario and Pete Alonso homered off Nationals starter Patrick Corbin to give the Mets a 2-0 lead.
The young guns get us going. ? #LGM #RaiseTheApple? pic.twitter.com/vm8v9VZ9Z9
— New York Mets (@Mets) May 20, 2019
That lead grew to 4-0 in the third on a rally started with a Rosario lead-off walk. After a Wilson Ramos two out walk, Todd Frazier hit an RBI single. Carlos Gomez doubled scoring Ramos. It was Gomez’s first hit as a Mets in 12 years.
In the fourth, Font’s luck started running out. He was getting hit hard most of the night, and it would be Anthony Rendon who got the Nationals on the board with a homer. The Nationals rally continued, but Font was able to keep things at 4-2. He’d be done after the four.
Gagnon, who was supposed to start, was very good in two scoreless innings walking one and striking out two. With Font not lasting five and how well he pitched, he was in line for the win. That would become dicey.
After a scoreless seventh, Callaway pushed to see if Jeurys Familia could give him six outs. The answer was four.
Rendon hit a one out double chasing Familia from the game. Callaway went to Daniel Zamora to get the left-handed hitting Juan Soto. Soto would punch a single to center. With Rendon getting an excellent read on the ball, he scored easily.
With Lugo on the IL, this meant Robert Gsellman had to step up and fill Lugo’s role. For a split second, it looked like he failed miserably when Howie Kendrick hit a rocket. Fortunately, it was hit right at Brandon Nimmo in left. Gerardo Parra grounded out weakly to end the jam leaving Edwin Diaz a one run lead to protect in the ninth.
Actually, it was two. Carlos Gomez earned a one out 10 pitch walk against Nationals reliever Joe Ross. Ross would then throw over what seemed to be at least three times that amount. Karma stepped in, and Ross threw it away putting Gomez in scoring position.
After Juan Lagares grounded out moving Gomez to third, the Nationals went to Tony Sipp to get the pinch hitting Dominic Smith. Smith jumped on Sipp’s first pitch for an RBI single giving the Mets a 5-3 lead.
For a moment, it seemed like a crucial insurance run. Diaz hit Victor Robles with his first pitch, and two pitches later Yan Gomes blooped a single. Diaz stepped up, and he made sure Gomes was the last National to reach. Diaz recoded his 11th save, and the Mets live to fight another day.
This was a much needed win for the Mets. They had an inexcusable five game losing streak, and just hours before the game, it seemed like the walls were closing in. Instead, the Mets win, so at least for a day, things are good in Flushing.
Game Notes: Cano made a pinch hitting appearance in the sixth. He hit a double beating out a throw from Adam Eaton. Cano was booed.
When Jim Riggleman was hired as the bench coach this past offseason, the running joke was the Mets hired their interim manager. With the Mets faltering, Mickey Callaway‘s seat grows hotter by the day, and it would appear this is less of a joke than it is becoming a reality. Or is it?
According to Mike Puma of the NY Post, in the event Callaway was fired, the organization would consider hiring Luis Rojas as they view him “as a rising star.”
Not only is Rojas a rising star, baseball runs through his veins. From the moment he was born, baseball encapsulated his entire life. This is the way things are when you grow up in country like the Dominican Republic. It’s also that way when your father is famed player and manager Felipe Alou, and your brother is Moises Alou. Taking a look at the bloodlines, you could almost see being a Major League manager as Rojas’ destiny.
For his part, Rojas believed this upbringing has influenced not just his career choice but also his views. Rojas would tell Anthony Dicomo of MLB.com, “Growing up in that environment was very impactful, very influential in my baseball growth. Just being born in a baseball atmosphere, right away opening my eyes on baseball from the beginning of my understanding was just really helpful. Right away, I wanted to follow my brothers’ steps. I wanted to follow the family’s steps.”
Obviously, Rojas was never the baseball player he brother was. From 1999 – 2005, he was a part of the Orioles, Marlins, and eventually Expos farm systems. He’d play 37 games for the Expos Gulf Coast League affiliate in 2004 hitting .240/.315/.352. Two years later, Rojas would begin his managerial career for the Expos Dominican Summer League team.
After that one season, the Mets jumped on Rojas, and they made him their DSL Manager for one season. The team then brought him stateside to serve as a coach for two years in the Gulf Coast League. Finally, in 2011, at the age of 29, Rojas would be named the manager of that same affiliate. From that point until this year, Rojas has been a manager in the Mets farm system.
During his time as a manager in the Mets system, he has managed a number of Mets prospects including current Mets Pete Alonso, Tyler Bashlor, Michael Conforto, Jacob deGrom, Drew Gagnon, Robert Gsellman, Seth Lugo, Steven Matz, Brandon Nimmo, Jeff McNeil, Amed Rosario, Dominic Smith, Amed Rosario, and Daniel Zamora. Put another way, Rojas has helped develop the current Mets core become not just Major League players, but in some instances, All-Star caliber players.
He’s certainly left an impression on each of these players. When hired, Alonso shared a story about Rojas’ enthusiasm for his players saying, “He was jumping up and down, arms waving in the air. I honestly think Luis was happier than [Nick Sergakis].”
But it’s more than enthusiasm and relationships, Rojas can coach. It’s one of the reasons why the Mets see him as a rising star and why they were so enthusiastic to name him the team’s first ever quality control coach. In addition to those duties, he is also the team’s outfield coach.
We are seeing his impact as an outfield coach right now. Entering this season, McNeil had played all of 26.1 innings in left field over a six year span. It was up to Rojas to get McNeil up to speed. As he explained, Rojas’ plan was to begin “with the basics: pre-pitch, stance, route, reads off the bat and we progress into other things that we are taking here into camp and then some of the drills that we bring in with some of the outfielders.” (NY Post).
With Rojas coaching McNeil, McNeil has quickly become good in the outfield with a 2 DRS, which is sixth best in the league. It’s also important to note when Conforto was drafted, the knock on him was his defense. He worked with Rojas on his defense, and he has been really good out there. Now that he’s reunited with Rojas, Conforto has a 3 DRS which is good for sixth best in the majors.Credit is due to the players, but they got to that point because they are working with an excellent coach.
Rojas is not just a coach who is able to connect with this players, he is also comfortable not just with analyzing advanced data, but also putting it in terms which are useful to the players. As noted by MMO‘s Michael Mayer, it is Rojas’ responsibility to streamline the data to the players.
While comparisons of this nature tend to be unfairly lofty, in some ways Rojas does remind you of Alex Cora. Rojas has shown the ability to understand not just the fundamental aspects of the game, but he is also well versed and comfortable handling analytical data. He is an excellent communicator and coach. He loves the game, and he loves his players.
Whenever the time comes, Rojas should prove to be a good manager for the Mets. He is everything an organization and its players want in a manager. Being the communicator he is, he should also be able to handle the press well. Hopefully, another team doesn’t realize what the Mets have in Rojas and grab him before the time the Mets have a chance to elevate him into the manager’s role he was destined to be seemingly since the day he was born.
The New York Mets were swept/embarassed by the Miami Marlins, a team who is rivaling the 1962 Mets in futility. There doesn’t need to be anything else said, but here it is anyway:
1. Managers get fired for the way the Mets played this weekend, but if we are being honest, this has nothing to do with Mickey Callaway. This is all on the team Brodie Van Wagenen built.
2. Van Wagenen fled Miami before the series was over and was not present to answer one question about the team he built or their play. That’s absolute cowardice.
3. Joel Sherman of the NY Post wrote an article finally directing the blame towards Van Wagenen. We also saw Mike Puma of the NY Post say attention will eventually need to turn to to Van Wagenen, but first, the media wants Callaway gone first. Where were these articles in March when Van Wagenen was mortgaging the future to build what projections had as a fourth place team?
4. We all knew Robinson Cano didn’t hustle. With his PED suspension, we knew there was a chance he would be a chance he regressed,especially with him turning 36 years old. Van Wagenen was the only person who dismissed this.
5. Too often, we make the mistake of confusing players struggling with them not caring. The Mets players are probably embarrassed and still trying hard. They’re just not good right now for a multitude of reasons.
6. Then again, it’s hard to make that claim with Cano when he just blatantly did not run. There’s not hustling, and then there’s what he did. While we thought he had his defenses, it turned out they were lies, at least the scoreboard one.
7. Justin Dunn and Jarred Kelenic were tow of the biggest risers on MLB Pipeline‘s updated Top 100. Also, Edwin Diaz hasn’t had a save opportunity in well over a week. It’s almost like trading two top 100 prospects and taking on a $100 million commitment for a closer is a terrible idea. Who knew?
8. It’s telling how respected Callaway is in the clubhouse with Noah Syndergaard and Todd Frazier being so vocal in their support of Callaway. What would be better than those words is playing well.
9. To be fair to Frazier, he has been the Mets player during this five game losing streak. On the converse, it speaks volumes about this team that Frazier has been their best player during this losing streak.
10. The Mets trotted out a lineup on Sunday where the bottom four hitters were Adeiny Hechavarria–Juan Lagares–Tomas Nido–Noah Syndergaard. We’re really killing the manager for a lineup that noncompetitive lineup not scoring? That’s four straight 8/9 hitters!
11. The Mets have completely bought into Chili Davis, a man fired by the Red Sox and Cubs because of this philosophy. This is what happens when you make terrible hiring decisions.
12. Syndergaard deserves credit for how he pitched on Sunday. There is no reason whatsoever why he lost that game. In addition to that, the bullpen deserves a lot of credit for continuing to pitch well through all of this. This group is one of the few who deserves credit for actually showing up and performing anywhere close to expectations.
13. With is injury history and how abdominal injuries tend to linger, it’s great to see Jeff McNeil was able to play. Hopefully, we should not see any drop off from his level of play. The Mets can’t afford it.
14. Carlos Gomez was 0-for-4 with two strikeouts, and he airmailed a ball on Friday. That throw not only let the one run score easily, but it also put the batter into scoring position. Seeing Gomez play so far, he’s actually worse than what Keon Broxton was forever hammering home the point things can always be worse with the Mets.
15. So far, the Mets have held Broxton, a fifth outfielder, and Travis d’Arnaud, a back-up catcher, accountable for the team’s poor play. That’s obvious scapegoating, and it had no effect because things don’t change when you get rid of a fifth outfielder and back-up catcher to try to send a message to the everyday players you, as an organization, outright refuse to make accountable.
16. If Mike Francesa is going to genuflect when he has Jeff Wilpon in studio, he can’t suddenly rail on the Mets. Well, he can if he wants; it’s his show. Just know that when he does that, he exposes himself to be a fraud, and it helps Michael Kay catch up.
17. The Mets were completely dominated by the Miami Marlins. The Marlins.
18. Through all of this, don’t be confused. There are plenty of reasons to fire Callaway. Just don’t for a second believe firing him is the thing that is doing to turn this team around. It’s not.
19. When the Mets play tonight, Boo, don’t boo, who cares? If you’re in the park spending money, the Wilpons don’t care. They got what they want out of you. That’s not to say it’s the fans fault. The point is the Wilpons don’t care about contending. They only care about creating the appearance of it to generate revenues.
20. Through all of it, we can say a lot of things, but the most succinct thing to say here is the Mets suck.
Jeff McNeil doubled off Pablo Lopez to start the game. That would be the Mets last hit of the game. Remember, Lopez entered this game with a 5.93 ERA.
There’s no sugar coating it. The Mets flat out didn’t show up, and this is the type of game which gets managers fired. If Mickey Callaway was smart, he’d be reaching out to Terry Francona and his other friends around the game to get his next job lined up sooner rather than later.
Steven Matz was activated off the IL, and he allowed two earned over 3.2 innings. It might as well have been 50 runs because this team wasn’t even going to score one even if Lopez walked three straight, went 3-0 to the batter, and he threw a pitchout.
If you as a fan have a problem with any Mets player, they gave you reason to be more irritated with them. That includes Robinson Cano not hustling after yesterday’s snafu. Todd Frazier and Wilson Ramos struck out two times a piece. List goes on and on.
We could talk about McNeil returning and the bullpen’s great work (Tyler Bashlor, Robert Gsellman, Edwin Diaz), but we’re not. This team didn’t show up, and they were terrible. They deserve nothing good to be said about them.
Game Notes: Paul Sewald was sent to Triple-A to make room for Matz on the roster.