Mickey Callaway
As had been detailed here when the Mets fired Luis Rojas, Buck Showalter was never the right man to manage the New York Mets. When you’re looking to overall your organization top to bottom to be more analytically driven like the Houston Astros, Los Angeles Dodgers, and Tampa Bay Rays, you can’t hire someone who never was willing to adapt his style of managing to suit the modern game.
Assuredly, there were people who loved him. He talked a good game. He kept the media in check even despite the Mets collapse of yesteryear. A lesser respected manager would have routinely mocked for the way he handled the Joe Musgrove glistening ear situation in the deciding game three.
Perhaps, that was also the result of low expectations and an unwillingness to recognize just how good and deep the 2022 Mets roster was. Certainly, that was a driving force behind his winning Manager of the Year.
As for this year, he and the Mets were a bit snake bit. Edwin Díaz was injured during the World Baseball Classic. José Quintana had a cancer scare and bone graft surgery. Starling Marte never fully healed from offseason surgery. Justin Verlander was injured to start the season.
There was the Mets inability to adapt to the new rules right away. Max Scherzer had difficulty adapting to the old rules. The list goes on and on with that article from The Athletic doing him no favors in terms of just how ill suited he was for the job this season.
That’s not to say Showalter is too old to adjust. That’s unfair and unwarranted. He still has a sharp mind, and he knows what he knows. The issue is he was taught to manage a certain way, and that worked wonders for decades. He has just been unwilling to change.
Part of the issue is his apparent loyalty and affinity for older players. In the case of Tommy Pham, the Mets were better for it as Pham had a good year, and it led to a great trade at the deadline. However, in the case of Daniel Vogelbach, it severely damaged the team in the short term and the long term.
Maybe the Mets were always going to hire David Stearns. Certainly, it didn’t seem like an accident Craig Counsell‘s contract was up the same time as Stearns’, and Counsell wasn’t looking to sign a contract extension with the Milwaukee Brewers.
To that end, it does seem like Showalter was hired for two years with a chance to force himself upon Stearns. Certainly, if Showalter was more like Dusty Baker in his willingness to balance his strengths while accepting the analytics more, perhaps we would have seen Showalter remain on the job.
However, for better or worse, Showalter wanted to manage this team like he wanted to manage. In the case of players like Francisco Lindor, they loved him for it. Perhaps, they would’ve loved him more if he changed even a little bit, and the Mets won the World Series.
All this said, Showalter does deserve respect for taking this job and not embarrassing the Mets organization in the process. He did come at a time when things were going sideways, and he did in fact restore some public credibility, and he did keep the media pressure off in ways Bobby Valentine and Willie Randolph (two better Mets managers) ever could.
He deserved the dignity of being able to end it publicly on his terms. He earned the respect of his players, and he does deserve some gratitude from the fans, especially with all the damage that had been done to the organization since Brodie Van Wagenen and Mickey Callaway did, and the shadow it cast until Showalter’s hiring.
In all honesty, hopefully, we will see Showalter get one more crack at managing. Hopefully, like Baker, he will accept the game has changed, and we can see his strenghts carry him to that elusive World Series title. With that, he may eventually get into the Hall of Fame.
This has been about one of the most disappointing New York Mets seasons in a long time. Part of the reason for it was how unexpected the team’s failures have been.
This is the type of season we never expected under Steve Cohen. Unlike with the Wilpons, this really isn’t his fault, and we can expect him to learn from it.
The Wilpons never learned, and some careers were ruined. Two of those careers were Amed Rosario’s and Noah Syndergaard’s. We were reminded of that when the Los Angeles Dodgers traded Syndergaard to the Cleveland Guardians for Rosario.
These were once two young players who were supposed to be part of a young Mets core. The next great Mets run that never happened.
The Mets failings with Rosario have been detailed here previously. His bat wasn’t Major League ready as he never developed enough plate discipline, and it’s held him back his entire career (cautionary tale for Ronny Mauricio).
He was given a mentor in Jose Reyes who was more interested in taking Rosario’s playing time for himself. When his defense wasn’t up to par, they never switched him to another position where he could thrive (like CF).
There were other issues like an antiquated hitting approach with Chili Davis. Having Terry Collins and Mickey Callaway as your manager is by no means conducive to player development.
After all the Mets did to ensure Rosario never reached his immense potential, it’s a minor miracle the Guardians saw enough value in Rosario to make him a significant part of the Francisco Lindor trade.
As for Syndergaard, much of his issues were related to Jeff Wilpon playing doctor. There was the 2017 incident where Syndergaard didn’t get an MRI before exacerbating his last injury.
We can’t know if that incident led to Syndergaard’s future injuries, but it assuredly couldn’t have helped. Of note, Syndergaard’s rehab was rushed to get him back on the mound for some “starts” (read gates) before the end of that season.
Something was wrong with Syndergaard at the end of the 2019 season. Part of it seemed like the Mets forcing Wilson Ramos on him. In reality, it was Syndergaard was hurt.
Syndergaard had a torn UCL, and it was discovered during spring training. Controversially, he’d have Tommy John surgery during the height of the pandemic. Right then and there, his being Thor was over.
The Wilpons were in power during Syndergaard’s Tommy Joh rehab. For some reason, Mets pitchers never handled that rehab well. Syndergaard would be Jeff Wilpon’s last victim.
Syndergaard is now just another pitcher. He’s mentally broken, and not even the Dodgers could resuscitate his career. In fact, the Dodgers traded the injured pitcher away.
Rosario and Syndergaard were supposed to be great Mets who led the team to multiple World Series titles. After the Wilpon led Mets were done with them, they were no more.
Now, they’re bit parts getting traded at the deadline. One, Rosario, becomes a utility player. The other, Syndergaard, was just moved to just get rid of him.
This is a cruel fate for both players. They both should’ve been more. We wanted it for them, they deserved it, and we deserved it. The Wilpons ruined them like everything they touch. It’s cruel.
Finally, Buck Showalter was asked why the New York Mets best (or second-best hitter) Francisco Álvarez was batting ninth. Showalter gave a rambling answer which grew increasingly out of touch.
Apparently, Álvarez is batting ninth because Taijuan Walker is a right-handed pitcher. Obviously, Showalter is just going to ignore Álvarez having a 174 wRC+ against right-handed pitching and a 33 wRC+ against left-handed pitching.
He said Álvarez needed to hit ninth because he has some personal issues. Obviously, none of us are in a position to question that. However, it is strange how these personal issues are not present when there’s a left-handed pitcher on the mound.
Showalter said he likes having two high OBP guys ahead of Álvarez. On the surface, it sounds smart. Then, you realize those players are Daniel Vogelbach (.319 OBP in May) and Mark Canha (.324 OBP).
Apparently, Showalter is managing like it’s five years ago. That may not be a surprise given how his managerial approach is more akin to managing like it’s 30 years ago.
As if the above didn’t leave you dumbfounded enough, Showalter then said be views the ninth place hitter as important. He puts it of higher importance than most people.
Before Showalter was hired by the Mets, he only managed one other National League team – the Arizona Diamondbacks. When he managed the Diamondbacks, the pitcher hit ninth.
In the previous game against the Philadelphia Phillies, Tomás Nido batted ninth. Nido has been the Mets worst hitter all season. In fact, Nido has batted ninth 18 times and eighth just three times.
Showalter can try to sell is he suddenly believes ninth is more important than we all think. However, this only seems to be the case with him when Álvarez is in the lineup against a right-handed pitcher.
Examining the response, there is no charitable reading of Showalter’s explanations. All told, he’s showing he’s ignoring the data and continuing to try to hold back the rookies in favor of the underperforming veterans.
If this was Luis Rojas, people would be demanding he be fired. For that matter, those calls were made for Rojas and Mickey Callaway before him for (scripted) decision making less egregious than this.
For some reason, Showalter has everyone fooled into thinking he’s better than them or anyone. As time increasingly passes, we see a game that has continued to pass him by. That’s all the more problematic when you consider that Showalter is a manager with one postseason series win in 22 years.
For some reason, the New York Mets just don’t want to give Dominic Smith a full time job. Worse yet, they don’t want him to earn it either.
Consider this, of all the players on the Opening Day roster, Smith is the only player who has not started at least four games in a row. Yes, that does mean Travis Jankowski has.
As previously noted, the Mets first went with Robinson Canó and then J.D. Davis at DH. During Davis’ “winning” the DH job, an admittedly underperforming Smith was sent to Triple-A.
At the time, Smith was hitting .186/.287/.256. Again, when that’s your line, you put yourself in that position, especially when you have options.
However, Davis has similarly faltered. Since June 19, he’s hitting .162/.279/.297 striking out 16 times in 43 plate appearances (37.2%). That’s with a three hit game!
Nowhere will you find the Mets even contemplating sending down Davis. Again, he’s not hitting at all, and he can’t field any position. He’s literally useless to this Major League roster.
Despite that, he continues to get at-bats at the expense of Smith. Even with Smith historically faring better against left-handed pitching, they’ll sit Smith for Davis.
You don’t do this if you’re invested in Smith. That goes double when Smith had a hot bat. The reason is the Mets, at least the Sandy Alderson directed Mets, have never been truly invested in Smith.
This goes back to 2017 and 2018.
Smith and Amed Rosario struggled when they were first called-up. The reaction to each of them could not have been more different.
Smith was given competition to Adrian Gonzalez, who was really signed to play. The Mets preference was made all the easier when Smith was late to pregame, and Mickey Callaway felt the need to display his authority.
This was before Smith’s sleep apnea was diagnosed and treated.
When Gonzalez played poorly and was released, the Mets turned to Jay Bruce and Wilmer Flores. This for a team who was out of it in May and dead in the water in June.
To make matters worse, Smith was used as a left fielder for a good portion of the time. This was a first round pick and top 100 prospect. A Mets team completely out of it thought the best course of action was to see what he had . . . in the outfield.
Keep in mind, Rosario struggled, and the Mets went out of their way to ensure he’s have no competition for the job. Better yet, the team sent down Luis Guillorme for a stretch leaving Rosario as the ONLY shortstop on the roster.
Between 2018 and the present, there’s a pattern, and the person at the helm has been Sandy Alderson. People can say he’s out of the loop, but he’s out there making statements the Mets need to address the DH position.
That was yet another shot at Smith, a player he didn’t want.
Remember, the Mets nearly traded Smith for Eric Hosmer (horrendous contract), Chris Paddack (injured pitcher with a 96 ERA+), and Emilio Pagan (81 ERA+ over last three seasons). That’s just how much they wanted rid of Smith.
They wanted to take on a ton of money to get worse. It’s no wonder Steve Cohen was reportedly forced to nix the deal.
That’s all well and good, but the front office response was just to not let Smith earn a job. On some level, that’s personal. There’s certainly a history backing it up.
Overall, the Mets didn’t want Smith. Alderson has a long track record of not giving him a fair shot. Now, the Mets are ready to move on without even so much as giving him a week of starts to try to earn a job.
The New York Mets made the announcement they are officially bringing back Old Timer’s Day. So far, it has been announced Mets greats Cliff Floyd, Howard Johnson, Daniel Murphy, and Robin Ventura will be there. We are undoubtedly going to see many other greats.
As we work through the list of players which will undoubtedly include Mike Piazza and David Wright, the most important player would be Carlos Beltran. This would set the perfect stage and opportunity for the best free agent signing and center fielder in team history to return.
The saga of Beltran and the Mets is in many ways a story still unfolding. During his playing days, he was never fully appreciated by the fans. Part of that was his very disappointing first year in Flushing, and then in 2006, when he was everything and more the fans expected, he would strikeout looking to end the NLCS. After that, while Beltran was great, he was part of the Mets teams who collapsed in consecutive seasons.
From there, he was a bit injury prone. Lost in everything was the Wilpons interference with his ability to get the treatments he needed. There was also the fact he graciously accepted a move to right field because it was what was best for the team. After his departure, it did seem Beltran was better received by Mets fans as evidenced by the ovation at the 2013 All-Star Game.
Of course, we know all too well Beltarn was initially hired to replace Mickey Callaway. He wouldn’t get the chance to manage one game because of his role in the Houston Astros cheating scandal. To date, he is the only player to face any discipline as the callow Wilpons fired him.
Sadly, it wasn’t the Mets who gave Beltran his path back into baseball. That would be the Yankees. Much like how Beltran began his post playing career working in the Yankees front office, he will be part of the Yankees’ YES studio shows. It is something the Mets could’ve potentially done with SNY, but it should be noted the Wilpons still owned the network, and as such, Steve Cohen didn’t have the chance.
This is now Cohen’s opportunity. He can reach out to Beltran and bring him back for a big ovation at Citi Field. He can remember him of all that was great during his time, and that Beltran will go to Cooperstown largely because of his time with the Mets.
Remember, Beltran will be on the ballot for the first time next season. Looking through his career, Beltran will likely have three choices for his Hall of Fame cap: (1) Royals; (2) Mets; or (3) blank. Beltran played more games for the Mets than any other team. He also accumulated his highest WAR, all three of his Gold Gloves, both of his Silver Sluggers, and five of his nine All-Star appearances with the Mets.
Fact is, Beltran will go to the Hall of Fame because of what he did in a Mets uniform. He belongs in Cooperstown as a Met, and his 15 should be retired. However, there is evidently still some healing which needs to occur to secure Beltran wearing that Mets cap. That should begin with Old Timer’s Day. It’s an excellent opportunity for a first step, and hopefully, it will be a big step in what can be a journey for Beltran emerging as a great former Mets ambassador for years to come.
Maybe, it’ll work out. Maybe, the real problem in Los Angeles was Arte Moreno. With the Wilpons, you don’t have to convince New York Mets fans of that.
That said, there’s nothing to like about the Mets hiring Billy Eppler as the New GM.
You’re stuck as to where to begin on how this is a bad choice, and you’re left wondering why the Mets didn’t just delay this process longer. After all, this is someone who couldn’t build a winner with Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani, who is now entasked can with building a winner around Jacob deGrom and Francisco Lindor.
It doesn’t make sense. That’s even before you consider his free agent signings make the Bobby Bonilla deal seem like a bargain. The problem for Eppler was he never turned Justin Upton into a David Wright.
A big reason why is Eppler has a very poor draft and player development track record with the Angels. With respect to the Mets, it’s the one of the few things they did well, so the hope is their existent structure can offset one of Eppler’s many weaknesses.
However, in many ways, none of this is Eppler’s biggest issue. No, Eppler’s biggest issue is he hired Mickey Callaway.
Like Alderson, Eppler hired the worst kept secret in baseball. Like Alderson, he kept Callaway employed while he harassed women.
Undoubtedly, Eppler will blame Joe Maddon, who really wanted Callaway. Moreover, he can blame the owner who pushed to hire Maddon and give him what he wants.
It’s akin to Alderson. Most are aware Callaway was hired by Jeff Wilpon. Alderson wanted Kevin Long or Brad Ausmus, a manager actually hired by Eppler.
In a way, that might be one of the positives we try to tell ourselves. Alderson and Eppler are aligned in many ways. We also hear Eppler is good friends with David Stearns, who is the real target. The other bonus is he’s not Brodie Van Wagenen.
However, in the end, this amounts to nothing more than talking ourselves into a bad hire. We can continue to do it until the Mets hire the president of baseball operations they ultimately want to hire.
It was a very poorly kept secret back in 2017 if he had his druthers Sandy Alderson wanted to hire Kevin Long to succeed Terry Collins as the New York Mets manager. Long didn’t take anything for granted coming extremely prepared for the interview with binders of information. More than that, he had already had a profound impact on the Mets organization rejuvenating Curtis Granderson while transforming Yoenis Cespedes and Daniel Murphy.
However, it wasn’t to be. Instead, Jeff Wilpon got it in his mind he wanted to have Mickey Callaway as the manager. Despite Callaway interviewing poorly, it was enough for Wilpon to hire Callaway after one interview because the Philadelphia Phillies showed interest. As Mets fans can recall, this went over about as well as when the Mets included Jarred Kelenic in the Robinson Cano trade because the Phillies showed interest in Edwin Diaz.
Since then, the managerial position has been a disaster for the Mets. Callaway proved to be an awful human being harassing female reporters. After him, the Mets hired and then were effectively forced to fire Carlos Beltran. In a mad scramble, they hired Luis Rojas while completely failing to give him any chance to succeed in the position. Rather that let him continue to grow, the team has decided they need to go in a different direction.
Now, there are many moving pieces before the Mets get to hire a new manager. The biggest is the need to hire a new president of baseball operations. Presumably, that is the person who will and should have the biggest input on who the Mets next manager will be. Whatever the case, the Mets have the right to correct the mistake they made in 2017 and hire Long.
For his part, Long served the world with a reminder why he was managerial material. During the National League Wild Card Game, he was sitting next to superstar Juan Soto, a player Long has helped get the most out of his ability. Soto was wearing a Trea Turner jersey (another player Long has helped immensely) while Long wore a Max Scherzer jersey.
Max Scherzer went over to high five Juan Soto and Kevin Long after the walk-off home run ? pic.twitter.com/HvV0s4FLzE
— Blake Finney (@FinneyBlake) October 7, 2021
In that moment, you saw everything you could have possibly wanted to see from a future manager of your team. He was standing there with his star player, a player in Soto he helped take from a 19 year old wunderkind to a bona fide Major League superstar. More than that, he showed the incredibly great relationship he fostered with his superstar player, the very type of relationship a manager absolutely needs to have any level of success.
We also saw the sense of loyalty he has for his players. He went out there to support both Turner and Scherzer. It was a moment which meant so much to them Scherzer made sure to go over to the stands to celebrate his team’s walk-off win with them. Keep in mind here, Scherzer is a free agent who should be on everyone’s radar.
When we look at the modern game and the current status of the managerial role, it is increasingly about relationships with the players and the ability to communicate. It’s no longer about Gil Hodges playing a hunch or Davey Johnson trusting his eyes over the data. Increasingly, it’s about taking the game plan prepared by the front office and not just executing it, but getting the players to buy in on the plan.
Putting aside what happened in the NL Wild Card Game, this is exactly what Long does. He helped transform Cespedes from a wild swinger to a player better able to identify his pitch and become a monster at the plate. There was also Murphy who went from gap to gap hitter to a legitimate threat at the plate. Murphy showed the 2015 postseason wasn’t a fluke by any means when he became an All-Star and MVP candidate with the Washington Nationals. It should be noted Long followed Murphy to Washington, D.C.
In total, Long is what you want in a manager. He can process data and translate it to players in a way where they can understand and execute it. We also see he is a coach who can foster great relationships with this players. He is also loyal to his players, and they love him. Short of being able to steal away the Bob Melvins of the world, you’re not going to find a better managerial candidate than Long.
Alderson knew it in 2017, and he can do what he wanted to do back then and make Long the Mets manager. If that is the case, we can expect the maddening Mets offense to finally click and for this team to reach the World Series potential we know they have.
According to Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, the New York Mets are looking to hire a big name president of baseball operations. This has led to Mets fans clamoring for Theo Epstein.
The talking points are breaking the curses with the Boston Red Sox and Chicago Cubs. Of course, this ignores the Mets are partially in the predicament they’re in because of Theo Epstein.
Initially, the Mets had hired Jared Porter to be the GM with Zack Scott beneath him. This create the opportunity for Porter to grow into the president role under Sandy Alderson’s tutelage.
As we know, that didn’t happen due to a report from Mina Kimes and Jeff Passan of ESPN which reported Porter’s sexual harassment transgressions while a member of the Cubs. An important part of that report was the Cubs knew and actively tried to whitewash and hide the claims.
On this topic, remember Mets owner Steve Cohen hired WilmerHale to investigate the organization in the wake of the Porter and Mickey Callaway news. This led to the firing of at least two people, but more than that, it was supposed to be an indication the Mets were going to change the organizational culture and uproot these behaviors.
Cohen can’t do that and then hire Epstein. Epstein built the culture Cohen purportedly wants to eliminate. By hiring Epstein, it’s a signal Cohen never actually cared.
Frankly, Epstein doesn’t care. He’s the same guy who traded for Aroldis Chapman the same year he was suspended for choking and threatening his girlfriend with a gun firing it off in the garage. He’s also the person who actually tendered Addison Russell a contract after his vile physical and emotional abuse of his ex-wife.
If you don’t care and just think curse breaker, well, honestly, that’s just wrong. There’s no need for Epstein when there are so many other great people out there who could do an even better job.
If you remain unconvinced, remember, Epstein pissed off Kris Bryant with the service time manipulation. The Mets are in desperate need of a third baseman, and the free agent pool is essentially Bryant or nothing.
Does it really help the Mets to hire someone who will make signing all the more difficult? In reality, your answer shouldn’t hinge on this. There’s more than enough reasons beyond this to never want Epstein as part of the organization. In fact, there’s no reason why Epstein is even in baseball.
The New York Mets traveled to Atlanta, and they lost yet another road series.
1. At 17-25, the Mets are an awful road team, and they’re not going anywhere if they can’t correct this.
2. When you include the one Washington Nationals make-up game, the Mets three out of four. Digging deeper, they’ve lost 10 out of their last 16.
3. Unless there was a sinkhole on the infield dirt, Luis Guillorme, who was charging in on the ball, was not out-running Ronald Acuña to third.
4. Only Jacob deGrom could have a seven inning game where he allows three runs while walking none and striking out 14 a bad start.
5. It’s very troubling Sandy Alderson hired Mickey Callaway (or at least was the GM when Jeff Wilpon did it), hired Jared Porter, and came extremely close to signing Trevor Bauer. Oh, and he was the guy who brought back Jose Reyes.
6. There’s absolutely no place for Bauer in baseball.
7. We’re starting to see more Jeff McNeil at third late in games. He should be there everyday.
8. Mets are a clutch James McCann three run homer from the walls caving in on them.
9. He was injured, but David Peterson hasn’t been good or consistent all year. The sad part is even with that they still need him.
10. Maybe it’s a blip, or maybe the league has figured out Sean Reid-Foley, but his last few appearances haven’t been good.
11. The Thomas Szapucki outing was disheartening as he didn’t really show any indication he’d be ready to help the Mets this year.
12. Tylor Megill has more than earned more starts, and seeing everything, Corey Oswalt should be slotting in behind him in the rotation as they continue to stretch him out.
13. Albert Almora has now surrendered more homers and RBI than he’s hit. Good on him for volunteering to pitch, but there’s no reason for him to stay up over Billy McKinney when Brandon Nimmo is healthy.
14. Mets need a lot more of what Dominic Smith provided this past week, especially since his LF defense isn’t good.
15. Pete Alonso has been hitting a lot better of late, but sooner or later, he needs to start hitting a home. The same could be said for this entire Mets team.
16. With the great second base defense Jose Peraza has provided and his big hits the Mets should be really be considering his role going forward with the team. You could argue he should be playing everyday.
17. The Mets will never do it, but J.D. Davis still has minor league options and can’t refuse an assignment to Syracuse. Given how he can’t play a position, and his activation may force a Peraza DFA, he should be sent to Syracuse where he can actually learn how to play defense.
18. Speaking of Syracuse, it’s an embarrassment to the Mets and MLB that the Mets organization is not providing housing and other needs to minor leaguers they’re barely paying.
19. The quote was met with derision but hitting coach Hugh Quattlebaum is right. He needs to focus on processes. When processes are correct and clicking, the runs will then follow.
20. The Mets and Yankees both head into the Subway Series in complete disarray and with the threat of all three games being rained out.
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