The Mets continue to mull their next steps after falling short in 2019, but it seems some decisions will come down soon. GM Brodie Van Wagenen is slated to chat with skipper Mickey Callaway today before reaching a final decision on who’ll run the dugout next year, per Joel Sherman of the New York Post.
MLBTR readers are ready to see Callaway depart, but the team has taken its time deciding. The skipper has one year left on a three-season pact. With several other organizations already making firm calls on their own managers, the Mets are on the clock. They also now have a bit of a better idea of what alternatives might be out there.
That it isn’t seen as a cut-and-dry decision is now obvious. Otherwise, the plug would already have been pulled. And perhaps that’s a reasonable stance. Callaway did enjoy the confidence of Van Wagenen and ownership all year long. He rewarded the decision not to fire him in the middle of the season — our readers were out for blood then, too — by overseeing a strong performance down the stretch. It wasn’t enough, but the front office can’t reasonably have expected more under the circumstances.
The decision on Callaway is obviously of great importance to the organization. But it’s also one that shouldn’t be allowed to distract from the many other challenges facing Van Wagenen and company. It remains to be seen how the club will address its needs after having already dedicated significant resources to building out a roster that wasn’t quite good enough in the just-completed campaign.
You’re always welcome in Cleveland, Mickey!
I assume you meant as a pitching coach. He is just not a Manager. Big difference. However, if you would like to send the Mets Terry Francona straight up, Mickey could be all yours!
Callaway should speak with the GM about GM’s job status.
You really have to feel bad for any man named Mickey. Aside from Mickey Mantle, they just don’t have what it takes. He was pretty much doomed from the start.
Mickey Mouse has toughed it out for over a hundred years. Don’t sully his name!
The mouse has done fairly well.
Mickey Rourke… debatable.
Mickey Rooney had a long life as well.
He sort of
succeeded
despite
himself…..
…as stated by a guy with screen name Wilford.
Clepto drops mike… leaves the stage
I don’t think his name is really clepto, but I could be wrong.
And who’s Mike? I’ve heard of mic drops, but dropping another man sounds like something The Undertaker would do.
Incidentally, Mickey and The Undertaker share a last name, but I believe the spelling is slightly different.
He should
have
spelled
it
MIC…..
Have you ever heard of Mickey Cochrane, the guy Mickey Mantle was named after?
Mickey is not Manager material. A pitching coach maybe. You could have him back how about Francona for Mickey straight up?
When fans criticize Callaway it brings to mind another manager who was labeled clueless. This manager went on to win a number of world championships, after coming up short in NY, Atlanta and St Louis. He is now widely recognized as a great manager.
Of course when the Yankees hired Joe Torre the fan reaction was negative. This was especially true with the talking heads at sports talk shows.
From the outside I observed the Mets as a team that stayed together, refused to throw any teammate under the bus ( Diaz, Famelia, ). Picked up their game in the second half and made the latter part of the year fun to watch.
How much blame for the first half and credit for the second half should be placed on Callaway?
Even in the most emotional moments I suggest people think in terms of how they would desire to be evaluated for their own production at their jobs.
I would hope that the decision about his future will be made strictly on the basis of what they have observed from the inside. Fans only observe things from the outside lacking knowledge of the overall context for decisions.
If Joe Torre had not been hired by the Yankees he would probably have been labeled a failure as a manager.
IMHO there’s two major elements in managing a ball club. Keeping the team in a fighting spirit and managing the Xs and Os. I’m not a Callaway fan, as he only did half the job. The team spirit was fine. He fails miserably on strategy, lineup and anything to do with strategy. As BVW has assembled the Mets to win now, they cannot afford the numerous mistakes Callaway makes during the season.
Torre was horrible with Braves. Give my barber a team and he would be a good manager
Agreed. Sometimes you do learn from your mistakes.
Well, that’s real nice of Brodie. You’d hate for Mickey to be fired, and the only way he finds out is by reading this website.
I wonder if he going to try to use him as a scapegoat. Then the next guy comes around and the same thing happens. He gets fired and the next guy comes in and they same thing happen. This time they both get fired.
Have you just started following MLB? That’s how it’s gone for at least 150 years, now.
If he leaves, will he change his name from Callaway to Calledaway? Better yet, he could become the bullpen coach, and then he would still be a Callaway.
I like your creativity; I would sign up for your newsletter if you had one. Have you considered applying for a front office position?
I already have one. I’m the assistant vice president of suspicious activity for mlbtraderumors.
This conversation is just a formality at this point. Everyone knows Callaway is a goner. Mets need a Manager with some real big league experience ala Joe Girardi.
You got the Joe right, just the wrong one. It’ll be Joe Maddon before Joe Girardi.
Has Girardi’s communication with players gotten any better, especially with teams getting younger? That’s the reason he was canned in the first place. The 2017 Yankees went 91-71 and barely lost to the Astros, and he was still fired.
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/21317291/brian-cashman-cites-connectivity-new-york-yankees-clubhouse-joe-girardi-firing
Joe Maddon brings clowns in the clubhouse, silly animals, and wears funny glasses. The kids like those things nowadays.
Maddon’s style doesn’t fit in the NY landscape. Mickey’s love the players comments had the wolves out at the start. Granted Joe M. comes with experience but I also dont see the Mets paying like that. the Padres will be a landing spot for either Joe. I thought Girardi at first but that was before Maddon departed chitown.
I’d be shocked if Maddon goes to the Mets.
Seems like a foregone conclusion that he’ll be the next Angels manager.
…Aaaaaaand, he’s fired.
I’ll vote for Buck. He’s used to dealing with the NY press.
Every in game decision was a collaboration with Rigglemen, who has managed a number of teams.
This fact only emphasizes the point that in game decisions often times present many choices. Two people can watch the same game and differ on strategy.
But the one absolute is that the manager has a lot of info concerning the context. Many decisions are made based on the so called book, while others go against the book. But the manager is the one who must answer for the result of his decision.
In this age of pampered and many times over paid players on one side and front offices that pour out print out after print out of analytical info on the other. The manager is really reduced to a middle manager robot.
Many decisions are a direct result of this info.. where the successful managers of by gone days represented a past gone forever.