Mickey Callaway is still the manager of the New York Mets, at least for now.
It seems like it’s only a matter of time before the second-year bench boss is shown the door after the Mets were swept by the worst team in baseball, the Miami Marlins, over the weekend.
Matt Ehalt of Yahoo Sports reported that Callaway’s job was safe through the end of their heinous road trip in which they went 1-5. But the Mets return home to Citi Field for a four-game series against the Washington Nationals starting Monday night.
It could be the manager’s last chance at saving his job, though his fate may already have been decided by ownership and Van Wagenen.
At least the Mets aren’t going to repeat the 2008 firing of Willie Randolph when they let him go in Los Angeles after the first night of a six-game, west-coast road trip.
A potential firing of Callaway is the Wilpon family and Van Wagenen’s last chance of getting the Mets back on track before the complete focus of Mets fans’ ire is aimed at them.
The Mets looked flat and uninspired down in Miami, which partly is the manager’s fault. However, ownership’s refusal to spend money on marquee players to make the Mets legitimate contenders has limited the chances of Callaway succeeding at his first managing gig.
While Mets fans are shouting for something to be done, star pitcher Noah Syndergaard came to his manager’s defense before returning home.
“I respect the hell out of Mickey,” Syndergaard said (h/t New York Post). “Mickey has tremendous leadership values. I think it’s bulls— what’s going on with this speculation there could be a change because we’re so early in the season — we’re a very small step away from putting this all together.”
To save his manager’s job, that very small step has to happen almost immediately.
