A sweep of the Atlanta Braves provided a positive note to end the New York Mets’ 2019 season on Sunday.
Despite not reaching the playoffs for a third-straight season, Mickey Callaway’s men finished at 86-76 for just their third winning campaign in the past 11 years.
As noted earlier, there were plenty of positives to take out of the season.
Pete Alonso set the major-league single-season record for most home runs hit by a rookie at 53.
Jacob deGrom looks as though he’s a lock for his second-straight NL Cy Young Award.
Amed Rosario took a huge step in his career development while Jeff McNeil and JD Davis could be two of the league’s better natural hitters.
Michael Conforto managed to stay healthy for a second consecutive season while posting a career-high 33 home runs.
All that, and they still couldn’t make the playoffs, which brings the heat on Callaway as the manager.
The 44-year-old — who just completed his second year as the Mets’ bench boss — continues to claim that he’s not worried about his job status.
“I don’t have any anxiety,” Callaway said (h/t New York Post). “I’m proud of what we did this year… I’m proud of how hard I worked and I left everything on the field.”
While he improved his win total by nine in 2019 compared to last season, Callaway’s in-game management and handling of the bullpen put his standing on shaky ground.
For a team that finished just three games back of the final NL Wild Card spot, some of those questionable decisions the manager made are magnified even further.
He was loyal to a fault to closer Edwin Diaz, who put up one of the worst seasons ever by a reliever in MLB history by allowing 15 home runs in 58 innings of work during his debut season in Queens.
Diaz headlined a struggling bullpen that was not helped by the manager’s decision making.
That same loyalty Callaway showed Diaz extended, for the most part, to veterans Robinson Cano and Todd Frazier — whose struggling bats were often the manager’s first choice ahead of Davis or Dominic Smith.
Those were key decisions throughout the season that cost the Mets invaluable games in the standings.
It’s why SNY’s Andy Martino’s report on Thursday didn’t come as much of a shock to many.
Mets sources said that they would “be surprised” if Callaway is the manager of the team in 2020.
If the Mets are keen on making a change, they couldn’t have picked a better offseason to do so.
The Chicago Cubs and manager Joe Maddon parted ways on Sunday after five seasons and one World Series title together. As one of the most successful managers of this generation, the 65-year-old is not going to be unemployed for long.
Maddon has won everywhere he’s gone, leading the Tampa Bay Rays to their first-ever American League pennant in 2008 before helping the Cubs win their first World Series crown in 108 years.
Joe Girardi remains an intriguing name for Mets fans, too.
The former Yankees manager has proven that he can win in the Big Apple and can handle the pressure that comes with it. A no-nonsense attitude that comes with his coaching style could also be vital to help establish some order in the bullpen.
As it stands, the San Diego Padres, Los Angeles Angels, and Pittsburgh Pirates are the only teams with managerial vacancies after Andy Green, Brad Ausmus, and Clint Hurdle were axed.
There are more expected to come, however, with the likes of Callaway and Philadelphia Phillies skipper Gabe Kapler on thin ice.
