Mickey Callaway has admitted in the past that he prefers to forego common sense which only confirms that he isn’t fit to be the manager of the New York Mets.
Earlier this month, the second-year boss admitted that “85-percent of our decisions go against the analytics,” a fancy word for stats and trends that help predict the outcome of games and key events.
In an era of Major League Baseball which hinges on numbers and stats, it was a statement that made little sense. It also provided plenty of concern amongst a Mets fan base that suddenly found itself in the thick of a playoff hunt.
The Mets’ red-hot streak in the second half has seemingly been in spite of the manager, who has continuously made puzzling decisions that sabotage the team’s chances of winning.
It just so happens that his worst decisions are being highlighted in must-win divisional games against the NL East-leading Atlanta Braves.
Less than two weeks ago, Callaway pulled Steven Matz after just 79 pitches despite the southpaw retiring 14-straight Braves while holding a slim 2-1 lead.
The Mets blew the lead and lost the game.
On Friday night, Callaway chose to lift reliever Justin Wilson after a 10-pitch 13th inning of a 1-1 game to bring on the unstable Jeurys Familia for a third-straight day of work.
Familia gave up a run and the quiet Mets bats came up empty to lose in the 14th.
The very next night, in a 5-5 game, Callaway basically took the bat out of Amed Rosario’s hands following Jeff McNeil’s lead-off double in the bottom-of-the-seventh.
The young Mets shortstop had two hits on the night and was batting .351 over his last 41 games. Yet, Callaway ordered him to bunt, which went wrong.
Rosario was unable to get a bunt down, shortening his at-bat and causing him to ground to a fielder’s choice as McNeil was thrown out trying to advance to third.
It snuffed out the inning and opened an opportunity for the Braves as they scored a combined four runs off Brad Brach and Edwin Diaz in the eighth and ninth innings.
Just as the Mets get close to that last Wild Card spot in the National League, Callaway steps in and makes things that much more difficult.
Entering Sunday, they were tied with the Milwaukee Brewers while looking up at the Philadelphia Phillies and Chicago Cubs.
With Callaway at the helm, it’s reasonable to think that the Mets might not be able to get over the hump and into the Wild Card.
And not because of their play on the field.
