Barring any last-minute change of heart, Mickey Callaway is expected to be in uniform, managing the Mets, for Monday night's series opener against the Nationals at Citi Field. As of right now, it appears Callaway won't be the scapegoat for the team's 20-25 start, losing five straight to the NL East weaklings, or getting swept by the mail-it-in Marlins.
You may not agree with that course of action, but try looking at the situation from this perspective: If the Mets' decision-makers choose to jettison Callaway here in mid-May, and Plan B doesn't immediately revive this slumping roster, guess who loses their human shield in the manager's office? If Jim Riggleman isn't Davey Johnson 2.0, then who gets barbecued?
Here's a hint: not Riggelman. At that point, we start taking a closer look up the ladder, and rightfully so. That's four months of turning the magnifying glass on the shot-callers upstairs, and we're betting they're not ready for that kind of heat before Memorial Day.
Actually, we'd think the same way. Aside from the type of clubhouse mutiny that helped scuttle Willie Randolph in June of 2008, or the civil war that claimed Bobby Valentine at the end of '02, the Mets can afford a little more time to see if Callaway is capable of engineering a turnaround in the short term.
This being May, Van Wagenen & Co. still have more to gain than lose by riding Callaway for a bit longer, but we're not talking about months, or even weeks here. The Mets, currently in a 6 {-game hole, are chasing the flawed Phillies _ not the '18 Red Sox. At the very least, it's worth giving Callaway this homestand, with visits by the Nats (19-26) and Tigers (18-26), to pull out of this season-threatening spiral. If they crash-and-burn, then Callaway probably doesn't deserve to be saved from the wreckage.
"I believe in these guys," Callaway said after Sunday's two-hit, 3-0 loss to the Marlins. "I understand that everybody's disappointed. The fans, ownership, myself, the team, because this is not who we are. We have to figure out who we are. I truly don't believe this is the type of team we are."
Bill Parcells, a casual Jersey Mets fan, would disagree with living in such record-denial. But there is a kernel of truth in Callaway's assessment. A handful of the Mets' critically-important players are performing like imposters or absent entirely, and not all of that should be put on the manager. Robinson Cano, Wilson Ramos, Jeurys Familia, Jed Lowie. Those were Van Wagenen's imports, so ultimately, a chunk of the blame goes to the GM for acquiring them _ and to the players as well.
Take Cano, who was vilified during the Meltdown in Miami _ and rightfully so _ for his failure to run out a pair of ground balls that turned into double plays. After Friday's episode, the chorus railed that Cano should be benched for Saturday's game _ he was not _ and then a similar thing happened Sunday, when Cano didn't leave the batter's box on a 5-foot roller that hugged the foul line in the fourth inning.
It was terrible optics, to borrow a favorite phrase from Sandy Alderson, and conventional baseball wisdom suggested that Cano immediately be yanked from the lineup to make an example of the repeat offender. If this were any other Met, Callaway would be foolish not to apply those standards, and invite even more angry criticism on himself.
But can Callaway really be expected to humiliate Cano in those instances? And why would Van Wagenen penalize the manager for letting Cano be Cano? The eight-time All-Star was Brodie's former client during his pre-GM life at CAA, and also part of the blockbuster December trade (along with Edwin Diaz) that was supposed to be spark Van Wagenen's winter makeover of the Mets.
If anything, Van Wagenen would want his manager to protect Cano, who's looking every minute of his 36 years (.250 BA, .679 OPS) through 41 games. So it's no surprise that's exactly what Callaway did given the opportunity this weekend. He just got burned because Cano didn't reward his manager at the plate.
"It's just piling up on him and it's tough," Callaway said. "Stuff like that happens when things are going bad."
Callaway is barely treading water, but Cano really can't be the anchor that drags him under. He's one of Brodie's made men. Blame Callaway for reminding us way too much of Art Howe, right down to the postgame "we battled" mantra, but let's see if the Mets have any fight left back at Citi.
If not, this debate is over, and so should be Callaway's tenure in Queens.
