New York Mets: Mickey Callaway making excuses like a beaten man

The New York Mets have had an extremely rough go of things and Mickey Callaway is making excuses like a beaten man who is in over his head.

The New York Mets have not been looking good. That’s probably the understatement of the century. They have been very bad. They have made their 11-1 start look like a mirage. It honestly feels like it was some other team that started so well. Mickey Callaway likely did not expect his first year as a manager to be this tough. To say he has learned a lot would be another large understatement.

And this first year has been an experience for Callaway to say the least. It started out with everything he touched turning to gold as the team got off to an 11-1 start. Ever since, everything he has touched has turned into something else. His relief pitchers can’t pitch, his lineup can’t hit other than a couple of exceptions, and his defense makes bone headed mistakes. For an example, watch the Cubs steal home rather easily for the bone headed mistake concept.

Bad seasons happen. We all know they happen in Queens. Players have been injured. As of this past weekend the Mets had 17 players that hit the disabled list. That’s not easy for any manager, much less a rookie manager. Mickey Callaway cannot be expected to go onto the field of play and win the games for them.

However, when the answers to questions include excuses, the optics become bad. This is especially true in New York when every word gets magnified. After the latest loss to the Cubs, take a look at what he had to say (via the NY Post):

"“Let’s be honest, this is a tough place to play. New York is tough on players. It’s tough on everybody. If they were in Cleveland or somewhere else, maybe they wouldn’t feel that pressure, but you are playing in New York. We do play in New York. We have passionate fans that want to see a good ballclub out there, so we have to do some things to get over that and make sure that we’re focused every second of the day that we’re out there.”"

More from Empire Writes Back

Look at that answer for a moment. Mickey is making an excuse here and it really isn’t even a legitimate one.

To be far, he is supposed to take the pressure off his players. He is not going to say that his team stinks and that he needs new players. Of course not. But the way he diverts the issue is the cause for poor optics.

First of all, the assessment really isn’t accurate. Members of this current roster like Jacob deGrom, Noah Syndergaard and Steven Matz have performed in the World Series for the Mets. Yoenis Cespedes has been here, as has Jay Bruce.

Many of these players are accustomed to playing in New York already. The pressure that Callaway talks about is not a big factor for many of these players. They’ve been there before. Callaway is the one that hasn’t, and is new to the New York pressure.

Next: The more things change the more they stay the same

Excuses like this one simply make the manager look bad. He sounds like a guy grasping at straws and someone who is in over his head. For the record, I don’t believe that about Callaway. He can become a good manager with experience. But that is what he SOUNDS like. If he keeps that up he will get eaten alive by the New York media.

Admit you don’t know. It’s OK.

Home/New York Mets