New York Mets: Mickey Callaway has been playing with fire all season, but it’s working

The New York Mets, led by manager Mickey Callaway are now five games into this 2019 season. And while the results are nice so far, the Mets skipper is playing with fire. It is somehow working.

Mickey Callaway, presumably, is on a thin leash leading the New York Mets this season. It has been well documented that he was not the guy that the new regime has brought in and they could easily try to replace him after any mistake. However, after five games, it seems like the Callaway hire could end up being the last great move of the Sandy Alderson era.

No, that is a bit of a stretch but, now that the season is five games in, we are starting to see habits. While the season is still early into April, and the Mets are currently in the middle of a series with a team that is like 15 years into a re-build, the Miami Marlins, things we have seen multiple times now can begin to be assumed as a trend.

This observation by yours truly dates all the way back to the Opening Series against the Nationals. After a four hit game by Jeff McNeil, he was not in the starting lineup for the very next game. While he did play eventually, he still was rested. This was supposed to be a rest day and Callaway did not seem to care about playing the hot player.

The same can literally be said for the most recent ‘Metsies’ game, Tuesday night’s contest in South Florida. The Mets won the night before in large part due to Pete Alonso and his monster first career home run to cushion the lead. Well for Tuesday, he was also not in the starting lineup. Callaway noted that too, was because of a scheduled rest day.

But this time it worked out. He was rested in favor of Dominic Smith, who needed reps at first and Smith played well and despite the Mets trying their hardest to blow the lead in the end. Alonso, who had the highlight play the night before, and was on a four game hit streak, didn’t see the game until getting one at bat late.

Mickey Callaway, whether these decisions are actually his or not, seems to be hellbent on his rest days and specific matchups and going with that as opposed to the good old-fashioned best players in the lineup, in the same order, every day. The former is more of today’s game than the latter, but it must work in order to not be silly.

The interesting thing is that he is doing the same with his bullpen. Callaway is one of the luckiest managers in baseball in the sense he does not have to worry about pitching until at least the fifth of sixth inning every day with his starters being at the best Jacob deGrom, and at the very least capable. But, it’s when he gets to his bullpen that things get interesting.

On Tuesday, Callaway didn’t have Jeurys Familia or Edwin Diaz “available” whatever that means. Instead, he rode the struggling Seth Lugo, much like he did in the series vs the Nats, and also allowed Justin Wilson to make the save. Wilson is the one who blew the tied game in the third game against the Nationals.

Lugo now has an ERA over 8 this year. Yet, he has been used in multiple situations. He has taken big leads and almost blown them. As for a guy like Edwin Diaz, he was barely used Monday, threw one pitch in a game in the Nats series, and threw a great inning on Opening Day. He is fresh, he didn’t need to be unavailable.

Callaway also has Familia at his disposable too who is one of the best Mets closers of all-time. He has two closers on his team, yet in a one run game on Tuesday night, he chose not to use either.

I understand the Mets are really focused on riding talent and resting players. They really do have a lot of depth and you have to keep guys fresh. But, once we get later in the season something is going to have to give. Callaway is resting guys and sitting/resting hot players, it is only April, he shouldn’t be doing that.

He is playing with fire and putting it out himself, he always seems to be right. His team is 4-1 and he seems to trust every single player he has that they will do their job. It is not always pretty, in fact most of these Mets wins have been scary, but they are counting.

Callaway is changing his lineups, like how Amed Rosario led off Monday then back to Nimmo Tuesday, he is resting his hottest players like McNeil and Alonso, he is leaving Lugo out there for full innings at time even though he is giving up runs and not playing Diaz who has yet to give up one.

Regardless, it is all working. It seemed like Callaway was fine with sitting in that dugout on Tuesday and watch Justin Wilson blow that game and lose. After the Marlins hit him hard, it still didn’t work. The Mets and it almost felt lucky.

The Mets, over the course of five games, have gotten just enough from everyone to win four of them. Their offense has been great and even their starters are keeping them in the games.

Mickey Callaway is truly nuts, but he also might just be a genius. I am not sure how sustainable this all is, you can’t win baseball games by constantly benching the hot hand in favor of a predetermined “matchups,” or “rest” but the rest of the season could prove me wrong otherwise, I suppose.

Either way it is hard to argue that Mickey Callaway is not playing with fire. It is an orderly fire because it is working, for now.  Let’s hope it does not spread too big to put out. It can all crumble down quickly like we saw last season.