There’s a new sheriff in town and a whole new direction and vibe with this team. While many of the players may be the same from the past few seasons, this is a very different team than we saw the past few seasons and, so far, it’s all for the better.
Although the Mets red hot start is not sustainable, their style of baseball certainly is. They’re aggressive on the bases, heads up in the field and smart at the plate. This team is fundamentally sound, prepared and continuously put in a position to win by a manager and coaching staff who clearly do their homework. They limit mistakes and pounce when the other team makes one of their own.
Mickey Callaway is not afraid to make unconventional moves – batting the pitcher eighth, intentionally walking two hitters to load the bases, pulling starters early, and switching up the lineup from game to game. So far he seems to have a knack for picking the right reliever or pinch hitter even when it seems like the wrong move – Hansel Robles in a tie game, Jacob Rhame to close it out, Juan Lagares to pinch hit, etc. You might say he has the Midas touch. [Note: For those of you unfamiliar, King Midas was a mythological figure who had the power to turn everything he touched into gold; he was not in fact the founder of the muffler shop chain.]
The players believe in Callaway and seem to be having fun on the field. Todd Frazier has everyone doing the salt and pepper shaker, Asdrubal Cabrera now loves playing second base and Yoenis Cespedes insists on playing through flu like symptoms. No one wants to sit out a game for fear they’ll miss out on another great comeback win.
“It’s been something else,’’ Callaway told the New York Post’s Kevin Kernan. “You can really feel the energy in the dugout. You don’t see that often. Everybody is present on the bench and they kind of feed off each other.’’
Callaway is not just pushing the right buttons, he’s communicating well with his team, the front office and the media. He’s methodical, but approachable. He’s a stickler for fundamentals, but also a fan of taking calculated chances. It sure seems like we’ve found our very own Joe Maddon or Bruce Bochy, a dugout leader who can instill his brand of baseball and set the tone for the next 10 years.
I don’t see Alderson lasting 10 years, and whoever replaces him will inevitably want to hire a manager from scratch
Didn’t he announce he would be here two more seasons and that’s it, or am I imagining that?
If they replace him with Ricco, Ricciardi, or Minaya, and the Mets have been winning, none of those guys would dream of replacing Mickey. If Alderson leaves and the whole front office goes with him, it’s because something has gone terribly wrong.
Name, I completely disagree. Ricco is the obvious successor and would likely keep the trains moving in the same direction as long as things are going well. Minaya is too old school and too much of a riverboat gambler to ever get another shot as a big league GM, much less in Queens. He’s a great scout, but that’s the extent of his talent – much like the great salesman who gets promoted to manager and then can’t lead.
As long as the Wilpons don’t suddenly tighten up the purse strings, this team could really set itself up for sustained success behind a strong leader.
Terry Collins is the longest tenured Met manager and “only” lasted 7 seasons, so 10 years is an almost unattainable bar to begin with.
When i forecast a 10 year manager, it’s the way Collins was brought in. GM announces he wants to rebuild, not in 1-2 years, but wants to be lazy and take 4-5 years, because then there’s no accountability for the manager. The once the rebuild is done the manager has a 4-5 year window where the team is competitive before it gets old and has to be torn down again.
Mickey is coming in without the initial 5 year losing cushion.
Over time, Callaway will have to adapt to changing roster talent and personalities on the team and in the front office, as well as rising divisional competition, league trends, inevitable media scrutiny, etc. longevity is never a given, but he seems to be in that same mold of Bochy and Maddon. Interesting to note is that Alex Cora also has his team off to a red hot start. Getting a team to believe in itself is more important than reading the charts and pushing buttons. That was the part that Collins got right, but Callaway seems to have a handle on both coaching aspects.
Plawecki broke his hand –
hairline fracture. expected to miss 2-3 weeks. Jose Lobaton and Tomas Nido and handle it defensively but we’re going to have a big hole in our lineup until either Plaw or TDA come back or we swing a deal. Available FAs include the still unsigned Carlos Ruiz and Geovany Soto, as well as Miguel Montero (just released by the Nats). Montero might make the most sense as he’s been playing and wouldn’t need ramp up time in Vegas.
Yes, but they will also be in the hunt for another backup veteran catcher.
While not good news, I’m not hitting the panic button over Plawecki/d’Arnaud. Fact is, we were getting little offensive production from that spot over the first 11 games and they hadn’t thrown out a single runner between them.
I thought Nido looked pretty good receiving behind the plate the other night. As long as he and Lobaton can handle the pitchers, we should be OK. Maybe one of them will get hot for three weeks at the plate.
“he seems to have a knack for picking the right reliever or pinch hitter even when it seems like the wrong move”. At 11-1, don’t kick a gift horse in the mouth. It would be fascinating to hear the reasons why he made certain moves.