Mickey Callaway's position as Mets manager is secure for now, at least.
With Callaway under fire from all corners after a sweep at the hands of the last-place Marlins over the weekend, general manager Brodie Van Wagenen told the team and the public Monday that the second-year skipper isn't going anywhere.
“Mickey’s our manager now, Mickey’s our manager going forward," Van Wagenen told reporters at a news conference before the opener of a four-game series against the Nationals at Citi Field.
He later added: “Mickey has our full support to lead this team for the foreseeable future.”
"Mickey's our manager now, Mickey's our manager going forward"
— SNY (@SNYtv) May 20, 2019
Brodie Van Wagenen says the Mets had meeting today with players & coaches re-affirming the organization's confidence in Mickey Callaway as manager pic.twitter.com/a74S1p7B0b
The public show of support amid a 20-25 start came after Van Wagenen held a closed-door meeting with the players and coaching staff, apparently touching on the same themes.
In his first season in charge of the Mets' baseball operations after years as a prominent baseball agent, Van Wagenen took responsibility for the underwhelming start after spending much of the offseason talking up the team's chances.
“The finger pointing is not going down to the players and coaches," he said. "We built this team in the front office…. The accountability…I want to place on my shoulders.”
Callaway met with reporters after Van Wagenen and said he was grateful for the backing offered by Van Wagenen and owners Fred and Jeff Wilpon.
"I want to thank Jeff and Brodie and Fred and our entire front office for their continued support," Callaway said. "I never felt that I wasn't supported at any time, and we've always had unbelievable dialogue about how we can do things better. We realize that we have to do things better and we have to start winning games and that's what our focus has been at all times."
Mickey: "I've never looked over my shoulder one day."
— Mike Mazzeo (@MazzYahoo) May 20, 2019
Callaway has a 97-110 record overall since being hired before the 2018 season by Van Wagenen's predecessor, Sandy Alderson. He had previously served as the Indians' pitching coach.
Aside from the indignity of losing three consecutive games to the Marlins, Callaway came under heavy fire after Robinson Cano failed to run hard out of the box on groundballs that turned into double plays twice during the series.
While Callaway defended the veteran in the immediate aftermath, Cano was out of the lineup Monday night and Callaway acknowledged that the lack of hustle over the weekend was a factor in that decision.
