The Mets suffered a grueling 2-1 loss in 14 innings against the Braves after a dominant start from Jacob deGrom. They had plenty of chances to win the game but failed to get a clutch hit. Those type of games will happen in a long season, but the horrible decision making of Mickey Callaway is inexcusable in late August.
Deciding to Pitch to a Hitter Instead of a Pitcher
The decision to bring in Jeurys Familia for a third straight day over Chris Flexen is a reasonable one. Flexen has been dreadful at the big league level and Familia could not do worse than him. He struggled with his control but still found his way out of the inning with only one run allowed, which could have been prevented if Callaway had an idea of how to manage a game.
https://twitter.com/PeteAIonso/status/1165105168888803330
It was a great move to challenge Adeiny Hechavarria’s RBI triple, which ended up taking away the Braves run. With second and third with none out, the Mets had to pitch to the seven hitter Rafael Ortega. Familia did a terrific job of striking him out to get to Billy Hamilton with the pitcher on deck since the Braves were out of bench players.
Why Even Mess With Hamilton?
It would be a no doubt intentional walk situation to load the bases for the pitcher. The middle infielders can attempt to turn two up the middle and the corners can come home for the force, if Max Fried did not strikeout. Callaway decided to pitch to Hamilton with a drawn in infield. His whole career is based around him slashing ground balls and he did exactly that to give them the lead.
Billy Hamilton comes through with a MAJOR RBI single to give the @Braves the lead. pic.twitter.com/4iKjCpdHGo
— Bally Sports: Braves (@BravesOnBally) August 24, 2019
The only possible reason to pitch to Hamilton was the hope they could get him and Fried out to avoid facing Ronald Acuna Jr., but that is an unwarranted aggressive move. If the play backfires like it did, now you more than likely will give Acuna a chance to widen the Braves lead. Thankfully they got Acuna out, but anyone would much rather face Acuna with the bases loaded and two outs.
Mickey Will Be Gone Next Season
It is unbelievable that someone with the lack of knowledge that Callaway has, is allowed to manage a Major League Baseball team. He has shown countless times that he is a fool and does not have a grasp of how to manage. Callaway covers up his stupidity with his positive speeches after games to avoid giving a real answer. Thankfully, no matter how successful the Mets are this season Mickey Callaway will be out of a job one the season ends. Unfortunately he will be the only thing that can stop the Mets from a wild card birth.