There comes a time in a manager’s career where it is better to simply do nothing instead of over manage. Mets manager Mickey Callaway did not get that memo when he pulled Steven Matz out of the game with only 79 pitches after letting him hit for himself.
Steven Matz was not injured. Mickey Callaway made the move to take out Matz at 79 pitches "because we had the best reliever in baseball sitting down there."
"I'll make that move 100 times out of 100," Callaway said. "That's the right move, in my mind."
— Anthony DiComo (@AnthonyDiComo) August 15, 2019
Callaway’s trademark is his extremely questionable moves during his tenure as manager. Throughout the Mets hot streak he did not make many tough decisions as the starting pitching went deep into games, making it automatic to use Seth Lugo. Callaway did not even have a tough decision to make with Matz. He could have fell asleep and done nothing, which he should think about doing more often.
100 Times Out of 100?
Callaway’s defense of his move is the same idiotic thinking that will push him out of a job next season. Matz cruised through 14 straight batters prior to his departure. He even started the two out rally which gave the Mets a 2-1 lead at the time. Allowing Matz to hit when they were down one was a good move. Partly because he had settled in nicely and partly because he is a better hitter than anyone on the Mets bench.
"I have a problem with this one more than anything I've seen over the last couple months"@Todd_Zeile on Mickey Callaway's decision to pull Steven Matz: pic.twitter.com/P4lOnSODM1
— SNY (@SNYtv) August 15, 2019
Callaway was also unprepared heading into the seventh inning. He should have warmed up Lugo before the rally even started, if he had ideas of bringing him in. He waited until Pete Alonso, who was the last hitter of the inning, came up to hit. Callaway has been very hypocritical throughout his time in New York and proved it once again. He claimed he wanted his “best pitchers to carry us” then only needed a week to prove he lied.
Remember the “Pitching Guru”?
To Callaway, it made sense to push Marcus Stroman to 115 pitches in 6+ innings when he did not need to, but not to stick with the 79-pitch Matz. Even if everything worked out, Callaway did not have a real plan following Lugo. Granted, Lugo has been one of the best relievers in baseball over the last month, but most of that happened because they did not overuse him.
https://twitter.com/OysterBayBomber/status/1161834954520780802
Was Edwin Diaz actually expected to close out a potential one run lead against the Atlanta Braves? If that was the case, Callaway should never be allowed to manage again. You do not need to be Gil Hodges to figure out what the best move was.
Making Matters Worse
Once it was clear Lugo was no where near his best, Callaway decided to leave him out there long enough where he becomes unavailable for Thursday’s game. Then he used Jeurys Familia for the bottom of the eighth, which likely made him unavailable for Thursday since he threw in back to back days.
Familia did keep the Mets in the game but now they have to rely on the combo of Brad Brach and Edwin Diaz to close out a win. The Mets have the talent on their team to make a deep playoff run, but it is a shame their manager is not fit to run a little league team.