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Mets' Mickey Callaway Says He Can't Worry About Himself Amid Firing Speculation

Megan Armstrong

The New York Mets have stumbled to 20-24, but manager Mickey Callaway isn't tripping over speculation he might be fired.

"I'm coming in tomorrow to manage the New York Mets, and I'm going to be enthusiastic about it, and I'm going to continue to lead this team to something special," Callaway told reporters Saturday after the Mets lost 2-0 to the MLB-worst Miami Marlins for their fourth straight loss.

"As a leader, you can't ever worry about yourself," the second-year Mets manager continued. "I'm here. One of the things I told them when I got hired was selfless service is very important to me, and my goal every day is to improve that room, be consistent and make sure our players continue to improve."

According to Yahoo Sports' Matt Ehalt, Callaway is set to meet with Mets COO Jeff Wilpon when the team returns to New York after Sunday's game. The two met along with general manager Brodie Van Wagenen last week, and Ehalt reported that Callaway's job was not threatened during that meeting.

A four-game losing streak, including two lethargic losses to the 12-31 Marlins, could change that.

According to Mets third baseman Todd Frazier, though, Callaway is not to blame.

"It's not a question for me," Frazier said Saturday, per ESPN.com. "I think he's doing a great job. He can't go up there and hit. He makes the lineup, he puts the guys in at the right time, and we're not producing."

Frazier's opinion isn't widely shared, as SNY's Andy Martino received texts from anonymous veteran evaluators, executives and former players describing the Callaway-led Mets as "listless," "no energy," "something missing," "pathetic" and, the most telling, "something needs to change."

"Perhaps bench coach Jim Riggleman could change the tone," Martino wrote, "mentoring the up-and-coming Luis Rojas, a young coach who many see as a future manager. If the Mets need an interim skipper, Riggleman is the most obvious choice. But as one baseball person put it, elevating Riggleman would make it look like the Mets hired him for that exact purpose, rather than to mentor Callaway."

Callaway is under contract through 2020, so should he be let go, the Mets would be paying two managers. However, first-year GM Van Wagenen was brought in to turn the franchise around—not passively watch on as it sinks even further.

The Mets made noise in the offseason by signing 2018 National League Cy Young Award winner Jacob deGrom to a five-year, $137.5 million extension and executing a blockbuster trade with the Seattle Mariners for Robinson Cano and Edwin Diaz.

The organization looks on track now to make in-season noise for all the wrong reasons.

   

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