Callaway’s thoughts on analytics don’t add up

ATLANTA – Say what now? Callaway made some curious comments on Thursday about the Mets’ use and functionality of analytics. For a team that was one of the last in the Major Leagues to beef up its analytics department, Callaway’s opinion on how he uses numbers to his advantage (or in this case, doesn’t) lifted the curtain on some of his questionable in-game decisions.

“I bet 85 percent of our decisions go against the analytics. And that’s how it’s always going to be, because that is just on paper,” Callaway said. “It doesn’t take into account the person as a human being, how he performs in these big spots, all these things that a manager

looks at. So you’re going against analytics most of the time.

“But I think there’s something to be said when all things are equal and you’re taking all these things into consideration and the decision still feels very equal. Then OK, let’s lean on what does the matchup look like? What is the projection that our analytics department is coming up with? What does it look like?

“And if it’s a lot of points one way or the other, I think that’s something to take into consideration to try and make a better decision.”

The Mets were two decades late to the analytics party, which placed them two decades behind their most sophisticated competition, give or take. This was supposed to be the year all of that changed. Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen hired Adam Guttridge as the assistant GM of systematic development over the offseason.

Guttridge co-founded NEIFI Analytics, a sports data analysis company, in 2015 and worked as an independent consultant for Major League Baseball teams. He was the manager of baseball research and development for the Brewers and consulted for the Rockies, among other endeavors.

“One thing I try to stay away from is even using the word analytics,” Guttridge told the Daily News during Mets spring training in March. “The way we see this, and what we’re talking about, do analytics change the way players play, or is it just fundamentally what we’re doing?”

AGGRESSIVE ALONSO

Pete Alonso is one of the most enthusiastic players on the Mets roster. He’s generally bubbly, always optimistic and a student of the game. Lately, though, that eagerness has ran him into some trouble.

Alonso’s aggressiveness on grounders hit to his right side have cost the Mets added base runners over a handful of recent games. The Mets plan to set up a special instruction with Alonso and third-base coach Gary DiSarcina in Kansas City on Thursday to help the rookie along.

In the seventh inning of Wednesday’s 6-4 loss to the Braves, Tyler Flowers hit a grounder to second baseman Ruben Tejada. Alonso, already a few steps off the first-base bag, ran lineally at the dribbler but it slipped past him to Tejada.

The Mets rookie charged so hard at the dribbler that he was almost at the second-base bag when Tejada recovered the ball. Flowers, a slow-moving catcher who was motoring along the line, was still nowhere near first base. But Te

jada had no one to throw the ball to. Seth Lugo had a mental lapse and didn’t sprint toward the bag until he realized Alonso was making a beeline for the for the ball.

Flowers scored the goahead run on the infield RBI single as part of a five-run inning for the Braves. Alonso was noticeably mad at himself for the mental error on the over-enthusiastic play.

“We talked a little bit about that,” Mets manager Mickey Callaway said. “He’s such a competitor. He’s going to hustle on every play, we’ve seen that. Even on ground balls to second, he’s going to bust it down the line. So we talked a little bit about being aware of where the second baseman is around him.”