MEEK THE METS
Fighting for his job, Callaway’s crew instead rolls over in 2-hit debacle Cano doesn’t run — again VACCARO: Mickey’s gotta go
MIAMI — Come get them. Come get the vast majority of this Mets roster and haul it to the nearest garage sale, where it can be peddled for pennies on the dollar.
Of immediate consequence, though, is whether Mickey Callaway managed his final game for the team Sunday, in a 3-0 loss to the Marlins, completing a three-game sweep by this Triple-A organization. A club source said it’s unlikely Callaway would be fired Monday, but it’s clear there are no guarantees beyond that.
The Mets (20-25) lost their fifth straight and were shut out for a second day in a row. Callaway is the easy scapegoat, but his players have offered him few favors. It’s the same roster of players general manager Brodie Van Wagenen liked enough in the offseason to proclaim “come get us” to National League opponents.
“I believe in these guys,” Callaway said. “The same group in spring training that we believed in and I think we have got to get these guys going. I understand that everybody is disappointed: the fans, ownership, myself, the team, because this is not who we are. We have to figure out who we are.
“I truly don’t believe this is the type of team we are, but we have got to go out there and show it. It doesn’t matter what we believe if we’re not doing it. I understand everybody’s frustration, but these guys have been fighting and we’ll continue to fight.”
Van Wagenen, who was with the team for the first five games of the road trip, left town before the series finale. He is expected to speak with Callaway on Monday, before the Mets open a four-game series against the Nationals at Citi Field.
If the embattled manager is dismissed, bench coach Jim Riggleman will likely run the show in the interim, but the team could also consider quality control coach Luis Rojas, who is highly regarded within the organization. But the Mets are such a dumpster fire it might not matter who manages the team.
“Maybe we’re feeling a little bit of pressure coming from external forces that could be affecting us,” Noah Syndergaard said. “We just go out there and play real tensely. It will be nice to get home for the week and relax and get the ball moving again.”
Syndergaard gave the Mets a chance by allowing only two runs over seven innings, but was undermined by a lineup that was MIA in MIA for a second straight day.
That meant collecting only two hits against Sandy Alcantara (2-4) in his 89-pitch shutout that contributed to a game that lasted only 1 hour and 59 minutes. But the Mets’ two hits doubled their total from Saturday, when they were throttled by Pablo Lopez.
“Today the guy went outt and pitched,” Robinson Cano said. “No matter what kind of team they have they are on the major league level. Just because we have a better team on paper doesn’t mean we can go out and play and win a game.”
A day after saying he always runs hard from the batter’s box, Cano stood motionless at the plate in the fourth inning as catcher Chad Wallach picked up his squibber and turned an inning-ending double play.
On Friday, Cano didn’t run from the batter’s box on a ball hit back to the pitcher — he believed there were two outs — and the Marlins turned an easy double play.
Syndergaard kept the Marlins scoreless until the sixth, when Rosell Herrera doubled leading off the inning and the pitcher Alcantara bunted for a hit. Curtis Granderson’s double-play grounder gave the Marlins a 1-0 lead.
Neil Walker’s leadoff double in the seventh led to the Marlins scoring a second run against Syndergaard. And Granderson homered in the eighth against Seth Lugo.
J.D. Davis’ single in the fourth snapped an 11-inning hitless streak for the Mets dating to Jeff McNeil’s double leading off the game Saturday. But any hope of a Mets rally was dashed by Cano’s failureto-run double play. The Mets hit into three double plays overall.
“Overall we didn’t have quality at-bats,” Callaway said. “I don’t think it was lack of concentration or focus or anything. We just had terrible at-bats and hit into a bunch of double plays. We finally got somebody on and they hit into a double play. They are going to keep on grinding, keep on fighting and get out of this.”