Steve Phillips cringed when he heard it.
That would be one of Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen’s boasts before the season started that his newly constructed team was the favorite to win the National League East.
“It was like, ‘nooooo, don’t say that’ because I just know how this goes,” Phillips, the former Mets general manager and now SiriusXM analyst, said.
“The baseball gods just have a funny way of just bringing us to our knees. I don’t think him saying that affected the way the team has played, but I think it did affect the expectations that everyone had. Now that it’s not happening the natural inclination is, ‘OK, who are we going to blame for this?’ ”
The answer to that question appears to be Mickey Callaway. The second-year manager has faced the brunt of the job speculation after a disappointing first season and Van Wagenen being the fresh face of the franchise. Van Wagenen did give Callaway a lukewarm endorsement after getting swept by the awful Marlins, and the 24-25 team responded with a four-game sweep against the Nationals.
Still, Callaway was hired by Van Wagenen’s predecessor, Sandy Alderson, and that makes him the most obvious scapegoat.
“It makes it easier for the GM to fire the manager because he’s not ‘my guy,’ ” Phillips said. “You don’t have collateral in the relationship as much you would if it’s your selection.
“Whenever there’s a struggle it feels easier — I mean no one wants to do it — but when you are the guy that’s making the decision it can be, ‘Well I inherited him and it’s not quite working out, maybe I can get my guy and start moving in the right direction.’ ”
Phillips has experience in this area. In 1999, the Mets stumbled to a 27-28 start and Phillips axed pitching coach Bob Apodaca, hitting coach Tom Robson and bullpen coach Randy Niemann. The decision, made in the middle of an early June series with the Yankees, came to be known as the Saturday Night Massacre.
“I was sick to my stomach about it. Bob Apodaca and I went back to 1983-84 when he was the pitching coach on a minor league team that I played for,” Phillips said. “I went a long ways with him and loved him and respected him. Randy Niemann and I had a long history together, too. Tom Robson, who came in with Bobby [Valentine], is maybe the nicest man to wear a major league uniform. I felt horrible knowing those guys were going to lose jobs, even though I felt it was the right thing to do.”
Phillips recalled the intention was to fire the trio that Monday, but word leaked out Saturday and he felt he had no choice except to make the move immediately. That included keeping Valentine, the manager who ended up leading the team to 95 wins, the NL wild card and an NLCS loss to the Braves.
It is unclear whether this Mets team has the same potential, especially given how some of Van Wagenen’s additions have fared. Robinson Cano is getting booed for a lack of hustle, Wilson Ramos is among the worst hitting catchers in MLB, while Jeurys Familia and Justin Wilson have only caused more instability in the bullpen.
Phillips saw these Mets as a third-place team before the season began and thus far they have proven to be just that.
“I was really careful about not making proclamations about who we are and what our expectations were,” said Phillips, who was fired in 2003. “I’d rather under-promise and over-deliver than over-promise and under-deliver.
“It’s a challenge because you internalize it. Being a GM is not just a job, it becomes a lifestyle and part of who you are. When you are failing it hurts to the core. It’s just like it is for the players with criticism, you have to have thick skin and deal with it. Its not quite as simple as that, you feel the pain of it all. I can empathize with Brodie because they had those expectations and they are not living up to it.”
