After Edwin Diaz blew yet another save for the Mets on Friday in an eventual 7-2 loss to the Phillies, Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen called for a meeting with team coaches and went ballistic on them, according to the New York Post. Things boiled over emotionally for Van Wagenen and he reportedly took out his frustration on an innocent nearby chair.
After ripping the coaches, according to a source, the usually mild-mannered Van Wagenen picked up a chair and threw it and told Callaway to go conduct his “f–king press conference.” Callaway provided no hint that anything was amiss as he met with reporters following the loss.
But despite the report, both Callaway and Van Wagenen appear committed to brushing aside any questions about the incident.
“We as a staff often meet with coaches and players throughout the course of the season,” Van Wagenen said. “I am not going to give the specifics to any of those meetings.”
That sentiment was echoed by Callaway.
“I think when we have private meetings, we’ll keep all that content in the room, for good reason,” the manager said before the Mets’ 6-5 win over the Phillies on Saturday.
It’s a curious decision to try and put up this kind of front given that literally no one who knows anything about the Mets would believe the lie that everything is calm and professional behind the scenes. Think about the scenario that the Mets were in after Friday: they were 10 games under .500, 13 games behind the NL East-leading Braves and their bullpen—one of the more glaring issues of a franchise that seems to revel in having so many—is working with a 7.24 ERA in the last 24 games. Those aren’t numbers anyone in baseball could possibly be happy with.
Callaway took his facade an extra step and told reporters that his relationship with his GM is great because both are “passionate guys that want to win.” At this point, one has to wonder who Callaway is lying to: us or himself? Forget the record—a clear sign that neither is really that committed to winning—this is a guy who is a little more than a week past an incident where he got so mad at a reporter that one of his players felt compelled to threaten physical violence towards him, needed two press conferences to half-heartedly apologize for what happened and was chided by his front office for the whole thing. What about that implies there’s a great working relationship somewhere between them?
Someone tell these two that the first step in solving a problem is admitting you have one. Who knows, it might at least make them less likely to destroy office furniture in the future.