The Mets lost their fourth-straight game on Saturday, and this loss was a special kind of awful: They were one-hit by the MLB-worst Marlins a day after being shellacked by the same Marlins.
With Mickey Callaway's job potentially at risk and those questions not going away even if the Mets win on Sunday to save face, the manager was asked by SNY's Steve Gelbs after Saturday's loss if the team was playing with the requisite amount of urgency.
"I don't think the results have been there," Callaway said. "I think they come to play every day, I truly do. I think that tonight we didn't score any runs. Heck, we could hardly get a hit. We led off the game with a hit and then they just kind of shut us down."
And while "urgency" often seems lacking when teams are losing in ugly fashion, Callaway said the urgency has been there.
"Wins don't necessarily mean they're not playing with urgency," he said. "Losses don't mean that they're not playing with urgency. They're playing. They understand what's at stake and they understand that we gotta do better."
After answering the first question about his job status by saying "as a leader, you can't ever worry about yourself," Callaway was asked again if it's hard to avoid thinking about his future at the moment. Again, he put the focus back on running the team.
"I do feel like we have talent in there," Callaway said. "We haven't played like it. There's no doubt that's been the case. I believe those things for a reason, and I feel like everyone comes to the park every day for something greater than what's been happening. We have to start making it happen, somehow someway."
While it's unfair to blame Callaway for all that has transpired on the field, he has at times this season displayed a lack of awareness when it comes to in-game moves.
One such instance on Saturday was losing the game without having Dominic Smith pinch-hit -- something he credited Marlins manager Don Mattingly for making happen by smartly deploying his left-handed relievers.
Callaway has also been tame lately (arguably to a fault) when it has come to defending his players when they are at odds with umpires.
Nevertheless, with the team spiraling and his status in question, Callaway refuses to worry about himself -- "selfless service is very important to me" was one of the ways he put it on Saturday.
"I'm coming in tomorrow to manage the New York Mets," he concluded. "I'm going to be enthusiastic about it and continue to lead this team to something special."
