Brodie Van Wagenen loses it . . . but Edwin Diaz does not
Mets general manager Brodie Van Wagenen stands among Mets fans Tuesday, July 2, 2019, during the Subway Series against the Yankees. Credit: Jim McIsaac
During Independence Day weekend, Citi Field has been the place to be for fireworks.
On Saturday, they were on the field during the game and above it afterward. On Friday night, they went off behind closed doors in the Mets’ clubhouse, where general manager Brodie Van Wagenen punctuated a heated meeting with field staff by throwing a chair.
The Mets managed to beat the Phillies, 6-5, on Saturday night before 31,350 as their embattled relief corps held together to allow only one run in the final four innings and preserve the lead. Closer Edwin Diaz, whose job might have been on the line after his miserable performance Friday, gave up a two-out single by J.T. Realmuto but struck out Jay Bruce for his 19th save.
Tempers flared during the contest as Phillies starter Jake Arrieta made it look as if he were using the Mets for target practice, hitting three with pitches.
Todd Frazier was the second Met plunked, and he got ejected when he engaged umpires after they issued warnings to both benches. When Amed Rosario was hit two batters later and Arrieta wasn’t tossed, Mets manager Mickey Callaway left the dugout to argue and was ejected.
After Frazier was hit by Arrieta, he slammed the bat down and appeared to be jawing at him on the way to first base. Arrieta told reporters after the game, “If he has something to say, he can come and see me. I’ll put a dent in his skull.”
But those two HBPs paved the way for the Mets to win, as they set up a three-run double by Tomas Nido that gave the Mets a 6-4 lead.
“I knew he was going to use that back-door sinker he likes to throw,” Nido said. “I was able to execute.”
The more interesting fireworks display might have been the one Friday night after the Mets lost, 7-2, after entering the ninth tied at 2. Van Wagenen was so incensed about the defeat that he called a meeting immediately after the final out with field staff, erupted at them and threw a chair, Newsday confirmed.
“Meetings take place often during the season,” a Mets spokesman told Newsday. “The content of those meetings, however, remains private.”
Van Wagenen was upset about the Mets wasting another strong start by Jacob deGrom, according to the New York Post, which first reported the incident. DeGrom pitched seven innings of two-run ball.
One of the first two Phillies runs could have come off the board after a close play at the plate, but the Mets had unsuccessfully challenged an earlier call and had lost the ability to challenge. Then the struggling Diaz was called into a 2-2 game and allowed four runs.
The meeting concluded with Van Wagenen cursing as he dismissed Callaway to do his postgame news conference.
Asked about the state of his relationship with Van Wagenen, Callaway replied: “It’s fantastic. We’re both passionate guys that want to win.”
On the subject of what the GM demanded of the field staff, Callaway said: “We have private meetings. We’ll keep all the content in that room, for good reason.”
There was no evidence at the Friday night news conference that Callaway had just had a heated meeting with Van Wagenen, but he did indicate the Mets could consider removing Diaz from his role as the closer. Before Saturday’s game, he said that no such move had been made, and when the save situation came around, Diaz was on the mound and converted with nothing but fastballs.
“It just gave me the confidence that my team and my manager believe in me,” Diaz said through his translator. “After having a bad outing against the same team yesterday, to be able to have a game like today, it gives me the confidence I need going forward.”
That decision, however, may have been more about how the Mets’ other relievers have performed and just getting to the ninth inning. Diaz, who saved 57 games last season with Seattle, entered play 1-6 with a 5.67 ERA and four blown saves. The Mets’ bullpen had a 5.63 aggregate ERA that ranked 28th.
“The other personnel is going to have a great effect on what you can do with one guy,” Callaway explained before the game. “If you have four or five guys performing, it’s easy. You take him out, get him right and insert him back in. That’s not our case.”
Van Wagenen last month fired pitching coach Dave Eiland and bullpen coach Chuck Hernandez because of the club’s underperforming relief pitching. They were replaced by Phil Regan and Ricky Bones, but the relievers haven’t pitched any better.
On Saturday, Diaz was able to redeem himself. “We understand that sometimes they don’t get it done, and especially out of the bullpen, it’s been a rough go of it,” Callaway said. “But we will never give up on a player. We will never give up on the season.”
Roger Rubin returned to Newsday in 2018 to write about high schools, colleges and baseball following 20 years at the Daily News. A Baseball Hall of Fame voter since 2011, he has covered 13 MLB postseasons and 14 NCAA Final Fours.
