By WFAN.com
Mickey Callaway's seat could not have been any hotter come Monday following the Mets three-game sweep at the hands of the Marlins. In fact, he could have been fired and nobody would have disagreed with the decision.
He wasn't. Instead, he was given the vote of confidence from GM Brodie Van Wagenen and the front office. They believe in Callaway and that was essential for him.
"It's nice to come out and hear it given the narrative that was out there," Callaway told WFAN's Mike Francesa Wednesday. "It's nice for the players to get to hear that. We need to go relax and try and win games. We can't be worried about external things. We know they're going to creep in from time to time. We want to do our best to block all that out. I'm glad it was addressed."
Callaway doesn't always show frustration publicly, but there is some frustration in there.
"They hear my anger a lot," the Mets' second-year manager said. "It's just something that usually happens 1-on-1. I really don't believe in blowing the place up. I think what that does is just make me feel good for 30 minutes and it's not productive. When I have to have tough conversations, I get angry. It's usually 1-on-1. I don't believe in showing guys up in front of others."
With Tomas Nido's success catching for Jacob deGrom and Nido catching him Wednesday, many believe Nido could turn out being his personal catcher. That would be wrong.
"No, no. Ramos and deGrom have had a couple of good games. They've had a few bad games. There's no denying that," Callaway said. "Today it more we play a four-game set versus the Washington Nationals. We want Ramos to catch three out of four. Why catch three in a row if you don't have to? Why not maximize the rest? Have him catch two games, rest one, and catch his third the fourth game.
"Once you start catching Nido for just deGrom then Nido is going to start catching two out of every four games. I don't think we're the best team that way. I have faith in Nido, but Ramos is our starting catcher. If we were splitting time like we were last year between the two catchers then we would do that. I don't think that's our situation at this moment. I think Ramos needs to be our starting catcher until he proves us otherwise."
There's been more downs than ups for the Mets in Callaway's tenure so far. He's loved it and is excited at the thought of this team winning a title.
"When we win, this is going to be the greatest place on earth to do it," Callaway said.
"Winning here with the Mets is going to be better than winning with the Yankees. That's how it's gonna be."
You can hear the entire interview with the Mets manager on WFAN with Mike Francesa in the audio player above.
Listen to Mets games this season on the team's new flagship station -- our sister station -- WCBS 880 AM.
