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Callaway's lineup construction so far has been inventive

Mickey Callaway, new to the Mets and new to managing altogether, arrived to expectations that he would be less inclined towards following the "old-school" guidelines than his predecessor. He is living up to those expectations in a number of ways, most notably in regards to his lineup construction, which he has varied with each of the six games so far.

The most striking way in which he has rejected traditional managerial dogma is in batting the pitcher eighth. This was something Terry Collins dabbled with briefly, but Callaway made a splash early by debuting this construction in his first game, and seems to have a clear strategy for exactly when and how to utilize it.