SAN DIEGO — Before you conclude that Mickey Callaway is the disease that ails the Mets, consider this data point:
This team reported to work Tuesday at Petco Park having scored 156 runs and allowed 183, the third-worst run differential in the National League after the Marlins (-72) and Giants (-38). The Mets’ pythagorean record stood at 15-20, a game worse than their actual mark of 16-19.
In other words, the Mets actually were overperforming by a game under Callaway.
Now look, if that’s the strongest case you can make to retain Callaway should he and the Mets prove unable to stop their recent plummet, then that most certainly stands as a hill on which you shouldn’t die.