PHOENIX — The other day in San Francisco at AT&T Park the interview area for manager Jerry Manuel was moved to around the corner from the clubhouse.
When Manuel emerged from the clubhouse and saw that his usual spot near the door had been relocated down the hallway, he said jokingly that “the street” would be the next stop for him.
That day could be just around the corner for Manuel. The Mets were swept away by the pathetic Diamondbacks early this morning, 4-3 in 14 innings, the first three-game sweep for the D-backs since last August.
Manuel called a team meeting before the game to tell his players to keep fighting. The meeting should have been called at the start of the second half. They have dead bats and are a dead team.
The Diamondbacks have the worst bullpen in 50 years, and the Mets could not score against them over eight innings. Mets hitters were 1-for-27 against Arizona’s relievers.
Manuel said the meeting was about focus.
“Just realize where we are, we are in a pennant race,” he said. “Let’s get back on the road and quit swerving.”
The bus just went over the cliff with Jerry driving.
This one ended when Justin Upton doubled against Fernando Nieve and came around to score on Chris Snyder’s one-out single over the head of left fielder Jason Bay. It was the Mets major-league leading 11th walk-off loss of the year.
Manuel has been on the hot seat all year and there were calls to replace him the first six weeks of the season. This looks to be the point of no return.
This ship is sailing in the wrong direction. The Mets have started the second half 1-6.
“Things are desperate,” one Met told The Post. “We’re starting to sink back into old habits.”
That would be losing habits.
Every day Manuel is moving closer to the street because of the performance of his team. Before the game, he said there is enough time for the Mets to turn it around and go on a streak where they win “20 of 25.”
How about winning two of seven? Last night, the Dodgers won their first game of the second half, and the Mets head there for four games starting tonight.
This is a full-fledged managerial watch now.
The Mets are 49-46, 6½ games back of the Braves. Every loss puts them in a more difficult position.
Arizona pulled the plug on general manager Josh Byrnes and manager A.J. Hinch recently. GM Omar Minaya is not thought to be in deep trouble, but the way the Mets are sinking fast, anything is possible. Minaya has stayed in California and will rejoin the team in Los Angeles This feels like Willie Randolph déjà vu.
Manuel’s Mets continue to find ways to lose close games. They were beaten 3-2 on Tuesday night by a rookie pitcher making his fourth start. They are 11-18 in one-run games.
Manuel reinserted Carlos Beltran into the cleanup spot, and the offense has taken a major step backward. Beltran has yet to regain his defensive ability in center, and he misplayed a deep fly into a game-changing triple Tuesday night.
The Mets are not playing with any fire and that failure falls on the players and Manuel’s inability to get them motivated. The losing has been accepted by the Mets.
After Tuesday’s loss to the Diamondbacks, Rodriguez and Johan Santana were seen laughing in a corner of the clubhouse. A few minutes later Mike Pelfrey was joking with a group of reporters. Alex Cora yelled in the direction of Pelfrey’s locker and reporters to “show some respect.”
A few days earlier, Cora insisted to me that it was not time for the Mets to panic, that everything was going to be OK for the team.
But three losses in the desert against a dreadful team have changed that perspective.
The street is looming for Manuel.