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Another Backman Hatchet Job


By Mike Silva ~ November 10th, 2010. Filed under: Mike Silva, New York Mets.

Update:

Good job by Calcaterra to at least acknowledging some of the flaws in his original post. As I said, this isn’t a personal attack on Craig, he does great work, but more about how he expressed his opinion. For what it’s worth Craig is not the only one that feels Backman is unqualified. Jon Heyman of SI, a great supporter of this site, said the inclusion of Backman in the second round of candidates is just to appease the fan base. In the end I will support the decision by Alderson and company, but I stand by my belief that Backman is the best man for the New York Mets.

Original Post:

Last week many were angered by statements made by Adam Rubin of ESPN NY with respect to Wally Backman. Although I disagreed with how Rubin disseminated the information, I had no doubt his sources were expressing real concerns from inside the Mets organization. Of course, those sources could have an agenda, which cloud their analysis of Backman’s chances of landing the job. I wondered in my piece about an “anti Backman” facet of the media. I don’t mean just the mainstream, but also numerous blogs that seem to have an agenda against the possibility of him managing the Mets. Today we saw more of that at NBC’s Hardball Talk with perhaps a piece that deserves more scorn than Rubin was given a week ago.

First, I want to say I respect Craig Calcaterra’s work and by no means is this a personal attack. I defended Calcaterra last year when he was ambushed by the narcissistic Craig Carton on WFAN. Unfortunately, Calcaterra did the same thing to Wally Backman in print today.

It’s ok to have an opinion about who you want as the next manager of the Mets. None of us are privy to the interview process so there could be a candidate that would change our minds if we were. All I could go by is what I know and, unlike most blogs, I have spoken to Backman a few times since 2008. My support of Backman has nothing to do with ’86 or the fact he played second base for the team, but from his philosophies and accomplishments from the dugout. You don’t see me supporting Lee Mazzilli, Ron Darling, Keith Hernandez, or even Gary Carter for the position. Each played for the ’86 squad as well. As a matter of fact I spent some time around Carter in 2009 when he managed the Long Island Ducks and came away with the belief he wasn’t ready to manage a big league club.

Calcaterra’s main premise is that Backman doesn’t have a resume. He points out that Wally hasn’t managed above Double A or held a coaching job in the big leagues. He points out the popular belief about what Sandy Alderson wants from a manager even though Alderson debunked that during his press conference. Funny how everyone knows what this regime wants to do based on “Moneyball,” but that logic has been disputed by Alderson, Ricciardi, and DePodesta during interviews. Did Alderson have a baseball resume when given his post in Oakland? What about Davey Johnson? They were hired based on skills their bosses believed would translate into success. To write an article with such certainty as Calcaterra did is unfair to Backman and the process of hiring a manager. You can acknowledge personal concerns, but be fair in your analysis. I believe the latter is where Calcaterra fell short.

Again, my support of Backman isn’t about throwing bats, fake fire, or allegiance to 1986. He has a track record of player development (see Dan Uggla, Aaron Rowand, Carlos Quentin), is a solid communicator, understands how to handle a pitching staff, and knows the media pitfalls of New York.  What more could you ask? These are characteristics that can be demonstrated far better in Double A than sitting on a big league bench chewing tobacco. Does he have a checkered off the field past? Yes, I can’t deny that, but it’s been explained numerous times where I don’t believe it’s an issue.

When I spoke to Wally Backman in the winter of 2008 all he asked was for clubs to grant him an interview. Sandy Alderson has done that and, apparently, been impressed enough to bring Wally back for round two. The ball is in Backman’s court now to win this job. Just like he won over Davey Johnson to become the Mets second basemen.

We need to stop speculating about what Alderson wants because we don’t know. We also need to stop hammering a guy based on loose information. The same people that bow at the altar of stats conveniently use flawed logic to discredit Backman. Don’t believe me? Pick up the phone and call him. Do your own due diligence. I have no doubt he will give you his time. I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Mike Silva is a freelance writer and radio host since March of 2007. This website is his own personal "digest" of New York Baseball He's also hosts NYBD Radio on Blog Talk Radio and 1240 AM WGBB. Check out his sports media commentary at www.sportsmediawatchdog.com. Check out his official website, www.mikesilvamedia.com
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6 Responses to Another Backman Hatchet Job

  1. Stu B
    November 10th, 2010 at 9:40 am

    Backman has as much of a resume as Davey Johnson did in 1984, and Johnson did a pretty good job. Backman has been invited for a second interview, so Alderson, DePodesta, Ricciardi, Krivsky et al must think he’s capable enough.

    I don’t know much about Calcaterra, but Rubin strikes me as a self-serving blowhard with some kind of personal agenda.

  2. LongTimeFan
    November 10th, 2010 at 2:15 pm

    This isn’t 1984. The world has changed much since, so has this team and pressure and expectations placed upon it. Every single action is scruntized ad nauseaum 24/7 and Johnson never had to deal with this level of insanity in such quantity that today’s technology and instant communication proffer.

    And to Mike, I can’t believe you’re offended by Craig Calcaterra’s argument against Backman’s hiring.. The title was somewhat obnoxious, but beyond that and what you noted as incorrect depiction of Alderson’s view of manager, I think he’s very right about Backman’s thin resume and I share same concerns.

    Backman has zero experience leading bona fde big leaguers and even fringe ones hoping for another shot.There’s hugh difference between managing young players wet behind the ears, vs what he’ll encounter in the Big Leagues. I for one don’t think this training wheel approach is prudent, nor gives Backman standing amongst Big Leaguers who would be getting the equivalent of a first year resident had this been medicine, not baseball.

    Backman needs to pay his dues not get free pass by over-eager Mets fans dying for the glory days and the image projected through Wally who’s the least qualified of the candidates….no AAA experience, no Big league coaching experience. No experience dealing with the modern day big leaguer with money, life and baseball pressures in the most pressured city on the most pressured team on the planent.

    No matter how much you try to deny, tit surely seems you think Backman is the best man for the job ibased upon your own prejudices, having iinteracted with him personally. Had Backman never played for the Mets you’d laugh yourself out of town had you’plucked someone from another organizaation with same resume and sequence of experiences and events.

    ‘ll get behind Backman if selected, but there are far better, fiery, fundamentalists, astute baseball men available for the job who have real time epeerience with the level of player Backman will be entrusted to manage, and who must trust and look up to his epxertise and him if this is to bear fruit. This risky choice teeters way to close to the edge with little margin for error. If Met players feel he’s inadequate to lead something in which he lacks experience, this sets the stage for trouble. I’m not at all convinced that Backman is ready for the real world challenges of this job that extend well beyond the honeymoon period.

  3. Mike Silva
    November 10th, 2010 at 2:58 pm

    LongTimeFan

    I have no problem with you stating your opinion, but who do you want? Who would you hire? and why?

    At the very least I have dug deeper than the surface in my Backman support. The anti Backman faction has done very little in that regard. I have yet to see a hard core anti Wally writer or blogger interview him and address their concerns

  4. GDHebner
    November 10th, 2010 at 4:12 pm

    I don’t consider myself anti-Backman per se, I look at his resume and see a lack of high level minor league managing and a long absence (17 years) from the major leagues, and simply personally prefer the next Mets manager have both high level MiLB managing experience and more recent time served on a major league bench in a coaching capacity. Those may not be the ‘right’ reasons but they’re mine. If Alderson and friends determine that Backman is the one I’ll support that.

    My personal preference all along has been that the Mets would pluck someone who may not yet have MLB managing experience but who has managed successfully at more (read: higher) levels of the minor leagues than Backman and has also spent recent time in the majors, ideally on the staff of a highly regarded manager. In that context my choice has been Tim Bogar who has a tidy minor league managing resume and has served in the majors under Joe Maddon, and is currently working under Terry Francona. The Mets ties are a nice bonus but not a prerequisite. But thus far his name has not even come up on the Mets search radar as best as I know so there must be something I see that the Mets don’t or vice versa.

    Certainly there is more to all of the candidates than what their work history on a piece of paper can tell us. But it’s all I’ve got and based on it I’ve made my choice. I can only hope that anyone making their choice based on more than that has equal amounts of access and information to go on with all the candidates.

  5. LongTimeFan
    November 11th, 2010 at 6:18 am

    Mike,

    Personally knowing Backman perhaps more deeply than others, does not enhance his resume which is what it is no matter how deeply anyone knows him. It doesn’t change the facts and isn’t, in my opinion, a valid argument in support of him. Is Backman the only man on this planet capable of being known and are you the gold standard in knowing that dismisses the other candidates being known far more deeply than Wally?

    The issue is Bakcman’s total lack of experience above AA, which even that dates back long time to 2003. Nothing changes the facts of his inexperience unles he pays his dues by putting in more time in areas of the game he is novice insofar as leading. Again, no AAA managerial experience and no major leaague coaching. Zero. He has the thinest resume of any candidate and is known for shooting off his mouth without thinking as he already did this summer. Not a gpod mix to lead in this critical time in Mets history where the media and fans will hound him like nobody’s business which is reality in this town.

    Insofar as more viable choices, every interviewed candidate has deeper resume. Me? I prefer both Hales, Collins and Hurdle, all of whom have more experience than Wally, have great baseball minds, are energetic, respected communicators, and have actually been in big leagues clubhouses since Wally’s last – 1993. That’s 1993 the year of the first World Trade Center attack and first year of Clinton’s presidency. That’s well before the age of mass internet, 24/7 baseball media and fan involvement. More specifically, he hasn’t been involved in Big League baseball since Ike Davis was 6, Reyes 10, Ruben Tejada, 4, Johan 14. What exactly is Wally’s experience getting the most out of well established, big leaguers while in leadership role? The answer is what it is, and any knowledge of Wally’s personhood or baseball acumen and philosophy doesn’t change that nor it is a more valued metric than deeply knowing any other candidate who actually has walked the walk and has real world, tangible leadership experience a big leaguer can turn to, rather than in training-wheel mode theory put to test.

  6. Bill D
    November 13th, 2010 at 4:19 am

    Following the Mets’ search for a new manager very closely. Not getting a good feeling reading that Terry Collins, Clint Hurdle and Bob Melvin are top three (reminds me too much of Jeff Torborg era). Sandy Alderson should consider giving Bobby Valentine a two year contract, with the promise of a front office position (Ricciardi and DePodesta, two young ambitious executives will move on at some point), and make Wally Bacman his bench coach and eventual successor. Mets fans will fill the stadium, there will be energy in the dugout that will force the Mets to be competitive and Alderson will be viewed a genius by the Mets fans.

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