New Skipper Candidate Scorecard

[HahnSolo]

I could see Wally being asked to go manage in Binghamton next year, or somewhere else up the organizational chain from Brooklyn.

If I were Wally, I'd find that preferrable to being bench coach to Bobby V. I'd also prefer that if Bobby V wanted a bench coach, that he'd be the one picking the guy, and not have that guy thrust on him by the organization.

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

metsguyinmichigan wrote: Do you think the Mets are worried about potential criticism if they replace the first Hispanic GM and a black manager with a couple old white guys?

No.

[metirish]

metsguyinmichigan wrote: Do you think the Mets are worried about potential criticism if they replace the first Hispanic GM and a black manager with a couple old white guys?

If they are then it's not warranted...

[Benjamin Grimm]

I agree. After six straight years with a Hispanic GM and two black managers, I think they've shown that they don't discriminate.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

THE METS ARE RAYCESS AGAINST WHITE PEOPEL!

FIRE OMAR AND LOS METS!

[Guest Edgy DC]

Outside of the overplayed "RAYCESS," I feel like I've read that post 100 times in the last six years.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

Often, the toughest part of this little struggle of ours is the folks what's "on our side."

[Guest Edgy DC]

Amen.

[ashie62]

Lefty Specialist wrote: Wally has already said he won't be a bench coach. And I doubt that Bobby V. would want to have a manager-in-waiting sitting next to him.

Spoilsport.

[DocTee]

Both Bob Brenly and Fredi Gonzalez have withdrawn their names from candidacy for the Cubs managerial slot. Eric Wedge and Sandberg have interviewed, and Bob Melvin is slated to do so (as are Don Wakamatsu, Pat Listach and incumbent Mike Quade) according to ESPN.

I think there will be over a dozen managerial changes this winter, and it's comforting to not see Bobby V among those apparently on the Cubs RADAR.

[metirish]

Jon Harper as predictable as the sun soming up has this on Wally...no matter who's the GM Wally must be the manager....'cos he's gritty and will add toughness to the team.....that would be a nice way for a new GM to start out, having a manager forced on him.


I have no doubt that young kids in their first year would be swayed by Backman's personality and gritty attitude(I have no idea if he is like that but it's what the media are saying), would major leaguers buy in to that?.....he's been portrayed as a Bowa type reaelly , right?



Wally Backman is a good bet to be next Mets manager, no matter what Wilpons say about GM's role

I believe the Wilpons are serious about letting a new GM lead them out of the wilderness, and it is the right way to go. They finally seem to understand how desperately the organization needs the type of direction and detailed planning that Omar Minaya never really provided. But I also believe that as much as the Mets' owners said the GM will get to hire the new manager, odds are very good that Wally Backman will be in the dugout next season no matter who is running baseball operations. Granted, it would be something of a gamble because Backman has never managed in the majors, and there's no guarantee that his Billy Martin-like intensity would inspire millionaires the way it has hungry minor leaguers. But the timing would make it the right call, for a lot of reasons. Let's start with toughness, the one intangible the Mets have lacked most in recent years. You only have to go back a couple of weeks for a glaring example, when the Mets let Chase Utley wipe out Ruben Tejada at second base with an over-the-line slide and did nothing to retaliate. Oh, sure, Carlos Beltran managed to get in the way of a double play the next day, but he didn't even make contact, and when all was said and done, the Mets sent the message that they wouldn't stand up to the Phillies - the team that has bullied them in one way or another for four years. I don't blame Jerry Manuel for the Mets' failures in recent years, but he clearly failed to instill enough grit in his ballclub. Somebody has to do it because there's no hard-edged leadership in their clubhouse. David Wright, in fact, went out of his way not to call out Utley that night, telling reporters it was up to the rookie Tejada to pass judgment. And Mets pitchers didn't so much as knock a Phillies' hitter down, never mind stick a fastball in Utley's ribs. You can bet that if Backman had been managing, Utley would have paid during his next at-bat. And chances are a Met would have roll-blocked the second baseman after that. Not that retaliating or even fighting is a cure-all for the Mets. Talent aside, however, winning in the big leagues starts with attitude, with the type of mental and physical toughness that has defined the Phillies and separated them from the Mets. (Well, that and a farm system that allowed them to trade for Cliff Lee, Roy Halladay and Roy Oswalt over a 12-month period, but that's another story - and a reminder of one of Minaya's biggest failings.) Backman would instill toughness, all right, and everywhere he has managed in the minors he has inspired great effort with his passion and his ability to relate to players. Recently Marlins second baseman Dan Uggla, who played for Backman in the minors several years ago, was quoted as saying, "I would have run through a brick wall for him." Backman has had his issues off the field, obviously, but he paid dearly for them when the Diamondbacks fired him four days after hiring him in 2004, and all indications are that he has grown up since those days when he was a member of the '86 wild bunch that won the Mets' last world championship. The timing is right partly because the Mets aren't winning anything next year, as they wait for their bad contracts to expire before they spend again, as they integrate more young players into the mix, and as they wait on the return of Johan Santana from shoulder surgery - all meaning that Backman would get a season of low expectations to learn his way around Citi Field. Meanwhile, Jeff Wilpon was very impressed by Backman's work with the Brooklyn Cyclones this season, and the former second baseman's popularity as a fiery '86 Met is something the club can sell to disillusioned ticket buyers. Finally, Backman would not cost big bucks, which may be significant, and no matter what they are saying publicly, the owners have told people in the organization that they want a manager with ties to the Mets. Bobby Valentine? Even if the Wilpons were OK with it, a new GM isn't going to want to bang heads with a manager notorious for wanting control. And while Lee Mazzilli is a former manager with Met ties, a new GM would have to want him badly to truly put him in play. So believe it when the Wilpons say they won't pick the players for the new GM. Just don't think of it as a coincidence if they find a GM who wants Backman to be the manager.jharper@nydailynews.com Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/baseball/mets/2010/10/06/2010-10-06_eye_on_wally_world.html?page=1#ixzz11aNwZMUE

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

While some Mets people have a soft spot for Wally Backman, it will be a major upset if Alderson, the Harvard and Dartmouth educated former Marine, accedes to the wishes of incumbent Mets people and hires Backman. Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/baseball/mlb/10/26/mets.hire.alderson/#ixzz13ZdYgxgU

Who will be his guy?

Hale?
Mazzilli?
Clint Hurdle?!?

[Benjamin Grimm]

Well, we have that one tidbit about him preferring an Earl Weaver type to a Gene Mauch, and my hunch is that Backman (based on the kind of player he was, anyway) is on the Mauch side of the spectrum.

I also wonder about the reported desire to have a guy with "Mets ties." Sure, the Mets are on Chip Hale's resume, but I would think his "Met factor" is fairly low, much lower than Backman's, Mazzilli's, or Valentine's.

Is the "Mets ties" thing (if true; we can't be sure that it is) based on fan acceptance/familiarity?

And, finally, my mind keeps coming back to Tim Teufel, perhaps unreasonably. Might he be the three-run-homer guy with Mets ties that would satisfy both Alderson and the Wilpons? He's put up some losing records in the minor leagues as a manager, but I don't know if that's a reflection on him, on his roster, or both. But I do suspect that Tim will get some consideration.

[Guest Edgy DC]

Has only managed as high as AA one year, and has actually put up some disastrous minor league records.

He may have a future, but I highly doubt it's this year.

[HahnSolo]

While some Mets people have a soft spot for Wally Backman, it will be a major upset if Alderson, the Harvard and Dartmouth educated former Marine, accedes to the wishes of incumbent Mets people and hires Backman. Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/baseball/mlb/10/26/mets.hire.alderson/#ixzz13ZdYgxgU Who will be his guy? Hale? Mazzilli? Clint Hurdle?!?

Didn't someone post in the last day or so (not sure which thread) a Heymann tweet that Alderson had submitted a list of managerial candidates and that Backman was high on the list?

[Guest Edgy DC]

Met ties isn't something that's been reported as a qualification, it's just, you know, a quality that tends to get guys into the picture. Such a guy already has a relationship with ownership and whatever holdovers are in management, is familiar with the system, such as it is, and has enough goodwill stored up with fans to make him marketable and indulgible.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

While some Mets people have a soft spot for Wally Backman, it will be a major upset if Alderson, the Harvard and Dartmouth educated former Marine, accedes to the wishes of incumbent Mets people and hires Backman. Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/baseball/mlb/10/26/mets.hire.alderson/#ixzz13ZdYgxgU Who will be his guy? Hale? Mazzilli? Clint Hurdle?!? Didn't someone post in the last day or so (not sure which thread) a Heymann tweet that Alderson had submitted a list of managerial candidates and that Backman was high on the list?

Rosenthal. So... y'know... weight that accordingly.

[Benjamin Grimm]

David Waldstein, NY Times wrote: His first order of business will be to hire a manager, and Alderson has told people he would not favor hiring Wally Backman, the former Met who manages the franchise�s Class A Brooklyn team. Alderson favors more low-key managers who follow the overall philosophy and strategy set forth by him.

Somebody get Art Howe on the line!

[Ceetar]

While some Mets people have a soft spot for Wally Backman, it will be a major upset if Alderson, the Harvard and Dartmouth educated former Marine, accedes to the wishes of incumbent Mets people and hires Backman. Read more: http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2010/baseball/mlb/10/26/mets.hire.alderson/#ixzz13ZdYgxgU Who will be his guy? Hale? Mazzilli? Clint Hurdle?!? Didn't someone post in the last day or so (not sure which thread) a Heymann tweet that Alderson had submitted a list of managerial candidates and that Backman was high on the list?

I wouldn't be surprised if that list was alphabetical. In which case he'd be pretty high.

[Frayed Knot]

Joel Sherman & Dan Martin over at the NYPost present their list of probable/possible managerial candidates who could receive the Sandy stamp of approval

http://www.nypost.com/p/sports/mets/introducing_the_candidates_CuYP4EosaGEHCOdbw6U41L

-- listing Clint Hurdle, John Gibbons, Boston bench coach DeMarlo Hale, Bob Melvin, Terry Collins, Don Wakamatsu, and Chip Hale as 'Contenders'


Joe Torre (age, price), plus Wally Backman & Bobby V (too much in-dugout drama) fall under the heading of 'Longshots'

[metirish]

For a guy who once hired LaRussa I am not buying the no drama angle, of course he also hired Art Howe after LaRussa.

Chip Hale is getting lots of mentions , being manager is much more than running the team on game though right?, the manager runs Spring Training and all that activity too?

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

I kinda like the idea of Gibbons. I think Hurdle is a sure possibility, even though he wouldn't be my stylistic first choice I'd figure he has good malleability, Met heritage, experience and a grindstone kinda brand image.

Madden is a big Mazzilli fan, he reveals today.

[Frayed Knot]

metirish wrote: For a guy who once hired LaRussa I am not buying the no drama angle, of course he also hired Art Howe after LaRussa.

Yeah, in a separate article under just Martin's name in the same issue he quotes sources warning folks NOT to think that Alderson can be pigeon-holed into just one particular type of manager - especially into thinking that he's just interested in a Yes-man.

Chip Hale is getting lots of mentions , being manager is much more than running the team on game though right?, the manager runs Spring Training and all that activity too?

Oh sure. Plus running the clubhouse and all related 'people managing' skills are at least as important as what goes on between the first and last pitch of the game.

[soupcan]

October 27, 2010 Alderson Set to Get to Work on Mets By DAVID WALDSTEIN SAN FRANCISCO � Sandy Alderson was in the Dominican Republic on Wednesday, attending to his duties for Major League Baseball in its efforts to clean up the player procurement process. But he has already begun working on his next assignment, which may be equally as challenging � resurrecting the Mets. Alderson will become the Mets� general manager, and he has begun compiling a list of potential field managers and is looking into re-signing at least one potential free agent, reliever Hisanori Takahashi. Whatever he decides to do, it will most likely be his decision alone. Alderson is expected to be granted full control over the Mets� baseball operations, within the framework of a budget set forth by team ownership. Essentially, the Mets will be handing the keys of the franchise to him. �I think he�ll be able to keep ownership at bay,� said Steve Phillips, a former Mets general manager who acknowledged he was too young and inexperienced when he held the position to have the clout that Alderson will. �Young guys do need some guidance, but Sandy has the credibility and the maturity to set forth a plan for the entire organization,� Phillips said. �If Sandy says, �No, this guy doesn�t fit into our budget,� or �It doesn�t make sense for us,� everyone will know it�s really coming from him.� Alderson is expected to begin asking teams for permission to speak to potential managers. There are indications he will at least interview Wally Backman, manager of the Mets� Class A Brooklyn Cyclones; Chip Hale, the Mets� third-base coach; and Bob Melvin, a former manager of the Seattle Mariners and the Arizona Diamondbacks. Of more immediacy is to decide whether to re-sign Takahashi. By rule, the Mets have until Oct. 31 to get a contract worked out or Takahashi will not be able to sign with them until May 15. Complicating matters, Takahashi recently switched agents after the Mets had begun negotiations with his old agent, Peter Greenberg. But the Mets have reached out to the new agent, Arn Tellem, in hopes of completing a deal before the deadline. While that may be the most time-sensitive issue for Alderson, the more vital one is the next manager. Alderson has said in past interviews that he favors low-key managers who follow the overall philosophy and strategy set forth by him as general manager. The reasoning is: why set policy and formulate a tactical plan only to have a maverick, charismatic manager make decisions that do not follow the plan? Managers like Melvin and perhaps Hale could fit into that framework, but the fiery Backman does not seem to. Alderson has already told others he would not favor hiring Backman, the former Mets infielder, because he has no major league managing experience and would be better served honing his skills in the minors. Ownership is fond of Backman, however, and Alderson is said to be willing to have an open mind. The last manager Alderson hired was Art Howe in 1996, when he was general manager of the Oakland Athletics. Mets fans may cringe as they recall Howe�s listless campaigns in Flushing in 2003 and 2004, but he was more successful with the Athletics from 1996 to 2002. Working closely with Alderson, and later Alderson�s prot�g� Billy Beane, Howe finished with a 600-533 record with the A�s. He won two division titles while taking Oakland to the postseason in his last three years there. The A�s never won a playoff series under Howe, but he did win more than 100 games two years in a row with a team that had a modest payroll. It has been suggested that most of the decisions, even in-game tactical decisions, were made in the front office by Beane, and when the A�s decided they wanted to turn to their bench coach Ken Macha as manager, they were only too happy to let Howe go to the Mets. When Howe got to New York in 2003, replacing Bobby Valentine after a 75-86 season, the Mets did not need a laid-back button-pusher to follow a plan. Howe finished well under .500 both years with the Mets. Before Howe, the Athletics had Tony La Russa, who is not a managerial automaton by any means. But La Russa was an exceptional talent who has worked well within organizational parameters. Alderson will be introduced at a news conference at Citi Field on Friday. He hopes to begin interviewing candidates almost immediately.

[metirish]

�I think he�ll be able to keep ownership at bay,� said Steve Phillips, a former Mets general manager who acknowledged he was too young and inexperienced when he held the position to have the clout that Alderson will.

Oh , fuck of Steve......

[Guest Edgy DC]

Valentine strikes me as an underling who shows intitiative, not a radical who subverts the organization.

I'm not sure, but I think Lunchbucket willed Chip Hale into the picture.

[Guest LeiterWagnerFasterStrongr]

"Do you like sailing? Feeling the warmth of the setting sun as you breathe in the glorious sea mist? Cracking open a bottle of Spumanti on the deck of a luxurious 15-foot skimmer? Turning away from the problems of the world, and its emphasis on performance and performance enhancement?

Hi. I'm Sandy Alderson. Sail away with me on Alderson Harbor Cruises. Step onboard, and for prices starting at $49.95 for the first half-hour, feel your problems drop away like buscones from a prospect who tears his ACL.

Be my guest, then, on an Alderson Cruise, would you? It'll warm you up all the way to your Marine core!"

[Guest John Cougar Lunchbucket]

Clint Hurdle was a prized baseball prospect who never made it as a star, in part because he drank too much. This excerpt from the famous SI cover story from 1978 is awesome (http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/magazine/10/23/hurdle.phenom/index.html) :

"You've got to get it while you can," Hurdle said last week while cruising through Fort Myers in his new Dodge van, a homey vehicle equipped with a refrigerator, sink, CB radio, stereo tape deck, fold-out bed and spittoon. Hurdle keeps a harmonica within easy reach on the padded dashboard, and the refrigerator behind him is never empty. "When I've had a few drinks," he says, "I want to get Rubin [Hurricane] Carter out of jail. When I came up to Kansas City last season I thought life in the majors would be great, but it was 10 times better than I expected." In anticipation of this season's pleasures, Hurdle asked the club for a single hotel room on the road, a perk normally reserved for veterans. His request was denied, but he says, "I'll get it next year." Meanwhile, he has purchased two dozen Kansas City Royals T shirts that say ALL THE WAY IN '78. If Hurdle does not go all the way himself, he will be "really teed off." "I'm a little cocky," he says. "I have a flair for the extraordinary. I know I have a lot to learn but I'd rather do it here."

Inconsistent play and not enough power for a corner OF/1B relegated Hurdle to journeyman status by age 25 when he hooked up with the Mets, who had him on the big-league roster in '83, '85 and '87 (when he was lost to the Cardinals on a Rule 5 pick in '86 Davey Johnson was so upset he reportedly cried). The org in fact liked him so much they got him started on the road to managership shortly after he retired: He managed Met farm clubs for 6 years then was hired by the expansion Rockies for whom he became manager in 2002.

His tenure with the Rockies aside from an extraordinary 21-1 run that vaulted them all the way to the 2007 World Series (where they were swept) could be described as a successful failure. Hurdle is the only manager in major league history to begin his career with five consecutive losing seasons and not get fired for it. In fact he wasn't fired until a horrid start in 2009. He was praised for taking bullets for equally inept general manager and ownership, prone to making bad decisions on tight pursestrings. Hurdle had some issues with stars like Troy Tulowitzski and this article ( http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/the-clint-hurdle-era/ )suggests Hurdle's most striking tendency as manager "is that he has arguably done the worst job picking batters for the No. 1 slot of any manager in the last half century where the data exist."

Here's the best UMDB memory of him:

Paul December 26, 2002 One day when Clint was playing for the Mets I asked him to autograph an 8x10 photo for me. He gladly signed the photo and gave it back to me. He signed it Clint "Mo" Hurdle. I asked him what the "Mo" meant. his response was "cause I want mo money". He is a great guy.

My own impression is that he gave pretty good interviews as a guest on Mets Extra. By the way he's the hitting coach for the Rangers today, so take that, Rudy Jamarillo.

[metirish]

"You've got to get it while you can," Hurdle said last week while cruising through Fort Myers in his new Dodge van, a homey vehicle equipped with a refrigerator, sink, CB radio, stereo tape deck, fold-out bed and spittoon. Hurdle keeps a harmonica within easy reach on the padded dashboard, and the refrigerator behind him is never empty.

How cool is that ride?

great link bucket

[Guest Edgy DC]

John Cougar Lunchbucket wrote: Hurdle had some issues with stars like Troy Tulowitzski and this article ( http://www.hardballtimes.com/main/article/the-clint-hurdle-era/ )suggests Hurdle's most striking tendency as manager "is that he has arguably done the worst job picking batters for the No. 1 slot of any manager in the last half century where the data exist."

Well, I think batmagadan may be looking elsewhere, then.