Manager Terry Collins will return to manage the Mets next season, according to Mike Puma of the New York Post. Even with the Mets’s September record at 2-8, he will not be held responsible for wins and losses on a team that is lacking major league talent and will have it’s fifth losing season in a row and third under Sandy Alderson.
The Mets are now 16 games under .500 and in line for 7th pick in next year’s draft if that gives you any comfort. Worse yet, they have a 28-41 record at home, only the Houston Astros have won fewer games.
While the news of Collins returning as Mets manager should comes as no surprise, what Puma reported regarding Wally Backman, who was thought to be the manager-in-waiting, will likely shock you.
According to sources, Backman considered tendering his resignation near the end of spring training because he was unhappy receiving orders from team officials about playing time for certain individuals. Backman then angered Sandy Alderson later in the season, with comments about how he would fix Ike Davis, after the first baseman was demoted to Las Vegas.
But Backman knows how to manage, writes Puma, something that was reaffirmed this season when he took Las Vegas to the Pacific Coast League playoffs despite having his roster decimated to fill holes with the Mets.
Puma also wrote:
Alderson, through channels, has made it known there is almost no chance he would hire popular Wally Backman to manage the Mets if there was an opening. Backman has thrived managing at the Triple-A level, but there are fears within the organization he would clash with this front office, which — make no mistake about it — has the final word on everything related to the on-field product.
So for any of you who were still hanging onto a shred of hope that Backman would one day manage the Mets, it’s like I’ve said from the very beginning, Backman would never manage a team as long as Sandy is running the show.
Yesterday, the Mets added Binghamton Mets manager Pedro Lopez to the team’s coaching staff for the remainder of the season. Backman was not invited to join the Collins’ staff as he was last year. Kiss his ass goodbye.
