Welcome Back Bobby Valentine?

In an exclusive to www.metsmerizedonline.com, Bobby Valentine, former manager of the New York Mets from 1996 to 2002, will be named the team’s next General Manager. I’m a tease what can I say. Perhaps I should have saved this for April 1st but I just couldn’t help myself.

No, Bobby V is still at ESPN as an analyst, for now. But he is laying in wait, like a lion in the Serengeti tracking its prey no doubt. Sharpening his baseball acumen by dissecting each game bit by gnarled bit. All while wearing a fake mustache of course.

Now I know you’re asking yourself why would Bobby V envision himself coming back at all let alone coming back as the GM of the New York Mets. Well I have a feeling he wouldn’t but it’s probably where he should be. I’m sure he sees himself in the dugout at CitiField, leading the charge. He was successful in that role, guiding the Mets to the 2000 World Series. He was also one of the most entertaining managers in recent history no doubt. But in spite of his many faults, all of which stem from the man’s gigantic ego, he is in my opinion a brilliant baseball mind.

Let’s face it if you had a documentary made about your life as Bobby does, “The Zen of Bobby V” , you too would have a high opinion of yourself.

The man is a virtual demi-god in Japan, having spent six years managing the Chibe Lotte Marines. There are bronze statues in Japan made in his honor. Maybe I’m off base but doesn’t that usually require one to be six feet under to achieve?

So knowing all of that can Bobby V sit in an office in a suit, on the phone, talking to guys who never put on a pair of cleats without having a golf club with them? That would be a challenge worthy of Sun-Tzu himself. Bobby V loves challenges.

Is it really a runaway ego or is it just a pure testosterone enhanced single mindedness that sets Bobby V apart from so many other ex-managers out there? I think it’s a blend of both. Something very yin-yang wouldn’t you agree? How would his style differ from Omar’s? Would there be similarities? Would he be able to contain himself and let his manager run the team on the field? I think it would be the most frustrating job he’s ever had and I think he would ultimately excel in it. Who wants to see that…and the “stache” again?