Dugout Central: Silva: Mets and MLB Missing the Boat on Wally Backman

Swingin’ Steve Foucault’s Pendulum!...It’s a conspiracy!

The real question to me is why haven’t we heard more about the attributes of Wally Backman? Here in New York the Mets television affiliate (SNY) ran the debut of the show hours after a game with the Cincinnati Reds. There was no mention of this show before, during or after the game. Matt Cerrone’s Metsblog which is described as a “grand central station of Mets news and information” failed to acknowledge this show exists.

This kind of treatment of a player that meant so much to the Mets franchise during his tenure can only mean one of the following: SNY is completely clueless on how to promote a great product, or they are under gag order to not embrace a controversial figure. I will let the reader decide which scenario they believe. My feeling is the latter might have a slight edge.

Those that are conspiracy theorists may note that current Mets manager Willie Randolph has been taken a beating by the media and fans since the start of the season. Displaying Backman’s prowess as a manager might put Willie in an even more negative light. The last thing Mets management needs now is to give their fan base more fodder.

I am positive that the anti-Willie crowd will be pining even harder for Wally each week as the episodes unfold. I have said this numerous times on Gotham Baseball Live since the end of last season: Wally Backman would be a perfect fit for this ballclub.