Ex-Met Valentine manages different lineup

Former Mets manager Bobby Valentine is no stranger to new challenges - his only post-Mets baseball job was in Japan, remember - but it was a surprise this past week when he was introduced as the director of public health and safety in Stamford, Conn.

Valentine's duties will involve facilitating communication between the mayor and the police, fire department, emergency medical services and department of health. Valentine will be paid $10,000, which he said he will donate to local charities.

The idea of a former baseball manager in a cabinet-level city government position seems odd. But he said in a telephone interview Friday that he's gotten a positive reception. "By the chiefs of the departments I've talked to, it has been received extremely well," he said. "What is needed is someone who can deal with people, who can manage and direct. . . . I think I might be able to help manage the situation."

Valentine, 60, just spent six months leading a fire department task force in Stamford, his hometown.

Valentine also will be traveling around the country for his first season in ESPN's retooled "Sunday Night Baseball" booth, but he said his position will be covered when he is on the road. Does this mean he's done managing baseball teams?

"I'm managing a pretty hefty budget for the city of Stamford, and that's what I'm thinking about doing right now," he said. "I don't think people are going to call during the season or even next season that are going to make me that offer I can't refuse."