Backman still has that fire, and a desire to return to The Show

The Brooklyn Cyclones have a long day ahead of them at MCU Park, and not a particularly meaningful one, either. They've already clinched the McNamara Division in the New York-Penn League, so their doubleheader against the Vermont Lake Monsters constitutes little more than preparation for the playoffs.

But that doesn't mean that people are relaxed at the Mets' Class A affiliate. Not with Wally Backman as their manager.

During pregame batting practice last Wednesday, Backman exploded at hitting coach Benny DiStefano. "I'm the -- manager!" Backman yelled before repeating: "I'm the -- manager!"

It's the sort of fire that characterized Backman during his playing days with the Mets - the sort that many Mets fans would like to see promoted to the manager's office at Citi Field.

And the sort that Backman clearly still possesses, even after a dramatic detour in his post-playing life.

When Mets COO Jeff Wilpon rescued Backman from baseball oblivion last November, hiring him to run the high-profile Cyclones, the contract featured a "significant clause," as executive vice president Dave Howard described it at the time, protecting the Mets against any off-field behavioral issues.

There have been no such off-field issues. Just on-field passion and success, at a juncture when the Mets are set to dismiss Jerry Manuel and begin a search for a new manager.

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Backman declined to discuss details of his disagreement with DiStefano. But exhibiting his trademark fire while controlling his personal life hasn't been a problem, he said.

"That never changes," he told Newsday. "For Dave and Jeff, those guys, I don't think I even read the contract."

With what essentially served as a probationary year nearly in the books, Backman can admit to greater dreams - while maintaining a level of diplomacy.

"I would think that every manager that manages a team in baseball would want an opportunity to do the same thing in the major leagues," Backman said. "Which is my goal. It's to manage in the big leagues. There's no question about that.

"But my focus is right here in Brooklyn. I'm trying to win a championship here. I've got to make these kids better, get them to the next level. Then ultimately try to get them to Citi Field."

Backman did manage in the big leagues . . . for four days and zero games.

After his four stellar seasons as a minor-league manager, the Arizona Diamondbacks hired him on Nov. 1, 2004, for the 2005 season.

"We saw a lot of energy, a lot of passion for the game," said Joe Garagiola Jr., who then served as Arizona's general manager and now works in Major League Baseball's central office. "The players that year in [Class A] Lancaster developed a lot of loyalty to him. Guys like Connor Jackson, Carlos Quentin. They picked up on his passion for the game and his competitiveness."

But when news broke of personal transgressions from Backman's past - financial troubles and a pair of arrests, one for a domestic dispute involving his wife and another for drunken driving - the Diamondbacks fired him Nov. 5.

"I've made a few mistakes," Backman said. "I'm not one to say that I didn't. I've moved forward. And that's the way that I want to go is move forward. No different than any human being. You're going to make mistakes. It's the nature of the beast. To learn from them is the most important thing."

He managed in independent ball, running the South Georgia Peanuts in 2007 and the Joliet JackHammers in 2008-09, before the Mets invited him back into affiliated baseball.

"It gives everybody an opportunity to re-evaluate me. That's what I wanted to happen this year," Backman said. " . . . I think when you look at upside - 'How I can grow within an organization, or in baseball in general?' - in independent ball, there's really no upside. You're kind of there, doing a job. There's nowhere to go from there."

Wilpon declined comment on Backman for this story, but every indication is that Backman will at least get to interview for the upcoming Mets opening. Given that the Mets will skew younger next year, Backman could be appealing for his approach, his low salary demands and the buzz he'd generate among the fan base.

He has developed some new references. "Oh, man, he's been great," said outfielder Darrell Ceciliani, the Mets' fourth-round pick in the 2009 draft. "He's a players' manager. He's always there for you when you talk to him. He's always trying to help you improve your game . . . He knows the game as well as anybody I've ever been around. It's been a great experience overall."

Added Cory Vaughn, the Mets' fourth-round pick in the 2010 draft: "He straight-up gets after it. I love it."

Really, while his personality is evident, what remains unclear is how he would manage a major-league game.

Backman said if he could create his own team to manage, he would take the 1980s Cardinals - a club that exemplified "small ball" - and throw in a few more power hitters.

"My style is to try to force the defense to make mistakes,'' he said, "which I don't think changes at any level."

A former Mets teammate, Billy Beane, who now runs the Oakland A's, disparaged the sacrifice bunt in the best-selling book "Moneyball," and Backman acknowledged that the conventional wisdom surrounding that skill has changed. But he disagrees with Beane, and his players worked on bunting before the doubleheader.

"You don't want to give up outs. You've only got 27 outs, so you don't want to give up outs," Backman said. "But there's a time and a situation that calls for it. Do you have to bunt to win games? Absolutely.

" . . . The bunts, they're fielded by probably the worst-fielding person in the game, which is the pitcher. You want to keep the ball out of the pitcher's hands as much as you can. There are a lot of chances for mistakes . . . It's just a part of the game that I would disagree with Billy, because I think you have to bunt."

About eight hours later, the doubleheader concluded when Vermont pitcher Wilson Eusebio fielded an eighth-inning bunt by William Cherry and threw it wildly into rightfield, allowing Joe Bonfe to score all the way from first.

Backman described himself as a "stat rat." He showed off a lineup card from a few days earlier on which he had written each player's batting average against lefthanders and righthanders and with runners in scoring position.

"There's a reason for statistics," Backman said. " . . . You don't have to be a rocket scientist to figure it out. But you've got to prepare yourself for it. I like statistics. I know there are good ones and I know there are bad ones. It's how you use them, I think, that makes it work."

When he makes a move, Backman said, "I've got a reason." He added: "To me, pitching is the whole key. If you can run your bullpen, you're going to win a lot of games."

Of course, the Mets' decision on Manuel's replacement will involve myriad factors. Backman's popularity is evident. During a lull in the second game of Wednesday's doubleheader, with the crowd thinning out, a handful of remaining fans started a "Wally Back-man!" chant. Backman said people routinely stop him in Brooklyn, where he's living. "They're just excited to see me back with the Mets again," he said.

On the negative side, though, Backman's past could prove a bad match with the Mets' present. Officials from two other teams wondered, on the condition of anonymity, whether the Mets could hire Backman in light of the legal problems of Francisco Rodriguez (facing criminal charges for an alleged fight with his children's grandfather) and Johan Santana (facing a civil suit for rape).

"That's not for me to evaluate," Backman said when presented with this confluence of events. "That evaluation comes from somebody else. I haven't even tried to put myself in that position, even think in that direction."

A month from now, he'll be in something resembling that position, possibly dealing with such questions.

For now, though, as he profanely asserted to DiStefano, he's the manager of Brooklyn. Considering his journey, he doesn't take that for granted.