Mets narrow managerial search to four candidates
Former New York Mets second baseman Wally Backman poses during a news conference after his introduction as manager of the New York Mets' Brooklyn Cyclones farm team in the New York-Penn League. (Nov. 17, 2009) Credit: AP
ORLANDO, Fla. - The Mets have officially narrowed their managerial search to four candidates, and they hope to have a new manager in place by Thanksgiving.
Wally Backman, Terry Collins, Chip Hale and Bob Melvin have advanced to the second round, Mets assistant general manager John Ricco said late Tuesday. The team hopes to interview all four this week during the general managers' and owners' meetings, although logistics could make that a problem. All four men need to travel by air to get here, and general manager Sandy Alderson is traveling between here and St. Petersburg, Fla., to deal with the sudden death of his father, John Alderson.
Earlier Tuesday, Alderson said, "I think the field is wide open" for the manager search, yet a clear pecking order exists among these four, all of whom worked for the Mets in 2010.
Collins, the Mets' field coordinator, and Melvin, a major-league scout for the club, are the co-favorites, thanks to their big-league experience.
Hale, the Mets' third-base coach in 2010, impressed Mets brass with his first-round interview and will very likely get a job on the 2011 staff if he doesn't land the managing job. He is a dark horse.
Backman, the ultrapopular second baseman on the 1986 world champion Mets, stands as a distant long shot. His advancement represents the value the Mets place on him, but the team already has discussed making Backman manager of the Class A St. Lucie affiliate in 2011, a promotion from the Class A Brooklyn job he worked this past season. Friends of Alderson have said they can't see a personality fit between Alderson and Backman.
Collins and Melvin each has held two managing jobs, and both are thought to have "lost the clubhouse" in their final gigs, Collins with the 1999 Angels and Melvin with the 2009 Diamondbacks. Nevertheless, they carry very different reputations, with Collins known as "fiery" and Melvin as more thoughtful.
In any case, the Mets are placing a premium on having managed in the major leagues.
Alderson, Ricco and new Mets officials Paul DePodesta and J.P. Ricciardi are expected to take part in the interviews. Mets COO Jeff Wilpon, also on site, probably also will sit in on portions of the sessions.
Alderson also said that when he met Carlos Beltran in Puerto Rico last weekend, he didn't discuss a position change with the Mets' centerfielder. Given the lack of difficulty that would entail a switch from centerfield to rightfield, Alderson seemed open to the idea of letting Beltran play centerfield in spring training and monitoring his play - assuming Beltran isn't traded by then.
The new GM had this to say about ace Johan Santana, who is recovering from left shoulder surgery: "Nobody has told us that he'll miss the season or anything of that sort, but I think that, certainly, we have to assume that he's not going to start the season."
And with the Mets' injury problems generating a plethora of headlines the past few seasons, Alderson said: "I think we're still taking a look at the infrastructure around the major-league team and even the minor-league teams. I don't expect any changes in the medical staffing. I'm not sure what we will have at the strength and conditioning level."
