There is a lot of press right now regarding the lame duck status of Terry Collins.  He was not given an extension last off-season.  This week, he has been quoted as saying that he “doesn’t answer to fans”.  Unless things continue to de-evolve, the popular vote would still be that Collins keeps his job for the rest of the 2013 season and then Wally Backman takes the helm for the Mets next year.  This would replicate the organization’s successful 1984 move when AAA manager, Davey Johnson, was promoted and replaced George Bamberger.

But what if the senior decision-makers are still concerned about Backman’s past issues? What if they believe that he might be a bit too fiery for the team?

Other possible managerial candidates have been mentioned.  Among them are:

Tim Teufel: who is, of course, Backman’s ex-second base platoon-partner and current third base coach for the team.

Edgar Alfonzo: He has managed Mets minor league teams and he is Edgardo Alfonzo’s brother.

Bob Geren: He is the Mets current bench coach.

Are there any other logical choices with ties to the organization?  There is.

Take a look at where the team’s top twenty (rated by MLB.com) prospects are currently playing:

AAA Las Vegas 51s (Wally Backman manager):

Travis d’Arnaud (#1 prospect)
Zach Wheeler (#2 prospect)
Wilmer Flores (#7 prospect)

AA Binghamton Mets (Pedro Lopez manager):

Rafael Montero (#8 prospect)
Luis Mateo (#9 prospect)
Jacob deGrom (#12 prospect)
Cesar Puello (#14 prospect)
Cory Mazzoni (#15 prospect)
Wilfredo Tovar (#16 prospect)

(High A) St. Lucie Mets (Ryan Ellis manager):

Noah Syndergaard (#3 prospect)
Domingo Tapia (#11 prospect)
Hansel Robies (#13 prospect)
Matt Reynolds (#18 prospect)

Low A Savannah Sand Gnats (Luis Rojas manager):
Brandon Nimmo (#4 prospect)
Michael Fulmer (#10 prospect)
Kevin Plawecki (#17 prospect)
Phillip Evans (#19 prospect)

Note that two other Mets top twenty prospects are even at a lower level (Gavin Cecchini #6 prospect is on the Brooklyn Cyclones roster and German Rosario #20 prospect is on the Mets Baseball Training Academy roster).

We can see from this breakdown, that the largest concentration of bona fide Mets prospects is at AA-Binghamton.  The Binghamton club is managed for the second straight year by Pedro Lopez.  He managed the Mets St. Lucie (High-A) team prior to his two-year stint at Binghamton.

As for the rest of his credentials, Lopez played catcher during a 13-year minor-league career. He logged seasons for the Padres, the Brewers, and the Astros.  He retired in 2000 and began his coaching career for the Texas Rangers in 2001.  He has been with the Mets since 2008.  In addition to managing at Binghamton and St. Lucie, Lopez has also managed at Kingsport (Rookie), Brooklyn (Short Season-A), and Savannah (Low-A).

Lopez has only endured one losing season as a manager in the Mets organization (last year, he went 68-74 with Binghamton).  Overall, for the Mets, he has compiled a 314-284 won:loss record.  This year, so far, he is 21-18.

So although the safe money might be on one Wally Backman but don’t count out Pedro Lopez just yet.  You might be hearing his name in October.

5 comments on “What if the Mets don’t promote Wally Backman?

  • Chris F

    I think Mookie deserves a look. He’d be a players coach.

  • peter

    Sorry but Backman is NOT the answer. The Mets need a manager who will shake up this team and get their attention. Lackadaisical play, poor fundamentals and the we’ll get them next time attitude need to be removed from this teams psyche. Why do we need a manager who can get the most out of his players? I thought they were professional and understood what it took to get to the Major Leagues. Find a manager who knows how to put his players in the best possible position to succeed and not bench them on a whim. Players are human and if they are treated like pawns then you lose their respect for you and wind up with the mess the Mets currently have.

  • Metsense

    If there is indeed a “Mets Way” then the next manager should come from within the system. Except for Geren, none have a major league managerial record. Being a manager in the big leagues is tough, being a manager in NY is extremely difficult because of the media. Teufel and Backman played here and understand and experienced the media. All but Geren have experience in the Met minor league system. That should be a strike against Geren. If Lopez is savvy enough to handle the NY media then he should be considered but Backman or Teufel would seem like the early favorites.

    • Jerry Grote

      Great post, and not to seem argumentative but ..

      If part of the question is “handling the media” … how do you justify Wally Backman? Here is a guy given the opportunity to discuss our top prospect with the media simply knifes the organization. That wasn’t in the distant past, it was this spring and it underlines a consistent issue with his handling of the media.

      If there is a “Mets way” it BETTER be because your current talent and NOT pedigree rules the day. IOW, Andrew Brown gets the shot over Daric Barton because he’s a better player today and going forward, not because he played for you at (smalltown USA). Likewise, you don’t pass on Justin Upton because the other team has the audacity to ask for a guy that cost you Carlos Beltran.

      From another perspective, if you select a guy based on his knowledge of those top 20 players … in all likelihood, only 3 or possibly 4 of them will log extensive time with the major league team. And that’s in the next year or so. What happens in 2015? And what is to say the bias of “knowing” Puello is a net good?

      I’ll go this way –> what we should be looking for is the capacity to recognize and develop young talent, especially as it focuses on pitching. The talent level coming out of Memphis or Gwinnett or Syracuse has been pretty good for a while. Let’s keep that net wide.

  • jimmy

    We should all be praying that Mike Sciosia gets fired this summer.

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