YKW 04 <usenetykw03-at-hotmail.com> wrote:
>"Blair P. Houghton" <b.DeleteThis@p.h> wrote in message
>news:UNBgd.3574618$ic1.364307@news.easynews.com...
>> My money is on Backman.
>>
>> --Blair
>> "Just because."
>
>Rightly or wrongly, the stunt that the Twins players pulled off at the end
>of the 2003 season will follow Backman for many, many years, making it next
What stunt?
>to impossible for him to gain the trust of major leaguers anywhere and,
>thus, rendering him unable to manage those players effectively for an
>awfully long time to come. He'll likely need to serve another bench-coach
>apprenticeship with a mentor figure who trusts him implicitly and allows him
>to use that trust to rebuild his own credibility before he'd be of any use
>as The Guy out on the field.
>
>(But, how's he gonna convince Davey Johnson to come out of retirement?)
>
>That doesn't mean he won't get the job, if he's willing to work cheap here
>(new ownership appears to have a monomaniacal focus on minimizing costs
>short-term, rather than on maximizing revenues and/or profits, or even
>keeping one eye partially turned toward the long-term health of the
>organization);
I listened to the press conference this afternoon, and the
suits said something to the effect of they're willing to spend
the kind of money that won two of the last three World Series.
I.e., not Red Sox money, but Marlins or Angels money.
Which I was too stunned by to laugh at.
Because that's how I was gonna buy my next Porsche. Not with
Ferrari or Lamborghini money, but with raffle-ticket money...
--Blair
"We replaced the wrong guy..."
P.S. Googling around for Backman background, I found this
story on an old White Sox message board; no attribution
so I have no idea where it came from originally:
***Long hours for the love of the game***
***A minor league odyssey***
Wally Backman is irate. But irate
really doesn't describe it.
Backman is pissed.
After a Carolina League game between
the Class A Potomac Cannons and the
Winston-Salem Warthogs, I walk into
the Warthogs' locker room to talk to
former major league second baseman
Wally Backman, now the manager of the
Warthogs, an affiliate of the Chicago
White Sox.
Cussing words, loud, angry ones, are
the first thing I hear. Backman is mad
about something. At first I think he's
hollering at his players, who dropped
a game to the Cannons 10-3. I quietly
exit the clubhouse and head back to
the field.
Next thing I see is Backman is running
up the stands for the press box,
trying to open doors, searching for the
official scorekeeper, pointing at him,
wanting to talk. Two assistant coaches
and the White Sox's director of minor
league operations try to keep Backman
from a regrettable incident.
No such incident occurs.
Later, Backman tells me he was ticked
that the official scorekeeper gave the
catcher on error when Warthogs center
fielder Chad Durham laid down a bunt.
"That was no error," Backman says with
a colorful four-letter adjective added
for emphasis. "The kid has 15 bunt
singles this season. That should've
been his 16th."
Truth be told, I would've given the
batter a bunt single in my scorebook. I
didn't think a good throw from
the catcher would've gotten him. I
understand Backman's anger.
When Backman cools down, sipping a cold
Budweiser and smoking Marlboro reds to
the filter, he explains his anger.
"You can either be a hard scorekeeper
or an easy scorekeeper. You can't be
both," Backman says, a glimpse of
his fiery days in the big leagues
still present. "You can't be hard
on the visiting team and soft on the
home team.
"We have to judge every player in this
league and the end of the season,
and we only get to see each team a
certain number of times. We need to
look at batting averages and earned
run averages. Is the kid batting .265
or is it .275? Sometimes those 10
points might be the difference between
Single-A and Double-A. My kid deserved
a hit."
Backman is just one of many people who
makes a living with jobs in the minors.
Umpires, general managers, managers,
scouts. There are more occupations
(public relations director, bus driver,
advertising exec, radio play-by-play
person); those are just the people
I interviewed.
This is Backman's first year at
Winston-Salem. He previously coached
in the Independent League. The White
Sox offered him a chance to instruct
young ballplayers.
"It feels good to teach," says Backman,
who played in the Carolina League for
Lynchburg in 1978. "I want to help the
kids to the next level. I also like
the strategy. I like being part of
the game."
>> Stay informed about: Backman and Melvin 
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