Hire Wally Backman!

On vacation and away from the minute by minute developments of the Mets fiasco...out of touch with what Evan Roberts and Joe Benigno and Chris Russo and Mike Francesa and Carlin and Somers and Seinfeld are saying...Mets bring up Nick Evans, get a jolt, hope arises...then back to normal with a lethargic loss to a bad team.

Willie's gone either tomorrow or after the Marlins series (unless the Mets dominate the Fish and that's unlikely). Who will replace him? The more I think about it, the more sense a Wally Backman-hiring makes.

His qualifications are apparent. If he was good enough for the D-backs, who were on the verge of becoming a perennial contender, he's good enough for the Mets...and his baseball hometown would welcome him with open arms.

But more than that, it makes business sense. The Wilpons are on the hook for Willie's salary, this year and, I believe, next. In order to get a quality manager to commit, they are likely going to have to commit to a high-dollar, multi-year deal. That's not something they are going to want to do at this point: mid-season and with millions owed their present manager.

They need to hire somone who has a legitimate possibility of succeeding, but let's say they do not want to commit in years and dollars to someone like Bobby V. at this point. So they hire Wally, with the angle that they're bringing a fiery ex-Met back into the fold, a proven winner, but someone who's had personal problems that have derailed his career. Wally's desparate to get a ML managing job, so money won't be an object. The Wilpon's can couch it as giving Wally a shot to redeem himself, making them good samaritans in the eyes of the fan base. They can also make it plain that he's on Bobby Knight-style short leash--that if he messes up, he won't be Mets manager for long. That's a not unreasonable position to take. It allows them to make an inexpensive, short-term committment that could pay-off big. Add the fact that people will spend money to see Wally manage this team, and you have a situation that makes sense on the field and in their bank account.

Do it, Jeff, Fred, and Omar. Hire Wally.