November 05, 2004
Gee, Wally, You're Fired
Mike Hunssinger e-mails to tell me Wally Backman was fired as manager of the Arizona DBacks before he even signed the contract. (See this post from yesterday.)
The management group acknowledged they failed to do a criminal or financial background check but initially indicated they would stand by Backman.
"It's obviously a mistake on our part to have made a decision without having done the proper background work," said managing partner Ken Kendrick. "I take full responsibility for that."
Backman was offered a two-year contract but had not signed it, so there were no financial repercussions for the team.
"I'm stunned, so is my family, so is everybody," Backman told the Arizona Republic. "I'm not prepared to say anything today but I will definitely have a statement [soon]."
Bob Melvin was hired to replace Backman. I thought he was a victim of circumstance in Seattle. It's good he's getting another chance to prove himself as a manager.
Posted by David Pinto at
01:28 PM
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Hello, I must be going. . .
I suspect it's not so much Wally's past troubles, but the fact that he wasn't upfront about them. It's not the crime, it's the coverup.
Melvin certainly had bad circumstances here in Seattle this past year, but he's still a bad manager. He probably cost the 2003 team a playoff spot with his atrocious bullpen decisions. In the clubhouse, he neither appeared to motivate the team or to punish miscreants. He's certainly more respectable than Backman (no background check???), but that doesn't mean he was a good choice. See the USS Mariner website for a extensive, informed criticism of Melvin (they refer to him as "Box of Rocks.")
i almost fell out when i read that a ball club had hired someone to manage without a background check. heck, i had to have one of those to work at the circle k.
after the tim johnson scandal with the blue jays, you think they'd have learned to check, and learned that the media sure as heck will.
