[truebluefan]

Wally Backman still seethes about being fired as the Diamondbacks manager in 2004 before he ever won or lost a game.

"They [bleeped] me in Arizona," said Backman, sitting with most of his 1986 Mets Championship teammates in a packed media room at Shea yesterday evening. "That's what happened. That is basically the way that I feel. All the stuff that they put my family through - so many half-truths."

Arizona fired Backman after media reports surfaced that alleged he had a history that included drunk driving, bankruptcy and domestic disputes. Now, Backman wants back into baseball, which he has been exiled from since the Diamondbacks cut him loose shortly after hiring him.

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