Inside Pitch

In his normal daily meeting with reporters Monday in Miami, Mets manager Terry Collins said all of his coaches will be returning to the team in 2013. That includes third-base coach Tim Teufel, the Bisons' manager in 2011, and bullpen coach Ricky Bones, who was the pitching coach in Buffalo from 2009-2011. 

It also means there appears to be no spot available for Wally Backman (above), who managed the Bisons this season and has spent the last three weeks with the Mets. 

The Mets conceivably want Backman to spend another year in Triple-A but he's made it known he's wary of the travel involved in the Pacific Coast League now that the Mets' top farmhands will be in Las Vegas rather than Coca-Cola Field.

Backman, remember, talked to his longtime mentor and former Mets manager Davey Johnson about a coaching job with the Washington Nationals last winter. But Johnson advised him to take the job in Buffalo instead so Backman could have a Triple-A managerial stint on his resume.

Backman and Johnson will certainly talk again this offseason. Wonder how much the conversation changes this time.

By the way, Jeurys Familia makes his big-league debut as a starter tonight for the Mets against the Marlins. Familia made a team-high 28 starts for Backman this season in Buffalo, going 9-9 with a 4.73 ERA. 

---Mike Harrington
Twitter: @BNHarrington 

(Backman photo by Mark Mulville/Buffalo News)

We're at 159 games down and three to go in MLB's regular season, with shockingly little decided. Most folks in these parts will be paying attention to the Yankees' series in the Bronx with Boston, as the Yanks are tied with upstart Baltimore (which opens a series tonight at Tampa Bay).

Incredibly enough, 14 teams are still mathematically in it with three games to go (although the Rays, White Sox, Angels and Dodgers are all holding on by a thread that could snap tonight). That's pretty much what Bud Selig & Co. had in mind when they added this second wild-card. The only divisions clinched are the NL Central (Reds) and NL West (Giants).

Here's a look at how things stand:

AL East: The Yankees and Orioles are both 92-67 and clinched playoff spots last night when the Angels lost the second game of their doubleheader in Texas. If they finish tied, they stage a tiebreaker game Thursday in Camden Yards. But the Yankees have a huge edge against playing-out-the-string Boston, which is 1-9 in its last 10 and lost its 90th of the season yesterday for the first time since 1966. Baltimore is at Tampa Bay.

Mark Teixeira returns to the lineup tonight for the Yankees, batting fifth. CC Sabathia is on the mound. 

AL Central: The White Sox have collapsed away a three-game lead, going 2-9 in their last 11 and allowing the Tigers to forge a magic number of one. Chicago is in Cleveland tonight while the Tigers are in Kansas City. On the Triple Crown watch, Detroit's Miguel Cabrera has a three-point lead in the batting race over Joe Mauer, has a nine-point lead in the RBI race and is tied with Texas' Josh Hamilton for the home run lead.

AL West:  The Rangers (93-66) currently have the AL's best record and could finish with that -- or slip to a wild-card. They play the last three in Oakland (91-68), with the A's needing a sweep to take the division. One Texas win ends it. 

AL wild-cards:  It's going to be the AL East loser against the AL West loser, unless the Rays pull a miracle. Despite going 9-1 in their last 10, the Rays' tragic number is down to one.

NL East: The Nationals' magic number is one to wrap up an improbable division title. They host the Phillies while the Braves, who are three back, play in Pittsburgh. Washington is 96-63, tied with Cincinnati for the best record. 

NL wild-cards: It's going to be Atlanta hosting St. Louis, unless the Cardinals crumble against the Reds and the Dodgers go wild against the Giants. The Cardinals have a two-game lead.

---Mike Harrington
Twitter: @BNHarrington