Wally Backman Critiques Mets Struggles and Juan Soto's Couch Routine artwork

Wally Backman Critiques Mets Struggles and Juan Soto's Couch Routine

The Carton Show with Craig Carton & Chris McMonigle

June 29, 2026

Former Met Wally Backman joins the studio to discuss his new role with the Staten Island FerryHawks and offers his blunt assessment of the current Mets clubhouse culture.
Speakers: Craig Carton, Chris McMonigle, Wally Backman
**Craig Carton** (0:00)
Don Toliver is huge, by the way.

**Chris McMonigle** (0:01)
At the Barclays Center, yeah.

**Craig Carton** (0:03)
Lemonade, if I'm not mistaken, is that Don Toliver one of his big hits?
No? It's either Lemonade.

**Chris McMonigle** (0:09)
You got another one?

**Craig Carton** (0:09)
Or maybe I just like Lemonade.

**Chris McMonigle** (0:10)
That's true.

**Craig Carton** (0:11)
Yeah, I could have sworn I heard my kid singing Lemonade. It was a Don, right?

**Chris McMonigle** (0:15)
Am I right about that?

**Craig Carton** (0:16)
Yeah.

**Chris McMonigle** (0:17)
You're getting a yes from me.

**Craig Carton** (0:18)
I'm getting a yes?

**Chris McMonigle** (0:18)
Yeah!

**Craig Carton** (0:19)
The old man got one right.

**Chris McMonigle** (0:21)
Sorry.

**Craig Carton** (0:21)
Lemonade.

**Chris McMonigle** (0:22)
I'm more likely to connect with music through George than I am Don Toliver. But that's all right. That's who I am.

**Craig Carton** (0:29)
Yeah, lemonade is one of his hits. I don't know if that's his biggest hit, but I know it's a hit. And if you could make money singing about drinking...

**Chris McMonigle** (0:36)
Well, I mean, that's how country music, you know...

**Craig Carton** (0:39)
That's right. That's why America is the best place in the world.

**Chris McMonigle** (0:42)
I am currently making a playlist for my summer vacation.

**Craig Carton** (0:45)
Is that right?

**Chris McMonigle** (0:45)
That's what I do. So I'm going through it trying to make a playlist.

**Craig Carton** (0:47)
What, you mean like for the trip?

**Chris McMonigle** (0:48)
For the trip.

**Craig Carton** (0:49)
Okay, got it, got it, got it.

**Chris McMonigle** (0:49)
For the trip. Because I'll carry that stupid boom bop, that little, you know, wireless thing around with me the entire cruise.

**Craig Carton** (0:56)
Okay.

**Chris McMonigle** (0:57)
And like just Googling, like searching for something, like everything. Oh, it's like one margarita, two margarita. It's all about drinking everything. Every country song has beer.

**Craig Carton** (1:07)
What percentage of your 100 songs, let's say, will be Beatle songs for the big vacation?

**Chris McMonigle** (1:12)
Not many.

**Craig Carton** (1:13)
Oh, really?

**Chris McMonigle** (1:13)
No, no.

**Craig Carton** (1:13)
You go like just vibes.

**Chris McMonigle** (1:15)
I'm gonna go vibes.

**Craig Carton** (1:15)
Go like cruise vibe guys.

**Chris McMonigle** (1:17)
A lot of Jimmy Buffet, a lot of Bob Marley.

**Craig Carton** (1:20)
Okay.

**SPEAKER_3** (1:21)
Yeah.

**Craig Carton** (1:22)
How quickly does the list get old, you think?

**Chris McMonigle** (1:24)
A lot of Beach Boys.

**SPEAKER_3** (1:25)
Okay.

**Craig Carton** (1:26)
Do you think the list gets old like day three, like this again?

**Chris McMonigle** (1:29)
No, I don't think so. I think I already have about 80 songs in there.

**Craig Carton** (1:33)
Nice.

**Chris McMonigle** (1:33)
Like about five hours worth of material.

**Craig Carton** (1:35)
There you go.

**Chris McMonigle** (1:35)
So we got plenty to go to.

**Craig Carton** (1:37)
How much of the Your Greatest Hits are on the, like slipped in, in between the songs? Like it'll go from like, in Margaritaville, the New York Yankees have the best chance of winning a World Series. More after this with the Big Mac Show.
Mon Margarita to...

**Chris McMonigle** (1:55)
I don't think there'll be any Big Mac in there.

**Craig Carton** (1:56)
You're not slipping them in?

**Chris McMonigle** (1:57)
No, I'm getting...

**Craig Carton** (1:58)
You gotta slip in a couple little like 30 second hits of you. Because then people will be like, wait, you listened to the fan? Was that the fan?

**Chris McMonigle** (2:05)
That's the last thing I wanted to do.

**Craig Carton** (2:06)
We hit the fan on the boat?

**Chris McMonigle** (2:07)
I want to, I'm getting away from Big Mac.

**Craig Carton** (2:09)
Got it, got it.

**Chris McMonigle** (2:10)
I'm gonna step outside Big Mac.

**Craig Carton** (2:12)
There you go.

**Chris McMonigle** (2:12)
Just be another... Anonymous guy with his feather, you know, dad pod.
That's all I want to be.

**Craig Carton** (2:21)
There you go. Here's David in Connecticut on the fan. Wally will join us this hour as well. Not in the building quite yet, but we're working on that.
David, how you doing today, pal?

**SPEAKER_3** (2:31)
Hi, can you hear me?

**Craig Carton** (2:32)
You're talking, I can hear you.

**SPEAKER_3** (2:36)
This is Taxi Cab Confessions.

**Chris McMonigle** (2:38)
This is not going to go well at all.

**Craig Carton** (2:40)
I can tell you that already. What's your confession, sir?

**SPEAKER_3** (2:45)
The Knicks are playing games with the season ticket holders.

**Craig Carton** (2:49)
What did they do to you? Go ahead.

**SPEAKER_3** (2:52)
Before the playoffs started, they renewed a bunch of people, and they said the rest would be done after the playoffs.

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