Has Carter's mouth gotten him blackballed?

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The woman on the other end of the phone assured me she'd give him the message, but she quickly added, "Gary's not going to be talking about that. He's already said too much."So I'm not surprised that Gary Carter hasn't called back -- even though he told me, just three months ago, to buzz him after he got settled in California.That's where he is now, working as the manager of the Orange County Flyers in the eight-team Golden League, a low-budget operation that might be the bottom of the professional baseball barrel.And, for what it's worth, the Hall of Fame catcher and former minor-league manager has the Flyers in first place in the South Division with a 21-6 record.But that's not exactly what I wanted to talk to him about.I wanted to talk to him about the conversation we had in March where we chatted about his two favorite subjects.Baseball.And him.Much of our discussion that evening focused on his absence from the game and his frustration with being unable to get back to the big leagues as a manager or coach.I can't give you specifics, because he asked me to keep the conversation "off the record" until we talked again this summer.But I can tell you this much: Carter believes -- or at least wonders if -- he has been blackballed by someone in baseball. And I can tell you that now because that's what Carter told my esteemed colleague, T.J. Simers, sports columnist for the Los Angeles Times.Simers wrote this week in a column about Carter going from Cooperstown to the Golden League to keep alive his dream of becoming a major league manager: "It almost makes you wonder if 'Kid,' as he was known in the big leagues, has been blackballed by baseball."Carter's reply? "Sure does."So now it's out there.Not that going public with his suspicions will do him much good.Even if he's right -- he offers no tangible proof to support his suspicions -- his words will only make potential employers leery of him.Make that more leery.Carter told me back in March that he sent letters to 29 major league teams to inquire about big-league coaching and minor-league managing opportunities. He said he received only 10 responses and, ultimately, no job offers.Why the collective snub? Is he too much of a self-promoter? Too much of a rah-rah guy? Too much of a loose cannon with an even looser tongue? Carter is a solid baseball man who knows the game and loves it even more. He's terrific with the media. He won a World Series playing for the New York Mets and a Florida State League title managing their Class A affiliate in Port St. Lucie.And, for a while, it appeared he had a future with the organization.But after winning the FSL title in 2006, Carter foolishly turned down a promotion to Class AA Binghamton (N.Y.) and pushed for a spot on the major league staff of Mets then-manager Willie Randolph.He didn't get it.Just like that, Carter found himself out of baseball. The Mets no longer wanted him. Nor did anyone else in the major leagues.They still don't.And Carter, who desperately wants to get back in baseball, has only hurt his cause -- first, by going on a radio show and publicly coveting the Mets manager's job while Randolph still had it; then, in his interview with Simers, inferring that the New York Yankees hired their current manager because of the "pictures Joe Girardi must have on Steinbrenner."The blunders destroyed whatever progress he might've made by going to the Golden League.So I'm not really surprised Carter hasn't called. As the woman on the other end of the phone told me: He's already said too much.And that's too bad.(Ray McNulty is sports columnist for Scripps Treasure Coast (Fla.) Newspapers, The Stuart News, Fort Pierce Tribune and Vero Beach Press Journal. Contact him at ray.mcnulty@scripps.com or on the Web at www.tcpalm.com.)