How do any of you know the influence of Tony Bernazard? You are all speculating.

From the Daily News last September:

That would be Minaya’s assistant GM, Tony Bernazard who, it would appear, is the real power in the front office. Before being hired by Minaya, Bernazard worked in the Players Association as essentially the union’s liaison with the Latin players. Donald Fehr would hold meetings with the players in spring training, outlining all the elements of the Basic Agreement and then Bernazard would recite it all in Spanish (Carlos Delgado once referred to him as “the highest paid translator on the planet”).

As such, many Latin players throughout baseball hold Bernazard in “second father” regard. I’m also told that all of the Mets’ minor league Latin players have Bernazard’s cell-phone number with the understanding they should call him any time if they encounter problems either off the field or with club officials.

What is unique about Bernazard’s situation with the Mets is that no other assistant GM, let alone GM, spends as much time in the clubhouse - which is supposed to be the manager’s domain - as he does. After Gomez was thrown out stealing third for the final out in the ninth inning against the Marlins in Miami on Sept. 21, Bernazard was immediately at the kid’s locker after the game - which could not have been very settling to Randolph. But the fact is, once the Mets fired Randolph’s only hand-picked coach, Rick Down, at the All-Star break, they sent a message to the players that the manager didn’t have the juice they had perceived him to have. At the time, Minaya made a point of saying Down’s replacement on the staff, Rickey Henderson, would be a good influence on Reyes. Right.

Until then, Randolph had attempted to instill discipline in Reyes by employing the “tough love” approach. But when a player knows he can go over the manager’s head to a higher authority with a sympathetic ear, the manager’s message starts to get tuned out. And while Bernazard may insist his open fraternization with Senators manager Manny Acta in Washington was no big deal, what kind of message do you think that was to Randolph’s impressionable young Latin players?

Mets sources have told me that Bernazard pushed hard for Acta to get the manager’s job before Minaya settled on Randolph. I have no doubt that if Acta were not under contract to the Nats the next two years, Minaya would not have had that press conference with Randolph yesterday. The same sources insist that, because Randolph had no previous managerial experience, the Met hierarchy expected he would simply do what he was told and go along with the program. They didn’t want a manager who would exert his will. If they did, they would have hired Jim Leyland.

The thing is that there have been many reports of Bernazard hanging around in the clubhouse. In addition, its been reported that he has all the latin players call him if there are any problems or anything like that. While nobody with the team has come out and publicly said this, like the old saying goes, where there’s smoke, there’s fire.

it was reported that tony spends a lot (or too much) time in the clubhouse, and has made himself a little too available to the players, disrupting the chain of command. How true that is, I don’t know, but there have been a couple of stories about it.

So because the assistant GM is in the locker room after games Delgado can’t hit, Castillo can’t field or hit, Heilman give up long balls every outing, Reyes can’t hit, and the team never comes back?

The Bernazard business smells like a bunch of bs. Go try and bark up another tree boys.

I really don’t know what the hell is the matter with this team. I think the only logical conclusion lies within the roster. Castillo sucks, Delgado sucks, and Alou in unreliable visa vi his injuries. We need upgrades at those position.

Perhaps it would also help if we played smart baseball rather then overly agressive.

I *wish* the Mets’ biggest problem was an executive spending too much time in the locker room.

Well, putting aside the clubhouse stuff, if Bernazard’s job is to develop minor league talent- he’s failed in that miserably. He is easily replaceable and firing himt sends a message to his buddy Minaya that he better wake up.

well, if true it certainly helps undermine whatever authority willie has, and that’s relevant. the original point being about clubhouse division and willie losing the team.

Get Bernazard out of there. It’s cronyism like this that has fractured the clubhouse and ruined the farm system. Bernazard and Willie should not have tickets back to NY on the team plane. Leech. . . .

There’s a reason TWO different players have spoken about the lack of accountability from Latins (Lo Duca) and players over there (Wagner pointing towards Delgado).

And his name is Tony Bernazard.

yeah, keith and ron said a couple times that Wright should let Johan field it when he’s on the mound because he’s such a good athelete…but what the hell do they expect wright to do, ignore a lifetime of training and baseball instinct? And what happens if he doesn’t charge, and the ball gets by santana? he’d be roasted alive.

I think that Ron Darling made the most ignorant comment the night Pelfrey pitched ” I still think this guy is going to be a good pitcher, if only he can get his second or third pitches over” I mean come on that is the most rediculous comment I ever heard from someone that a professional ball player. Pelfrey has had THREE years already to get some sort of consistency and he is unable to. I think Ron Darling in that statement really made a fool of himself. It is time to get RID of Pelfrey.