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In the last 24 hours, I have heard from people and read a ton of text about how the Mets fired Willie Randolph, which has been described as a ‘massacre,’ as, ‘dishonest,’ and as, ‘disrespectful,’ complete with people comparing it to a mob hit.
According to Omar Minaya, during his press conference with reporters yesterday, he had no choice but to break the news to Randolph at midnight, after a game in the team hotel, because he feared that once the decision was made known to ownership, it would leak and reach Randolph through a ‘third-party source.’
And so, instead of sitting in judgment of how it happened, journalists and fans would be better served by asking why it happened the way it did.
Basically, from what can be inferred in his comments, Minaya believes there is a breach of communication within the organization, which is not good.
It is this sort of fear and behavior that causes dissent, deceit and disastrous decisions, like during the last regime.
Oddly, in the fall of 2006, several reports commented on how tight-lipped Minaya’s regime had been. Yet, here we are, just a year and a half later, and Minaya is making inferences to the contrary, in public, on television, and using it as an excuse for the way he confronted Randolph.
This morning, WFAN speculated that Tony Bernazard and Jeff Wilpon are most likely to blame. During his interview with Minaya on WFAN yesterday, host Mike Francesa said he heard Bernazard was ‘gloating’ on Monday suggesting he already knew and was telling people that Randolph would be fired.
In fact, from what I can gather, people who work in various departments for the Mets were already aware of Minaya’s decision as early as the seventh-inning stretch on Monday.
What’s more, Mets Fans Forever wrote the following on its blog at 11 pm EDT on Monday, long before the press release or before any mainstream media outlet broke the news: “Sources close to Willie Randolph reveal that he has been fired after the game, or tomorrow…This is not a rumor. This is fact.”
Additionally, earlier in the night, around 6:45 pm EDT at Baseball Prospectus, again, long before the press release, Will Carroll reported that Rick Peterson had been fired, later adding, “Sources tell me that the decision was made prior to the game, but that Randolph was not informed until after the game.”
In other words, not only are their ‘leaks,’ but they come fast and to all sorts of writers, be it mainstream columnists or bloggers.
To me, as a fan, who wants to see the Mets operate in the best possible way, this idea of loose-lips is far more significant than Willie Randolph’s ego.
If Bernazard was gloating it is time for Fred and Omar to sit down and discuss removing him from the equation. Period.
Omar will defend his boy and say it isn’t true. to be honest I’m sick of every single one of them, all th way up to the wilpons.
Newsflash, he is not his boy if he was gloating about Willie losing his job, I do not think Minaya stuck with Randolph after last season, and through the first 2 and a half months this just for fun.
And here is another problem with Francessa, who told him of the gloating? And why?
I agree he can’t be in that position and do that, for that alone he needs to be gone as well. I think I heard it someplace else other than from fatso but I’m not sure where.
I think we all need to be wary of any “fact” reported by Mike Francessa.
That being said, there are leaks all over the place with this team, and when the NY media gets a leak or a juicy scoop, concentrating on baseball becomes much more difficult for the players and the coaches.
Eddie C has been saying this since last year. He is a guy I trust when it comes to the Mets. He has his finger on the pulse of this team and I believe this stuff about Tony B because it has circulated that there were problems between him and Willie since last year.
For the Mets to have any credibility, Bernazard has to go. He should have gone before Willie. If reports are true he is singlehandedly responsible for a divided clubhouse and divided farm system.
If Omar is responsible for keeping him, Omar has to go.
If Fred and Jeff are responsible for keeping him then they have to go – or look at empty seats for the next forty years.
since f&j can’t go, gotta be tony. if omar can’t/won’t do it, do him too. this whole thing has been disgraceful.
Eddie Coleman told Francessa about Bernazard.
Unfortunately it doesn’t seem like Bernazard is Omar’s boy anymore. Now he’s apparently Jeff Wilpons go to guy. Which means we’re stuck with him.
Steve Philips was gloating too on Baseball Tonight. We’re a total laughingstock.
Steve Phillips is on Baseball Tonight, he is in no position to gloat.
I do think its funny how all the people who have an ax to grind with the Mets (Phillips) or are Skankee homers (Olney and Madden come to mind) are the ones killing the Mets the most.
Steve Phillips is the laughingstock.
uh, is this the same fatcessa that said his close source said the twins will not even talk to the mets unless reyes was on the table, the same one that said he spoke with keith hernandez and said keith would be interested in the managers job if he is asked next year (when last night on sny keith flat out said he would and was NEVER interested in coaching?
that fatcessa?
Yea I heard him say that re: Keith…I was like ummmmm Hernandez’s name comes up during ever managerial vacancy, and he always says he isn’t interested…In addition, there were some articles less than a week ago making the same point…The thing is, he embodies all the qualities that the Mets are supposedly lacking, so he’d always be an ideal managerial candidate, with the only downside being that he has never coached in any role
I HOPE THEY FIRE HIM AND HAVE SOMEONE LEAK IT BEFORE THEY ACTUALLY TELL HIM………….
The only 3 words that can best describe Randolph’s firing are – YABBA DABBA DO!!! – It’s a Yabba Dabba Do Time, A Do Time, A yabba dabba doo time!! What what….BYE BYE WILLIE!!!
K ~
Bernazard was considered valuable because he was a major player in the MLBPA, I believe, but he has proven to be a big problem. He sticks his nose where it doesn’t belong–apparently Asst GMs do not go into the clubhouse like he does (at least not as often)–and if he was leaking info to others, he is a major reason for the current mess. Before, I thought he needed to be reigned in, but now I think he needs to be fired. Let’s see how much gloating he does then.
Yup.
This team is garbage from top to bottom.
fyrebug.com/2008/06/17/not-makin-it-to-citi-field/
Selig should force the Wilpons to sell the team like how Stern forced Dolan to remove Isiah.
I don’t know much about Bernazard, other than the fact that I hate him with all of my being. I don’t even have a real reason, something in my gut just tells me he’s the leak in the organization.
Of course, if I go on my gut instinct, Omar Minaya might be waiting for me when I go home to tell me I’m fired.
I’m sure Delgado’s criticism of him during his free agent talks didn’t paint a good picture.
I think Jeff Wilpon is a source too, which is beyond pathetic!
screw you troll
You can’t force owners to sell their team. Not happening. Maybe Stern can try to influence the Wilpons to fire Minaya – that would be the equivalent of the Isiah situation but I don’t see it happening this team is SCREWED.
If STERN can influence the Wilpons, I will be quite impressed.
Oh, stop whining.
I have been a Mets fan since 1962. Obviously I’ve suffered through many miserable seasons, but I was always proud of the organization. The handling of Willie’s firing was abysmal and I have no pride in the organization any longer. I’m done.
Go Cubs.
The West Coast post-game hotel firing of Willie was pretty shameful, but it has everything to do with Omar being a bungling clown, and nothing out of malice. Just sheer buffoonery and incompetence as a General Manager.
Now the Cleon Jones van incident and trotting him out like an indicted felon for his public apology and press conference. That was wicked evil.
good, then hope to see you not post. enjoy second city.
I agree. Any organization that cant keep sensitive information secure and only in the hands of authorized personnel is in BIG trouble. Especially in sports when any advantage is used by the opposition, and even more so in this ‘Internet Era’ when one email can leak the story/info to the free world.
Again though, this does NOT excuse the team for handling this the way they did. Theres something called ‘damage control’. That does not consist of “Well, if everyone already knows, lets just move ahead to the next step.” Thats ridiculous. You’re the GM Omar. You cant be forced to show your hand on something this important because of media pressure. You have to regain control over the situation….or at least diffuse as many bombs as possible…Its part of your job as a GM in NYC…
Meeting Willie at 12:15AM to fire him is not that. That’s a purely reactionary move. Totally unacceptable from someone thats supposed to have a handle on all team matters…
If you will recall, control was lost Thursday night/Friday morning when some joker told the press who was going to be get the axe on the coaching staff.
Well…..then fire him Friday, Saturday during the rainout, or before or after the games on Sunday….
He was ‘hoping’ it would go away…it didnt….he was forced into making a decision…
Thats called having no organizational control.
Why not at the minimum just say “Theres nothing to report. Those rumors are completely speculation. If and when there is news to report, you’ll hear from me”…
Omar was completely caught with his pants down…
No GM in MLB should be ‘forced’ into making any decisons. They are just too important not to be made on merit and not extenuating circumstances…
Totally agree. Just who is running this team anyway? Anyone?
Now we’re using Mike Francesa anecdotes as fact. Just like when he said he thinks Keith Hernandez would take the job, and everyone decided to report it as “Mike said Keith told him he would take the job”. Francesa’s so-called sources are consistently proven wrong, yet people continue to give him credibility.
Signs you know your team’s in trouble:
1. Any comparison to the Knicks
The sooner the Wilpons and Minaya realize that the 2006 year was an enigma and an aberration, the better everyone will be. This is a badly constructed team that will not respond to any manager. The Latin faction has overrun this team. The place is a disaster, and little Jeffie Wilpon is now desperate because they are now going into a new stadium with a very weak leg. Their business model included 45,000 full season ticket holders. That will be unlikely now.
I have been a Met fan since 1964. And I am now done.
latin faction? thanks for not being a met fan anymore. you idiots that keep bringing this up embarass the hell out of me and any true met fan. or maybe any non-white met fan.
No, the white ones are embarrassed too.
you can hate the way this went down but if you’re not a fan anymore you never were one. Have fun in the Bronx and on’t let the door hit you in the behind.
I can’t stand the anti-latin sentiment some fans have…as if everyone sees them as arrogant/not caring/whatever…..Bottom line is that they are all excellent ball players, who since a early age, have been motivated to escape their often impoverished surroundings, to provide better life styles for their families.
There are NO players I would have rather have had over the guys that Omar brought in…simply the best people for the job. If you need to stoop so low as to cry racism, then you are pathetic. Peace out.
baloney. you haven’t been a met fan since 64, you’re some jerk trying to make a point. if you were a fan since 64, you’re not going anywhere.
oh here we go again, the latin faction…
the latin faction was all there in 2006
I can’t stand Delgado or Mike Francesa, but what I can’t stand more is people on Metsblog who continue to make up ridiculous nicknames for them (e.g. “Fatcesa, Delcrapo, etc.). Please tell me I am not the only one who finds this extremely annoying and not funny at all.
I guess the Mets are making me really cranky…
Yes…you are….relax…
More important matters at hand…
and no, I’m not just saying this because I coined Delcrapo(at least I believe I did)
If you coined it, then I’m not getting on the originator. Just all of the wannabes that came after you then. Haha…either way, can we please just cut Delgado? I change the channel when he is up at bat. I really am starting to HATE him, personally.
My 2 contributions were Delcrapo and DearGODNo…
There was a straw vote a few months ago and I guess Delcrapo was voted the best name for him….
I hate him more than you. I promise. I gave him 7 hours of nonstop harassing Sunday from the 1st row, right by the bag. I’ve also been in his face in Philly, Wash, and at Yankee Stadium this year..
He knows me. He hates me. This pleases me.
wow youre really cool!
Hey….its my way of blowing off steam.
This team has cost me time, money, and aggerivation…
Sorry. I focus my hatred on him. Hes a big boy(literally)…
He can handle it…
i’m one of the guys who just screams at him to bunt to the 3rd base side against the shift every time he has the chance
I miss Delgot-it
Heeeee DelllllGot it…
Too bad my minds eye sees a long fly to the RF porch at SkyDome(or whatever its called now), or even Dolphin Stadium and not Shea…
Salty and Dykstraw, you guys seriously need to find a life. Getting off on tearing into Delgado is about as lame as it gets.
I think you’ve found a way to be even lamer.
they do get annoying….That being said, I did used to call him Del-GONE-O, but that has been used very rarely since 2006…just about 35 times to be exact
Deargod no is the best thing i’ve ever heard to sum up what he has been this year. And I pray that he bunts every at-bat down the 3rd baseline until they play the infield in.
I like DelGodAwful.
If you really wanna get nuts…theres Karlos DelKrapo….
too much?
I’ve never liked the Wilpons. Fairly on unfairly, I perceive them as lacking in backbone and always have. My cousin has actually had some limited interaction with him in regard to his real estate interests, and assures me he is a good guy, but I hate him as an owner. I may be off base, but it feels like they run the organization in fear of failure rather than hunger for success.
If even half the stuff that has been reported/rumored about Bernazard is close to true, even needs to go, and now.
Frankly, if you want to hold Willie responsible for not producing on the field, hold TOny accountable for the minors not producing enough talent!
If you are going to rebuild the house, get rid of all the rotten pieces, not just some of them.
to be fair to Bernazard he has been instrumental in getting Evans and Murphy and keeping Carp, as well as inking Martinez and Pena, so he is not all bad.
I just can’t stand all the innuendo any longer. The fact that the Mets have failed with the exception of Minaya yesterday at 5pm to address any of that, including the perceived Nationals issue last year, is just poor PR on their part.
Make the guy face a microphone and explain what he is or is not doing, or do it for him, but by not addressing it, to Omars point yesterday the perception becomes the reality.
maybe I missed something…what is the percieved Nationals issue?
Agreed. Slime, through and through, if even a single anecdote is true.
what i dont understand is, the vitriol from the media towards the mets. i mean, for months on end theyve been saying how the mets shouldve fired willie. and now they do, mainly because of leaks to the media (if you believe omar, which i do), and now the media is in a hubbub about that.
now i understand the firing didnt go as smoothly as one would expect in such a high profile situation, but people get fired in a lot worse ways than first class flight to california with first class hotel accomodations, and a 6-7 million dollar severance package.
what did the mets do to the ny media, for the media to just pick apart every aspect of the mets, inch by inch? i feel like the fact that the yankees lowballed joe torre, who took the yanks to the playoffs every year he was a manager, got swept under the rug when you compare the hoopla surrounding this. its almost as if the media took the mets collapse harder than the organization and its fans!
the unprofessionalism of the ny sports media should be the one making headlines nationally. willies firing, as far as im concerned, is old news already.
its almost seems like the media, being so picayune and petty with their opinion pieces, that they are mad they actually had to work at 3am, or if they were snoozing, are bitter because they werent the one that “broke” the news. reading so many articles about the mets and their dastardly ways, i can only assume that these ‘too small to be an athlete so ill just write about them’ reporters are just… bitter at something.
I do agree with one hypothesis, the media was pissed off that it did get to have a gang bang prime time news hour in New York, pure and simple.
If piecing the timeline together I had to guess, the leak on Thursday night/ Wednesday morning was designed by someone to get the ball rolling off a tip that if the Mets had a bad weekend the axe could come down on Willie and a few coaches.
In the end that news and the circus of the weekend led to the decision.
Am I nuts, or is there not one person in the entire ORGANIZATION that knows their role, and does it well?
Everones a know it all, power wh*re…
Maybe Charlie Manuel(they always have uniforms), and Jay Horowitz(and lately the PR….meh…not great)…?
Charlie Samuels…
Unless the manager of the Phils is dressing these guys..
My bad…
Its Charlie Samuels, and he needs to go too. Giving the Mets Black Uni’s and caps to wear. Ever notice most fans wear the blue.
The black sucks
Says the guy named OnlyBlueCaps…
And for the record I agree.
White pinstripes with blue hats and helmets at home….
Greys with blue hats and helmets on the road.
Done.
I don’t like the snow whites either…Pinstripes for home games, with a little of the black mixed in…just as a different look..
For the road, I really don’t like the blue and black hats they wear…I think they should stick with the traditional blue hats.
also, willie randolph’s daughter’s facebook page said “I am no longer a Mets fan : )” or somesuch before monday night’s game in anaheim. for what it’s worth.
anyway, the media can piss off. they are all part of the reason omar had to act immediately on willie, and then they jump him for doing so. i think omar should be shown the door because his “new mets” are a failure. not because of this.
but tony bernazard should be fired because of this, if it was him. if it was jeff i feel slightly better because like jeff i firmly believe that willie should have been gone last october and that omar was dragging his feet.
yeah but whos saying it was bernazard? i listened to benigno and roberts this morning, and they were purely speculating, saying “i can so see bernazard doing this and that and bla bla bla…” and then all of a sudden, the “i can so see” part doesnt get written about and it is “bernzard did this and that.”
i get the sense that berazard is more the scapegoat because everytime something goes wrong, some wfan guy is like “well, rememeber bernazard and the delgado incident”
bernazard is like a top met prospect. always talked about, but never once even seen. and hes prob not as instrumental in the running of this organization as the media is portraying him as. as far as i know, the only thing bernazard did wrong was the delgado incident. all the other times, his name just came up because people would randomly bring up bernzard and the degado incident any time something negative was written about the front office.
no one is saying it. if omar outed him he would then have to fire him and he probably doesn’t have the organization political capital to do that at this point. we are all guessing it. and i think it’s a good guess.
The guys at FAN can’t just reveal the source on air. The source is Ed Coleman, who travels with the team everyday and has said on air in 2006 that Bernazard is not a good guy. Coleman is a Met fan who is working his dream job. For Beningo or Francessa to outright say “our source is Ed Coleman,” he would lose his job.
Open your eyes people. When Francessa says ” a source” saw Bernazard gloating on the field who do you think would get that info back to the FAN cave so fast?
Jeff is Omar’s boss. If he thought Omar was dragging his feet he could have said, “Omar, you’re dragging your feet. Get my point?” rather than leaking something to the press which only makes the team he runs look bad.
that’s why it would only make me feel slightly better. but i agree it would still be somewhat wrong. i think at this point jeff does not trust omar and frankly i do not blame him, but he also doesn’t want to openly take the organization over. so maybe he tried to subvert him a little. but honestly omar failed to make the right move on 10/1/07 and that’s why we are here today.
For a CFO, or whatever Jeff Wilpon’s title is, to be the source of a leak is way beyond somewhat wrong. It is egregious!
Bernazard is the real cancer here.
I was sitting at the same table as a former Met at a charity event over the offseason and we spent the whole time talking about the team. They guy couldn’t say enough good things about the club, he loved NYC and said that he was happy here. When I asked him why he didn’t come back with the team, his response was “Bernazard” (and injuries). They guy then went off for about 10 minutes on how double-faced and hypocritical Bernazard is.
I thought it was just sour grapes, since the guy wasn’t the same player after his injuries, but after everything that’s come out after the last couple of days, I don’t doubt that Bernazard is as much of a scumbag as this guy says he is.
“I thought it was just sour grapes, since the guy wasn’t the same player after his injuries,”
Wow — you were at the same table as virtually every player to play for the Mets in the past two years!
loduca? green? sele?
Not Lo Duca…Perhaps Floyd?
prob steve trachsel. lol
do you really think that person didnt sign because of bernazard or because maybe the orioles gave him a three year contract that he couldnt refuse… just guessing chad bradford here. haha.
The leaks are always from Tony B. and have been for a few years now, I thought he admitted it a couple years ago, when it related to Duaners taxi injury. Maybe my memory is shot.
Let’s start this right here, right now – Tony B. must go!
Yes, your right. He leaked it before the team had a chance to get all the info from team doctors. Then admitted it.
Jeff Wilpon = Hank Steinbrenner….both of you just shut up and let baseball people do their jobs…you are nothing but spoiled brats who were handed the keys….you are as talented as Paris Hilton.
i thought jeff did a solid job negotiating the santana contract.
how, by almost blowing it and luckily getting an extension just to give into every one of Santana’s demands while ALMOST making us look like laughing-stocks if another 30 minutes had gone by?
i thought it was a pretty reasonable contract especially given that jeff had no leverage at all.
Hate hate hate hate
Seriously, that was pretty funny.
When was the last time you heard Wilpon say anything in the press? When did he say that his players must actually earn their money? When did he say that the playing without a DH is “19th Century”?
Not saying that Jeffy is the 2nd coming, but Hank is Hank
what is Bernardzard’s actual title? hey, in Giuseppe Franco terms …. I don’t own the Mets…hey, I don’t know know anything about him? what I do know is he has to go!
on the other hand, I do still believe we’ll make the playoffs.
further, as someone said above about the nicknames like Delcrapo I actually like those, keep those coming. one classic one is Freddy Coupons
Fire Isiah!!!
I wonder if Cerron is selling alot of his “In Omar we Trust” t-shirts today!!!
Great political cartoon in teh Post today:
Mr. Met laying in bed with someone who is supposed to be Michele Obama.
Mr. Met is picking up the phone and dialing a number. The alarm clock is right next to the phone and says 3:00AM.
Michele Obama says: “Hillary?”
Mr. Met says: “Willie”
they will in a month when the mets start winning again. such is the life of a met gm i guess… one month he has to go, the next month he gets santana, the next month he has to go again.
matt, you should start selling reversible omar t-shirts. one side is supportive, the other says to fire him or something. every met fan since 2006 will devour those!
:)
Fire Isiah!
ha!
I hope Cerron didn’t get too many “in Omar We Trust” t-shirts printed up.
Freddy Coupons makes no sense since the Mets spend tons of $$…whether prudently or not….
How come when Wright ground into a double play, he grounds in to a double play, but if Castillo does, he “slaps” the ball to shortstop and double play….
In short I cant blame any of hte “slappy” nicknames as I believe they all come from Gary Cohen’s need to say slap every time castillo puts the bat on the ball…he slapped 3 hr’s this year!!!
but del-whatever-o and coupons are just plain stupid.
how bout:
David Wright-to-the-shortstop
Jose Jose Jo-No he popped up to shallow center again
and a new one for the 1b coach…Ken Oberkfell-right-outta-his-chair-and-into-a-tiny-helmet
because “slaps” makes more sense in context than “sucks”
This nonsense has to stop. I’m sure he’s not happy about it, but Senior Wilpon nees to come out and say that this is unacceptable! He needs to show he’s very upset and disturbed that the Mets cannot keep ANYTHING inside the club. Like Omar says perception is everything. If he doesn’t do this and also stride to correct, its just not going to change.
If Berenzard and Jeff-baby are swapping secrets and as close as everyone is making it out to be, watch out.
And for those of you who are clamoring for Omar to be fired now, enjoy the Tony Berenzard regime because that’s EXACTLY where this is headed.
Point being, the more things change with this franchise, the more they remain the same, and the more I long for the days of Doubleday to keep Freddy and his family in line.
yeah we’re pretty effed if tony takes over. but so will jeff, with his very expensive and very empty shiny new dodger shrine.
Fair enough – but as someone who has dedicated nearly every breathing second of his life to this team, I really don’t want to go through the trouble of boycotting this team until the Wilpons either go away, or start acting like saavy businessmen.
Seriously. Omar might be our last line of defense.
you know, that’s a great point. Nelson kept Fred in check for much of this, and–while I think many were happy to see that there’d no longer be a powershare, that one decision would be tops–they’ve proven to be…unwise…in too many of their decisions.
This whole team is a group of bums still thinking its 2006. They feel entitled to something that doesn’t exist. These bums should be benched for looking at someone sideways – starting with Reye’s temper last night. He should be benched tonight – end of story.
Anyone see Baseball Tonight yesterday. Peter Gammons was on and said that Peterson had nothing to do w/ the Kazmir deal. It was all Jeff Wilpon and that the team doctors mixed up the X Rays and thought Zambrano’s was Kazmir’s. WTF!!!
I didn’t hear about that, but that is basically the equivalent of being offered a really bad deal in fantasy baseball and hitting the accept button by accident. You get Jayson Werth in exchange for A-Rod. In which case the commish of the league realizes it and you get A-Rod back.
Think we should present this argument to Bud?
you’re lying.
you really better be lying.
Unless I mis-heard him, thats what Gammons said.
Would it really shock anyone if that was true? Would anyone be shocked by the Mets doing something asinine anymore?
i dunno, i’ve searched this and i read that gammons said peterson wasn’t involved in the trade but nothing about switched x-rays.
There’s no way that can be true. I’d rather believe they just wanted a win now player and just made a horrible decision.
Yeah and Kasmir’s a lefty and Zambrano a righty and it wasn’t a pitcher’s mound but the Grassy Knoll. The story I heard was that Kazmir was too cocky and was playing loud music in the locker room and it was Al Leiter & John Franco, along with Petersen and Al Harizan [I think] that ‘outed Kasmir. that
Does anyone have any idea of what Bernazard even looks like? I sure as hell don’t.
:)
/”\
M
Matt: With all due respect, your writing here makes you sound like an Omar Minaya apologist, rather than an impartial viewer. You run a wonderful blog and you’re passionate, but you’ve gotten too close to the club to effectively be able to read between the lines and pick up subtle cues expressed yesterday by Minaya in the press conference. Please re-read Bob Raissman’s column for more insight.
I’m also a professional journalist and we’re used to hearing people tell their stories and give personal accounts of events. We’re trained to sniff out bull$#*% and Omar’s words, intonation, demeanor and body language yesterday absolutely reeked of it.
DUDE – Ever since Cerrone becam affiliated with SNY with blog has gone downhill – all of his posts are puff peices that i usually stop reading about three lines into. I understand that he feels like this gives him a leg up, but it sucks. I miss the days of when he took cues from Mike and the Mad dog and would report that we signed Juan Gonzalex when it could’t have been further from the truth.
Woah..since when is a blog supposed to be impartial? Screw that. “Professional” journalists, of which you claim to be one, are far from it. They report things for the sake of stories and selling papers. Usually they don’t care about the team or the players or if they win, or even if it’s totally true. I trust the info here much more than I would in the Post or Daily News or any other newspaper.
I trust the “news” that is reported on this site is accurate. I have never had a reason to believe otherwise…
Whether the opinions regarding these facts are from a totally objective source is another story entirely.
I dont even think Matt would disagree. Hes at press conferences and on SNY. You CANNOT be totally objective to something that you are that close to. You just logically cannot…
He basically admitted as much in his post yesterday….
Right and on the FAN tonight Willie said he told Minaya, “If you’re going to fire me do it now – don’t let me get on the plane.” A number of things bothered me about the press conference with Minaya and one was you couldn’t hear the questions being asked. Did anyone ask Omar what HE intended to do to improve this team?
Tony Bernazard has never personally scouted or signed a player for his life (that I am aware of). If anyone here is able to pick out a player and on that contract or press release says: Scouted and signed by Tony Bernazard, we might as well start researching and see who he was instrumental in signing to the organization. He was NOT instrumental in the signing of Fernando Martinez, Deolis Guerra, Francisco Peña or any Latin American ballplayer that the Mets have signed through the international signing period. All Bernazard has ever done prior to joining the Mets was work with the Players Union (that’s where you can find Bobby Bonilla and a couple of former ballplayers). Bernazard currently serves the Mets in the role of Vice President for Player Development. Sandy Johnson is Vice President for Scouting and it was he (NOT Bernazard) along with Omar Minaya and various scouts were running the Mets 2008 draft (and past drafts, even when Gary LaRoque was VP for Scouting when Minaya arrived in 2004) while I am sure Bernazard was sitting in or drifting in and out of the room. Most of what Bernazard does is track the player’s development and promoting their top prospects to the next level, as in “force feeding” them by putting them at an advance level such as F-Mart who is Double-A right now (currently on the DL) rather than the FSL where in 2006-07 he was hitting the crap out of Florida State league pitching. Mike Carp is in Double-A simply because he wasn’t able to stay healthy last year. Dan Murphy I do not know much about is a 3B but can be converted to 2B (which Reese Havens will play while with the Brooklyn Cyclones unless the Mets convert Havens to a catcher) or a utilityman who can play multiple positions. Peña who is an excellent defender with a light bat I believe is in the SAL league this year. I still think the Mets should overhaul the Scouting department and shift their focus on finding players (high school, college, juco) who can flat out hit and know how to pitch (by that I am referring to not needing to hit 98 MPH on every single pitch). Lastly, this is not a Latin thing; a Caucasian thing or an African-American thing so let’s leave race out of the equation. This is all about finding the right person regardless of ethnicity to run your team and finding the right players regardless of ethnicity who can perform on the field on a consistent basis. Yea I’m sure there are a couple of people in that organization who are grimy and will do ANYTHING to get their way and get it done. Now if it is true that the Mets mixed up the X-Rays, then SOMEONE probably did not like Kazmir as a person OR really had it in for Peterson. That my friends is called office politics. All in all – if Bernazard was really gloating, he should BE FIRED. Remember in 2004 or 2005 when Delgado signed with the Marlins instead of the Mets, people close to Delgado cited Bernazard as the reason why he chose the Marlins. Since then, Bernazard is NOT involved when it comes to free agents I don’t care how many photo-ops he has.
I liked what you said, but I’m generally opposed to book-length comments. Scouting and player development need an overhaul, but it’s a process, and one that won’t produce results for years.
I’m sure you make a really articulate point in all of that, but try to break that up with some paragraphs.
fatcessa just maid every mets fan happy by saying he wants delgdo to go to just change the way the team looks. He said to eat the entire contract if necessary.
“Maid”??
Seriously, can we not have little updates on everything two NY shock jocks say or do? Doesn’t the Fan have its own website?
it was an immediate response, and I was trying to multi-task, but maid came out instead of made. Shoot me.
What, ?? Oh Francesa will eat the contract – I’m not surprised lol
Matt – One question remains unanswered: why couldn’t Omar, if he was afraid of leaks, have just kept the decision to himself until he told Willie about it? Then only HE would have known (and he could have waited until a more appropriate time than 3am after a cross-country flight and a win).
According to him, he had to put the other pieces in place, so keeping it to himself would be impossible.
Because he’s full of it. I’m sure Jeff Wilpon made the final decision.
For anyone who thinks there’s not a racial overtone in the makeup of this team, just look at Tony Bernazard and his influence over the latino players.
So, according to you, Tony walks down the ramp every day and whispers to the Latino players, “Hey, psst. Play terrible today. In fact, act like you don’t give a damn. Smile, goof off, and don’t worry when the team loses.”
All because what? He didn’t like Willie Randolph? Please. Winning keeps everybody employed. Bottom line.
Wow, that was really not at all what I was getting at. I was just pointing out that everyone is so sensitive to the idea of the Mets having a racial preference, yet when you hear about the latino players treating Bernazard as a surrogate father and how has used the latino connection to try and persuade free agents while also wanting Manny Acta instead of Willie as manager, you can’t help but come to that conclusion.
That’s not what he said. Bernazard, by reports, wielded a lot of influence among that sector of the clubhouse. You can envision the scenarios. Reyes is peeved with Willie, goes and cries on Bernazard’s shoulder (literally, knowing infantile Reyes), Bernazard tells him Willie’s full of stuff, etc.
I’m not saying that’s what happens, but that’s the kind of thing that could fracture a clubhouse, and it’s plausible. And yes, the health of the clubhouse does translate to success on the field.
I see. I guess I thought by “influence on Latino players”, I took it to mean active, negative actions on the clubhouse atmosphere. But, the scenarios you lay out, TMU, I also guess I could envision happening and the subsequent negative consequences.
Bottom line, like everyone, I am aggravated at the state of this team, and I wonder to myself how it fell so far so fast. I am tired of the speculation and dramatics, and I just want them to win ballgames so none of this would be news. I would rather be discussing on-field happenings and strategies than the role the Asst. GM has had in the ruination of my favorite team. :(
Several people have said that Bernazard went back to certain players, Latin or not, and told them what Willie had said about them to Bernazard in confidence. I heard though that it was Beltran & Delgado who were criticized by Willie.
The leak is either tony, omar, or the wilpons. After they make a decision they should not tell anyone one whats going on, but atleast one of them does. As for Benazard, that was what onley is talking about that the team is not structured. Love or hate onley, many people have reported this is a big flaw on the team. A player should not go to benazard if they have a problem with willie and undermine him. Willie loose the team and power over the team. There has to be some structure, and more power to the manager or the mets will never get a great coach to come to the mets
Just like in the private sector, this kind of backstabbing creates low morale and can make for a bad work enviornment.
Has anyone ever read Dilbert. It can be interchanged with any company including the New York Mets.
For anyone questioning the new found power of Tony Bernazard here’s this little tidbit. On NESN or YES you never see segments where the sideline reporter does an entire segment with the Asst. GM.
We have seen Bernazard more on SNY this year than Omar Minaya has been on SNY.
How much you want to bet that Jeff Wilpon made that call.
But why is Bernazard getting air time? Well, why not make him seem like he is all over the farm system and is a smart baseball guy in case Omar gets fired. Then the fans will feel like there is a viable homegrown candidate to become GM.
Thats all speculation but think about it. What Asst. GM gets air time on his teams network like Bernazard does?
With regards to the rumors of Bernazard, i say where there is smoke theres fire. We’ve been hearing about him alot more this season than in the past, and now since willie’s firing he’s been brought up even more by several sources.
Didn’t Francesca hear from Bill Madden, that Bernazard would tell the players things the coaches said about them in closed door meetings. How is willie supposed to manage if something like thats happening. Now the rumors of Bernazard gloating over the firings. He obviously seems to have his own agenda, and never supported his coaches.
The worst thing about it for me though is this. In 2006 and most of 2007 this team played the game the right way, they were a close knit group. They played for each other and for willie, but things all of a sudden started to change. Was Bernazard a big part of the reason?
If he didn’t possibly cripple this clubhouse would willie still be this manager? Remember willie’s strongest quality was his relationship with the players. If Bernazard is a big reason for taking that away then who’s really at fault for this teams collapse.
We might never know the answer to any of the questions we have, but now i have this doubt in my mind. Idk if any of its true, but if Bernazard did go out of his way to undermine willie and his staff then its a shame. Cause then we fired the wrong guy, a guy that cared deeply about this team. Again we’ll never get the truth, but there is some doubt now.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAhohohohohoho
HILARIOUS