According to Ken Davidoff in Newsday, the reputation of Mets Ass’t GM Tony Bernazard has taken a ‘pummeling,’ amid rumors that he is the primary culprit in the firing of Willie Randolph.
In a fascinating, well-researched, story for Gotham Baseball Magazine, Mark Healy talks with a variety of credible sources and 
concludes:
“Bernazard was never really on board with the hire, but waited until he had consolidated his power to start sowing his seeds of discontent. For nearly two seasons, Bernazard has been undermining the skipper in the clubhouse and in the front office.”
…though rather lengthy, healy’s report is a must-read…
In his report for Newsday, Davidoff writes:
“Take this for what it’s worth, but Wednesday, I received two phone calls from industry contacts – the first, a longtime friend of many Hispanic players, and the second, a scout from an American League team. Both, unsolicited, brought up Bernazard, both professed to not know him and both offered the same sentiment: ‘I hear he’s a really bad guy.’”…Early Tuesday morning, when the hatchet fell on Randolph and the two coaches, Bernazard could be seen in the team hotel, giddy as a schoolgirl with a new dress.”
Meanwhile, according to WFAN, a beat writer approached Bernazard before yesterday’s game asking questions about his role in the decision to fire Randolph. Bernazard refused to comment, and then had the reporter removed from the field, courtesy of the team’s public relations department.
What’s more, in a recent report for ESPN.com, Buster Olney wrote that a Mets front office member would often tell players about negative evaluations from Randolph, which were intended to be private.
According to Davidoff, “Bernazard is the natural suspect. The story is quite feasible.”
Meanwhile, according to Joel Sherman, at his blog for the New York Post, “Don’t be conned by the Met spin. The owners and their pet p.r. man were totally involved in Randolph’s firing and how it was handled.”
{ 149 comments }
Seems like someone should officially get the name Richelieu.
nice history reference. my theory is NY Cuban is Tony Bernazard.
omg, that makes too much sense (except cuban seems like a nice enough guy)
no disrespect intended Cuban, just referring to Bernazard’s “giddy like a schoolgirl” attitude after Willie got canned.
This is disturbing, honestly. I love Omar, but he needs to get rid of this guy if these are the things he is doing. It’s totally unprofessional and a bad distraction to the team.
sounds like a typical ladder-climber. omar should definitely watchi his back because he really is next.
on the same thought, john ricco should be worried too.
SEVERAL inside baseball guys (liasions, scouts, GMs) have claimed Bernazard to be a, ‘very, very bad guy.’
If reports of him being ‘close’ to Jeff Wilpon are true, I shall think the same of Paris WIlpon.
Omar very much may want to but when the guy supposedly has Jeff Wilpon in his back pocket it becomes hard to fire him. It may take a bad scandal like Tony being caught selling to kids or something,
With all this bad press, though, you’d think the Wilpons would be happy to get rid of Bernazard. Even if he has become one of Jeff Wilpon’s “guys,” with all that is going around, you’d think Jeff Wilpon would want to create as much distance between himself and Bernazard as possible. Granted, the team is getting tons of bad press even if you ignore the Bernazard stuff, but does that mean that the Wilpons will let Bernazard slide? He’s being referred to as a “bad, bad guy”–how can that be ignored?
This guy sounds like an absolute cancer. Why is he still around? And I thought he and Omar were tight, yet he completely undermined Omar’s pick for manager.
Hey, wasn’t Bernazard the reason Delgado originally didn’t want to come here? This guy just needs go go.
Yes he was. He basically said he felt disrespected because he acted so ghetto.
Than to complete the trade if I remember correctly Omar had to sweet talk Delgado about the disrespect.
I don’t remember the exact words, but Delgado basically referred to Bernazard as the highest paid translator around.
The problem with this guy is that he’s “in” with Jeff Wilpon, so there’s little to no chance that Omar could can him. The guy is a cancer to this organization, as is Jeff Wilpon, as both are only interested in padding their own pockets and building themselves up.
Gotta get rid of this dude. Mike and the Mad Dog brought up some good points in that you can’t have player pipelines to guys above the manager. I mean look at what happened with Leiter, Franco, etc. Fire him now.
The Mets have the same ownership that allowed the Leiter-Franco thing to happen.
Now Bernazard is beyond the reach of Omar with Jeff in his back pocket.
We have Bernazard playing Isiah Thomas to Jeff’s Jim Dolan
what did happen with leiter and franco? Im curious.
Long story short, Franco and Leiter did not like teh punky cocky fireball pitcher so they trade him. Yup, you guessed it he plays for the Rays now.
watch out Omar. little Jeff might replace you with Tony B., get rid of this fool quickly. he is a cancer to the entire met organization.
Tony B. is a boss. And I mean mafia boss. That’s why they can’t fire him, he’ll whack the entire team. Tony B is a BOSS.
Manual shut cut him
IF BERNAZARD IS RESPONSIBLE FOR RIDDING THE METS OF RANDOLPH…..I’m forever grateful, and in currently in his debt. Thank you from the bottom of my heart Mr. Bernazard…you’re a Great!! Man.
K ~
And he was almost responsible for preventing delgado from coming to the mets? What a great man
Well…Delgado got here a year late….and we had a great run in 2006….with Delgado being a large part of that…he hit .351 in the post season that year….if it wasn’t for Shawn Green and Willie Randolph the Mets would probably be two time World Series Champions right now…and now with Jerry Manuel who I’m currently in love with after his two SPARKLING games calling the shots…we’ve got a chance once again…
The only thing I didn’t like about Manuel was that he took Reyes out two days ago…understandable, whatever….Reyes is amped though…this team is gonna start lighting it up…watch…
METS WITH WILLIE GONE = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zpxn57m1Mmw
be sure to have the AUDIO PUMPED!!!
K ~
actually without Tony B. here the Mets could likely be the 3 time defending NL east winner. I’ll make no guesses as to how the postseason would have turned out…
Delgado in 2005 would have seriously helped that team, and in 2007 the players wouldnt have been going over Willie’s head to that rat and would have been responcible for thier own actions.
Well with out Tony B there’s no guarantee Pedro or Beltran sign….there is proof however of Randolph and Green costing the Mets wins.
K ~
“,,,if it wasn’t for Shawn Green and Willie Randolph the Mets would probably be two time World Series Champions right now”??
I though it was Billy Wagner (still on the team) giving up a go-ahead HR to So Taguchi (of all people) in Game 2 of the NLCS at Shea. Or maybe it was Aaron Heilman (still on the team) giving up the infamous 2run HR to Molina, top 9th, Game 7. Or maybe it was the fact that this team went scoreless in 14 consecutive innings over Games 2-4. I thought these were the reasons didnt win their FIRST PENNANT in 6 years let alone 2 World Series………and you want to put the blame on Shawn Green?? But hey, what do I know……..lol. I swear some of the “fans” on here….they should go out and buy their Yankee gear and jump on THAT bandwagon….
Even if you wanted Willie out, your comment is ridiculously dumb. This guy has a terrible reputation no matter who you ask. This is one of the reason this web site has gone downhill quickly the last year. What a waste of time. I dont even know why I keep giving the comment section second and third chances. What a waste.
I would think someone who hangs out on the jersey shore would be able to take a joke
The “Mets Fan” comment does not seem like a joke. Maybe you should pay attention to which comment I was responding to. I wasn’t responding to your Delgado comment, which wasnt even funny anyway.
I think it’s funny Randolph was fired…lol…in the middle of the night no less!! LOLOLLLlolol hahah aHahahhaHAHhahahhahAHha
K ~
Oh so Mets Fan actually considers himself to be in Tony Bernazard’s debt? I didnt realize I was supposed to take everything that people write on this site literally.
Hey…if Tony Bernazard needs something….I’m his guy….He fired Willie, I owe him one…
K ~
There is a right way to do things. There is a wrong way to do things. We all want the same bottom line, but Bernazard went about it in the wrong way.
I feel like this guy is a Yankees pitching prospect. We’ve been hearing his name for about 5 years but have yet to see a picture. Does he even exist?
lol…like the analogy there, but it’s all inconsequential…you want to talk about right and wrong? Randolph NEVER belonged here. He was HORRIBLE as a manager from Day 1, and the driving force behind the wretched end of the 07 season. Wanna talk about Right? Randolph had no business donning a Mets uniform ever, but it was ungodly for him to have done so this year. My only regret was that his departure wasn’t televised. I wish they hired clowns to rile him as he tearfully gathered his things…and have security impolitely impose on him by expediting his departure…maybe have people spitting on him….I dunno, too much? No. I don’t think so. He’s a criminal in my eyes. He stole years of my rooting life away. I hate him. I do. I really hate him.
K ~
I guess your post is proof enough that Tony B. does exist. You are Tony B.!!!
Enrico Pallazo!!! Enrico Pallazo!!! Enrico Pallazo!!!
lol…VIVA LA TONY!!
K ~
You made your point. Stop spitting on his grave.
I was in favor of ousting Willie, but from everything I’ve heard, Tony B. is a scumbag.
And YOU’RE defending him.
You have much to learn if you think Randolph was the problem guy…..but telling by your comments, “learning” isn’t your forte
All I basically said was that it’s great to have that A HOLE Willie gone…and I’m grateful to whoever was the driving force behind that…It’s a new game now…the Mets can win…
So you are grateful that he got rid of Willie. I see your point and agree that a change was needed.
But what about ALL the negative things this guy has brought to the table over the past few years? You called him a “great man” for one positive thing he did but neglected all of the negative BS that has reportedly gone on. So yes, it was a ridiculously dumb comment you made.
I agree the Mets definitely still have a shot, especially because the Philly starting pitching will not last all year. The Mets will be within 2 or 3 games of the Phils by next weekend.
Ridding the Mets of Willie Randolph was monumental…I don’t know which negative things you’re referring to regarding Bernazard, but I do know he helped rid the Mets of Randolph…tee hee…Which is AFNMAZING!!!! Everything else is excused….SEE YA WILLIE!!!
K ~
I am now done wasting time. “Everything else is excused.” You’re a genius.
yeah, no duh
K ~
No duh, you’re a waste of time?
or
No duh, you’re the equivalent of a buffoon?
While I agree that Willie had to go, and am glad someone got it done, there is nothing commendable about being such a snake in the grass.
Tony Bernazard is from PR. It is know’n as the most strict men in the country. He’s not a cancer he is man with with clear objetive and goals. Delgado is a cancer who regret of his hispanity. he thing is a white man. the time will give me the reason.
In fairness, Ben Shpigel’s NY Times piece is more favorable to Bernazard, but it reads like a lightly researched puff piece, and the NY Times is probably frightened by the racial angle to delve further. They want to protray themselves as “above the fray.”
Unfortunately, there’s little way for fans to rebel against a front office apparatchik who has wormed his way into the good graces of an insecure owner’s son looking for validation. It’s going to play out in wins and losses. If it’s hurting the team, the team won’t get better. Sadly, it looks like Bernazard’s finest skill may be deflecting blame, however.
Apparatchik! Well done!
Send him to the gulag.
I’ll go ahead and say “Machiavelli”, too, so that we can have Richelieu, apparatchiks, and Machiavelli in the same thread.
And that should tell you a lot about the Bernazard story.
We should be mindful of the media’s desire to turn this into a soap opera, but it’s coming from too many places, too many sources. This is not an invention. This guy is sleaze. Funny how he used to work for Don Fehr. . . .
Technically the real boss is Fred since he owns the team. Tony I guess could get axed if Fred thinks it is right no matter what Jeff says or feels about the guy.
Very true, in theory. However, practically speaking, it seems like Jeff is doing a lot more than Fred these days.
who cares? at first i did…but ok, he helped get willie fired, half the team loves him….not a big deal. lets focus on manuel.
As a Met fan it matters to me because he seems to have a bad reputation around MLB and with players. Those facts can ultimately hurt the team if guys choose to go elsewhere because they do not like the guy.
Accountability, Mitten.
You think the zero-accountability reported on because of Tony B. did NOT contribute to the worst regular-season collapse in MLB history?
If he’s dividing the organization, it is a big problem–one that might prevent the Mets from ever competing until he goes.
All I keep hearing is how badly run the Mariners organization is–maybe they’ll take Bernazard off of our hands for their GM vacancy.
If he is such a divisive force within the organization, then it is a *very* big deal. And it may prevent the Mets from having any kind of success until he goes.
I like that this guy hated Willie as much as he did, I don’t really like how he operates though. Seems like a shady rat-fink to me. Hopefully he will back off now that Willie’s gone, but I think it would be in their best interests to either get rid of him or move him somewhere else where he cannot cause such a problem in the organization.
I agree 100%. He seems like a rat….and he may be undermining Omar any day now. Gotta get rid of this guy.
I agree 100%. Guy seems like a real rat.
Move him to Port St. Lucie. There, he can hang out with Alou when he rehabs (all year).
I see no reason to expect Bernazard to back off now. Willie was just one of the people who wasn’t one of Bernazard’s “guys.” Bernazard seems to only be looking out for himself and he seems willing to stab anyone in the back to get what he wants. The Mets don’t need that in the organization.
i don’t like his methods, but holy crap, he was right about willie from day 1.
I think much of the point is that he MADE himself right about Willie by preventing Willie from having control over his clubhouse.
Exactly who’s to say he won’t do the same thing to Manuel or to any other manager we may bring in.
tony or no tony, willie was just not a good manager and i am happier without him.
so his 2nd best winning % in mets history is a product of an inflated payroll is what you’re saying?
its a by product of having some very talented rosters during a down period for many NL East teams while in an era when most games are played against the NL East and the NL in general has some very week teams. Willie Randolph was not a good manager, but he wasn’t really that bad. He certainly did not win them games though, his players did. Just like all those will say its not his fault we’ve struggled, why was it his doing when we succeeded?
good rebuttal shea hey, where is points guy? did he die?
then why have a manager at all, in fact that all makes a bette case for Willie whom everyone felt was lifeless, did the team suddenly become talentless?
Look Randolph is gone, he deserved to be fired, he had his shot to prove that the rough end to last season was just that and failed, but this notion that prior to that he was just lucky, grab some sense of honesty, because if you truly believe that the National League and the NL east were just down in 2006 then the fact is, the Mets talent is no where near where you are estimating it.
No, the 2006 Mets did so well because a number of people had career years–or, at least extremely good years. Not only did Reyes, Wright and Beltran have career years, but Lo Duca played much better than he ever did, other than his rookie year (which was apparently aided by PEDs), and Delgado had his last productive year.
Many of the so-called “experts” pointed out, after the 2006 season, that a lot of Mets players had career years, and that they shouldn’t be expected to repeat that, which would likely mean a drop-off for the Mets team, overall. I ignored those warnings, but those people were right.
indeed…a self-fulfilling prophesy.
Yeah, Bernazard was so right. Willie sucked right from Day 1. Gimme me a break. From Day 1 Willie took us straight to respectability following dismal years under Art Howe. You seem to forget we were one Carlos Beltran clutch hit from getting to the WS under him. For God’s sake, we had a starting staff of Glavine, Trachsel, Maine and Perez and almost won a WS under him.
Wright and Reyes’ development was hampered by Willie too.
correlation does not imply causality. this team would have been very much improved if art howe was running it with the talent that was brought in.
that is the ever proving the entirely unproveable, except to say that Oakland despite losing and trading player after player did not skip a beat in the change from Young Frankenstien to Ken Macha, and more so to recall he voluntarily resigned from the A’s job over being fired to ACCEPT the Mets job.
would you resign in 2002 from the A’s to take a job with the Mets after their 2001 and 2002 seasons?
Uh, from Day 1 the Mets lost five straight games before they finally won one under Randolph. Little did we know, it was a sign of things to come.
The attitude of the team changed. They spent money, but Pedro was never on the field. Beltran had one great year out of three. Wright and Reyes developed. The starting pitching has gotten better.
What else did you want from him? A World Series?
Can’t remember seeing a manager get fired after 3.5 years and a record of 50 games over .500.
They also won 6 straight after losing the first five. No doubt Willie had more talent than Howe, but that talent did come together in 2006 and nearly won a World Series. Willie deserves some credit for that. I have always been rather neutral with Willie. I hated his use of the pen from the start, but I do think 80% of the clubhouse liked playing for him and that’s half the battle.
Davey Johnson never had a losing season, and he got canned. It happens. Willie’s making three million dollars for sitting on his butt and having hurt feelings. Boo-hoo. He was a terrible manager…which virtually
insures he’ll get another manager’s job down the road, incidentally.
Listen, he deserved to get fired, he did get fired and we have a new manager.
But to say he was a “terrible” manager is NOT fact. It’s opinion. MetsBlog commenters have a problem with discerning between the two
I think a manager repeatedly bringing in Guillermo Mota to pitch in critical situations can make it a fact that he was a terrible manager. :)
There is a reason Willie interviewed for a manager’s job so many times without getting one….he isn’t very smart, and for a guy who was around the infighting and political backstabbing on the Yankees for all those years, NONE of it rubbed off on him. Why not demand they get rid of Tony B. if you don’t like him? Easy to do. Walk in tell OMar to shove Tony right up Jeff’s butt. Then go back down to the clubhouse and tell the 16 million dollar man that he’s hitting 7th, and tell him he can complain all he wants to Tony B., but Tony B. is now up Jeff’s butt.
That’s where Willie went wrong. He expected to be treated like he treated everyone else. With respect. and the truth.
Unfortunately, it doesnt work that way. Omar is a lying sack…and so are FRed and Jeff. And Jay Horowitz appears to be mentally challenged by the simplest of tasks.
Actually the reason is that teams need to interview at least one minority candidate for a managerial opening. Most of Willie’s interviews were just for show, so he didn’t really have a shot before he took the interviews.
Fred Wilpon, at his age, needs to find out who is undermining the authority of what he has worked to build and rectify matters. If it is his son, a little tough love is in order. If it is Tony B., he must cut him loose. And Omar, really should become a whole lot less visible. Only in NY do GMs share the limelight and become major media players. What other professions do we see the business manager front and center?
We may not see this outside of sports, but we certainly see it outside of NY. Theo Epstein and Billy Beane come to mind.
A lot of people are saying what’s harm to this. Its pretty simple, no matter who the manager is he will never be in control of his players. If the player doesn’t like that he was benched for not hustling or dropped to 6th in the order, he can just go and complain to this guy. The manager, whomever it is, will be undermined.
How about ……
“FIRE BERNAZARD!” chants from the crowd every minute of every home game until he is fired!
Hey man, I’m in.
It’ll get boring now at home games without all the negativity and hatred spewed towards our manager….we’ll need some sort of scapegoat when Oliver can’t get out of the 5th INN, won’t we? Tony B. is the guy!
Send Tony to Europe with Isiah to scout talent.
I want this guy gone. Matt its up to you to keep his name in the papers and in the press until Mets Mgmt has no choice but to fire this traitor.
I agree. I’m hopeful if the bad PR keeps piling out Freddy will cut his losses, even if Jeff pouts. However, it won’t be done now, because if they cut him they would be admitting to all the theories.
My biggest fear is Tony is right in line to take the reins of this team if Omar is canned, and no good can come of that. If Omar were to be fired a year from now, it would make sense to move his assistant as the “interim” and with Tony’s relationship with Jeff, I can see him parlaying this into a permanent gig.
How about ….
“Fire Bernazard!” chants for every minute of every inning of every home game, until her is fired?
Has anything positive ever been written about Bernazard. I mean, he seems like “a cancer,” but I would like to get some perspective on this. Why is he still around if he is such a bad guy? There must be a reason. I would like to see the other side of the story, just to get an idea. However, if players are going to him and confiding in him passing up the manager, that is a formula for disaster everytime.
Shpigel’s NY Times piece.
The problem with people like this is that they’re best buddies to people in power. That’s their skill. Wilpon and Minaya probably can’t figure out how or why so many people could be upset with their bestest pal, Tony!
As far as I understand he was one of Omar’s buddies, and now he’s become Jeff Wilpons “go-to-guy”.
I’m sure every front office has a dic$head like Tony, it is a corporation!
Is that you Delgado?
I keep posting this in every new article, I’m not trying to spam, I just wanna get a good group of Metsbloggers together to a game. Here it goes:
I know this is a little off-topic, but I bought a huge lot of 100 tix to the Mets Rockies Sunday night game on July 13th- the last game before the All-Star Break. Game will be on ESPN Sunday Night- this should be more reason to go as you will not have to listen to Morgan and Miller announcing the game if you’re there live.
Anyways, I got the seats in the bleachers, the bleacher tickets run for 42 bucks face value (can you believe that?!?!). I want to sell them at face, I’m not trying to make a profit, I just wanna see a game in the bleachers at Shea with some like-minded Mets fans, so I figured I’d extend an open invite to any Metsbloggers to grab a ticket or four at face value for this game. I figure I’ll get there real early, tailgate all afternoon, then go in at around 4-5 for BP, catch a few homers in the stands before the game, then see a Sunday night game in the bleachers at Shea. The good thing is, you can bring in all the food you want to the stands, there’s a picnic area out beyond the bleachers, and alcohol is allowed out there, unlike at Yankee Stadium. If you’d be interested, you can click on the hyperlink of my account name which will bring you to the ebay listing, or e-mail me at
drello @ syr . edu
PS: FIRE BERNIE! (Bernazard)
i cant believe people on here still think willie was the problem and now that Manuel is managing everything will change for the better. Delgado isnt going to return to form…they are still throwing out 4 bench players in the starting lineup…and omar should fire Tony B, guy sounds like the sole reason for all the racism going on in the clubhouse.
But can he still play 2B?
Its funny that this story is being written today because it gives credibility to what every franchise in the league is saying right now, that the Mets are a bush league team. Doesnt anyone think its funny that Willie Randolph tried to be a professional with this team and was run out of town like a dog? This reminds me of the Marge Schott years with the Reds.
Boy, these writers sure do seem like they have axes to grind with the Mets.
I am particularly perturbed at Joel Sherman, who is has gone over the edge into ranting mode.
The NY Post article about Manuel (and the picture of him on the back page) is just unacceptable. Their reporting (including columnists) of this whole affair has been particularly poor and unbalanced.
uh oh! watch out! the media have their scapegoat. after over 6 months of beating the drums to have willie’s head they’ve found another way to wipe the blood off their hands… IT’S….. THE TONY BERNAZARD CONSPIRACY!!!!!!!! Coming to a theater near you!…
all of this nonsense is hearsay from people who didn’t even know the guy personally. what sloppy and unprofessional “journalism!” don’t you just love how the media always plays judge, jury and executioner? they’re just cleverly diverting the attention from their own role in all of this and taking advantage of some gullible mets fans who are just looking for anyone to blame but willie and… dare i say… the PLAYERS!!!!!! SHOCK! GASP!
It wasn’t bernazard who lost a 7 game lead with 17 games left last september. it wasn’t bernazard who had this team off to a mediocre start and underperforming this season. it wasnt bernazard who wasn’t bending over to field soft grounders at 1B because he didn’t want to get his uniform dirty. it wasn’t bernazard who blew 3 save opportunities in a row… you get my drift…
But without Mr B their undermining the coach, maybe they wouldnt have lost those games. I think thats kind of the point.
maybe without a clown college manager making the same dumbass moves night after night, they wouldn’t have lost those games either.
My question…Why is Jeff Wilpon so enamored with this guy? Is Bernazard the classic sycophant? I mean if half of these stories are true how the heck does this guy have a job? How do the Wilpons not see the detriment in his behavior? They’re flirting with Dolanesque ridiculousness. Should we refer to him as the Isaiah of Queens? Lotsa question marks huh?
I would not be surprised if this turned out to be similar to the Marbury and Thomas conflict. Bernazard probably has some dirt on the Wilpons and Omar and that is probably the only reason why he is still around.
He is by far the best recruiter in latin america the Mets have….and probably in the entire buisness. That’s why he’s still around.
Nevermind that most of these stories that get blamed on Bernazard by the fans are not necessairily his doing, the links said SOMEONE told the veterans what Willie was saying in the closed door meetings. That doesn’t mean that someone is Bernazard. Truth is it probably wasn’t him, but since that’s everybody’s favorite scapegoat that will be the fall guy in the fans minds.
Thanks, Tony.
Recent gossip (that’s what it is, no sense sugarcoating) at SI.com suggests that Willie may have confronted Manuel about being a mole reporting to BERNAZARD.
This whole thing is getting ridiculous. I’m not sure about any of this, but unless Willie Randolph is pathologically paranoid, Minaya’s organization is a complete rats’ nest of backstabbers and back room politics. Even the Phillies do better than this.
Dropofvenom, there’s a heck of a lot of smoke here for there to be no fire.
domosnacks5 I agree. But this time he was right to get rid of Willie, but who could be next u can’t have a rat like that in the organization
Get rid of the Bernazard guy if hes causing these problems.
I also dont hate Duquette as much as I used too.
Ain’t that the truth about Duquette! I always thought he was incompetent–someone who belonged on the business side of baseball, butwas thrust into the baseball side–but the post in Gotham Baseball Magazine was very enlightening with regard to that.
he sure is creepy looking, though. darth bernazard
i think he looks more like that guy leatherface
I think he looks like the murderer in ‘Ghost’ who eventually gets ‘his’ at the end of the movie.
ha-ha, you watch Ghost!
(…that beautiful movie about enduring love that I’ve only seen about a dozen times…)
Wow, I just finished reading the full Mark Healy article on Gotham Baseball that Matt linked to. If this story is true, and it all makes a lot of sense, then there is certainly a ton of misconception going on about the Mets front office dealings.
This is a must read guys.
It really is a good piece and I learned a lot, I think. I just don’t know who to trust and what to think anymore. I guess if the Mets are winning, none of this matters. I truly believe that Jeff and Fred are honorable men and that they love baseball and love their team. I believe that they had nothing to do with firing Willie other than maybe voicing their opinion on the matter. I just find it hard to believe that this guy Bernazard is such a sleazy guy (as described) and the Wilpons choose to keep him around. If this nobody was really undermining their multi, multi million dollar organization, I would think they would do something about it. I am starting to think Bernazard will be the new dart board for the sports media people and I am not sure what to believe anymore.
“Bernazard was in line for the Pirates GM job (which went to Neil Huntington), and lots of Mets’ insiders were secretly hoping he would get the gig. He didn’t. He is also being rumored to be in line for the vacant Seattle GM job”
Dear God please, please, please let this be true.
I hope this will be true, he deserved. You don’t know him.
I can sum up the legend in five words:
Guy is a raging a$$hole
he looks like one too…This guy has to go along with Minaya…we have to see some big changes going into Citi Field next year
I have a feeling it will be a ‘one or the other’ deal at the end of this season.
get the f-in guy fired. i read somewhere that he told the hispanic players on the team everything randolph has said about them in meetings. and we also know that some hispanic players, such as delgado and beltran, were not exactly the biggest randolph supporters. omar has made his fair share of good and bad moves, but the worst move he has ever made is not firing bernazard. i mean, come on. hes instigating the players against randoplh and splitting the clubhouse.
God, I would love to own the Mets for one day, the Shea seats would be red with the blood of the crap that I would purge from this organization.
good thing you don’t own the mets :P
that might be cool to see tho
say, shouldn’t you change your name to returnofthehair once you grow all that hair?
Seriously. That shea vendor who said to me, “You’re back for another beer already?” Deleted!
Despite all the Bernazard scheming, the saddest sentence in the Healy piece was about the previous high quality of the Mets’ farm system:
“Along with Director of Scouting Gary LaRocque and Minor League Coordinator Guy Conti, Duquette have presided over a complete overhaul of the team’s minor league system, now considered one of the best in baseball.”
Thanks Omar.
Okay that is a nice line, but what has it yielded to date?
David Wright, whom Minaya had a hand in scouting, Jose Reyes whom Minaya signed, and then Scott Kamzir.
After that the now considered one of the best in baseball had generated a wealth of below average major league players.
So, do recall Minaya was a special assitant under Phillips, with Duquette
That Healey piece was awesome. Matt thanks for linking that article and site. That’s why this is the best site. Not only does Matt post his opinions but shares the best METS articles on the web.
Thanks Matt and keep up the great work.
Thanks, I appreciate the kind words.
hey cool. very, very interesting.
Sad to think that one person is responsible for the poor play for almost 180 games now… and that someone else was fired instead. Brilliant!
Although Bernazard clearly has to go, and is clearly a problem that has hurt the Mets organization, we can’t put all the blame on him. Willie, Omar and, most importantly, the players, all have done their part.
Got lucky this worked out:
“The new first base coach is former Minor League Manager of the Year Ken Oberkfell. The superb skipper, who helped develop David Wright, Jose Reyes and Kazmir, was really supposed to be the Mets manager in 2005. But once his biggest supporter (Duquette) was replaced as GM, he wasn’t even given an interview. Retreads Terry Collins and Jim Riggleman were, though.”
but we need to get rid of this character Bernazard before our farm system is ruined again while we’re re building it. Honestly i never even knew what this snake looked like before that pic. thats scary he’s a snake in the grass. Hoepfully Seattle will take him off our hands
They may have thought about it, but do you think Mariner fans can Google? No way.
I read Healy’s article all the way through, and his basic premise makes no sense. He says don’t blame the Wilpons, firstly, for “superscout” Al Goldin’s finagling a few years back, and for Bernarzard’s interference now. But aren’t they ultimately responsible for Goldin’s and Bernazard’s presence and positions of trust in the organization?
I think they were portrayed as well meaning dopes, for lack of a better word. Bernazard has the wool over their eyes. They’re ultimately responsible, of course, but the infectious agent appears to be Bernazard.
You must have misread Healy’s article. He clearly said that the Wilpons’ weakness has been poor judgment in hiring executives to work for them. So, no, he is not absolving the Wilpons in that respect.
But he says don’t blame them for things like Willie’s firing or the timing of it which were Omar’s choices … and don’t blame Jeff Wilpon for Kazmir as Jeff was initially against the trade.
don’t trust nobady with bluetooth
Well, one good thing about all this bernazard talk is that the cat’s finally out of the bag. If there is any thruth to whaty is being said and written about this guy, then his days are numbered too, just like Willie’s. It might take some time, as these things usually do, but the writing is already on thw wall. Like all failed organizations, it’s never just ONE guy (Willie) that’s behind it all.
Don’t underestimate the power of this Blog and the media to cause about change. If Bernazard really is as bad as he is being portrayed, then his future with the Mets is on thin ice. Let’s keep the pressure up.
I want to break up with the Mets.
Wow, great piece by Healy. I believe he’s tied together many of the issues of this organization better than any NY writer over the last 5-6 years.
He’s also confirmed many of the things I have been saying and puts to rest a lot of the moronic myths that some Mets fans have been propagating — like Leiter and Franco or Jeff Wilpon were responsible for the Kazmir trade … or that Omar was ordered to fire Willie by the Wilpons.
Fred Wilpon is very well intentioned but his main problem has been his inability to identify and hire competent executives to run his team. And that includes Omar.
I’ll repeat what I’ve said recently — that the Mets will never win a WS with Omar at the helm. I only hope the Wilpons can come to this realization by the end of this season. If not, get ready for another year of frustration in 2009 and a continuing deterioration of the farm system.
I always thought that the union reps on the Mets were a bit on the douchy side, personality wise, so when I heard that Bernazard was a former union rep I wasn’t a bit surprised. I agree with Nadyfan, let’s keep up the pressure, because where there’s smoke there’s fire. Give us Met fans the last laugh Mr. Wilpon, please fire him!!!!
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