Update, 6:22 pm:
Bart Hubbuch of the New York Post reports on another incident involving Bernazard, during which he exchanged words on the team bus last week in Atlanta with Francisco Rodriguez.
Hubbuch quotes an anonymous player as saying, “That guy is crazy.”
By the way, to see video of Minaya’s ‘statement,’ click here.
Update, 4:59 pm:
Omar Minaya talked to reporters and basically said the team will continue to investigate reports of Bernazard’s conduct.
In fact, he said the word ‘investigate’ 11 times in five minutes.
…that’s it… that’s all he said… the way i heard it is, had the report not surfaced, we most certainly never would have heard of this, and he certainly would not be investigating it… this, to me, is unacceptable… how does he not know what is going on in his own minor league system… and, if he did, and ignored this, what does that say… ugh… either way, this is not good… i suspect he’s on watch, along with everyone else in his administration…
He said his plan all along was to visit the team in DC today, followed by a trip through the minor league system next week.
Minaya said he would prefer to be working on improving the team, noting the Mets will not be sellers considering they are 6.5 games back of the Wild Card in the National League.
The Pope of Baseball, Peter Gammons, from ESPN.com, said earlier, “Everyone knows Tony Bernazard is Jeff Wilpon’s guy. So what does that say? Feeding fraud trade offer stories? Embarrassment born, not made.”
Update, 3:39 pm:
According to Brian Costa of the Star-Ledger, Minaya will arrive to Nationals Park around 4:30 pm, after which he will speak with reporters and address the allegations against Tony Bernazard.
…hey, brian, do they sell peanuts at this circus…
…so, i’m guessing this means SNY will not be airing the press conference until around 5:15 pm…
Update, 2:53 pm:
David Lennon of Newsday explains why Minaya may be working to keep Bernazard from being fired.
…the worst part of lennon’s report is that he’s referred to as, ‘Shirtless Mets VP,’ which is sad and hilarious at the same time…
Update, 2:38 pm:
In a post to Twitter, Yankees reporter Peter Abraham of the Journal News jokingly writes, “If you don’t read my blog I’ll have Tony Bernazard kick all your asses. And he can do it.”
…lovely… just lovely…
Omar Minaya will speak with reporters today at 3:30 pm.
Original Post, 2:00 pm:
The Mets issued the following statement, in regards to Adam Rubin’s report about Tony Bernazard in today’s Daily News:
“We take these reports seriously and are investigating the matter.”
…this is getting out of hand, it seems…
…here’s the thing, you’d think it would be Omar Minaya’s decision to fire bernazard, assuming he should go… however, from what people are saying, bernazard and Jeff Wilpon have a pretty strong relationship these days, or, that is, at least stronger than wilpon’s connection to minaya… the thing is, minaya is supposed to be the GM, he’s supposed to be the leader… i will be interested to see how this all plays out, as it should give a clue in to the future direction of this team…
…in the end, i don’t know who is undermining whom, or who has what motives and why, but i do know this is obnoxious… really, it is… if i wanted to watch a soap opera i’d put on Days of our Lives…
…come on, guys, get it together…and play better baseball, too…
It’s about time! But with that said, let’s see if they actually do something about it! lol
I’m sure something will be done, but how it is handled will no doubt be terrible.
Maybe the Mets are using Bernazard to take attention off our terrible team.
I mean, how often does our $36 million dollar pitcher deliver another horrid performance against a terrible team and we pretty much brush it aside.
That’s the state of this team right now. We’ve come to pretty much expect terrible performances.
Quite honestly I’d be all to happy to divert my attention if it meant Tony B getting canned! It’s a step that would be in the right direction if there ever was one!
They did not know that Jose Coronado was called the c-word and challenged to a fight by their shirtless VP of Player Development for the last 17 days until it was reported by the Daily News?
THAT is an excellent point!
I say this because there are not many options that I can think of where this should sit for 17 days and only now investigated.
1) They did not know about the incident at all until now
2) They knew but were told something different than what Rubin wrote — so they are now investigating since what they were told was not as bad
3) They knew about the event as is but now that it was reported they decided to investigate the matter, whether real or not
4) The investigation has taken 17 days
Anything else possible?
I go with number 3……sadly nothing will probably come of this.
5) They knew about the event as is but now that it was reported they decided to “investigate” the matter, whether real or not
that gets my vote
thats #3
Yes, but with investigate replaced with “investigate”. I doubt there will be anything resembling CSI: Mets
What do you think “whether real or not” meant?
It wasn’t entirely clear. I read it referencing the event and not the investigation.
I doubt it, but with the Mets you never know. In a previous time im sure what he did was perfectly acceptable. The problem for him now is, that time was 40 years go. If the reports are accurate, Bernazard has exposed the club to civil liability. And, if any of the players being accosted were under 18, he might be facing criminal charges. That is plenty a reason to keep quiet till someone else blows the whistle.
I honestly don’t know what’s worse:
That the Mets didn’t know until today’s report or that they knew and were covering it up until it was reported.
i feel like this team is trying to lose me. I feel like i want to just up and root for another team but i can’t. I bleed blue and orange and players like D. Wright keep me hanging on.
But i need a support group…
“My name is Joe Bacci, and i’m a Mets Fan.”
Keep the faith Joe, DWright and the others on the team that are busting theirs day in and day out to salvage what’s left of this season appreciate all the support we can give them.
Hi, Joe. I’d say your in a safe, supportive place now, but that is just not the case.
Thanks guys, i feel better now.
I know how you feel, Joe. This team builds you up, then yanks the rug out from under you. I’m considering following a team like the Nationals or the Royals. Thier team management knows that they inhale sharply, yet they really don’t try to hide it. What you see is what you get, and they don’t pull punches. And, by some miracle, they do do well, you don’t expect it, and it’s that much sweeter.
The Catch-22 here is that if certain organizational people didn’t know about this, they may be excused for not acting – BUT, if they didn’t know about these events, they aren’t doing their jobs because they are supposed to be on top of this stuff… Either way, it’s time to clean house. Omar, Tony and Jerry all should go. They had their shots, injuries or not.
We can all thank the media and the Daily News specifically if Bernazard is finally fired. There is no way the mets do anything about this, or make any decision for that matter, if the media doesnt make a huge stink first!
Now lets make up a story about Minaya and Manuel selling drugs to the players!
francesa just said omar is speaking at 3:30…FAN is gunna carry it….wonder if Tony B is getting canned
Joke of a statement from a joke of an organization.
I must admit I actually am enjoying this. Not only does it embarass the Wilpons and make them look like the low-rent, incompetent owners they are (always fun), but it provides a diversion to watching a AAA team get overmatched every night.
Competitively speaking, the season is over. Why not get a few laughs, early 1990s style. If it gets bad enough, we can clean up the garbage in the offseason, then go into 2010 with a strong (hopefully healthy) nucleus and get after it again.
Like I said in an earlier post, they will “investigate” this for a few days, and then next week, when this fire burns down a little bit, can Tony B. It is the right thing to do.
Has anyone talked about Bernazard and K-Rod?
Fatcessa said earlier today that he heard Bernazard and K-Rod had some sort of argument last week. Now Fatcessa isn’t always accurate with his reporting, so take that with a grain of salt. But it wouldn’t surprise me if this happened.
Does anyone know about this?
Had not heard of that, but like you said, it would not be a surprise.
What possible beef could Bernazard have with K Rod?
Unless K-Rod started talking about how things have been mismanaged under MInaya/Bernazard regime?
The bigger question is, what could be reported about Bernazard that we wouldn’t believe?
Just how crazy would it have to be?
He dropped trou in front of the Wilpons? I’d buy that. He attacked DWright with a baseball bat? Sure. He leaked the Erin Andrews tape?
Fatcessa said something about an incident on a bus. Maybe K-Rod wouldn’t give up his seat to Bernazard, lol.
i honestly wouldnt be shocked if krod was sitting in the front and tony b wanted the seat and started screaming at him during a profanity-laced tirade
is SNY carrying omars press conference?
jeeeez they really have to get rid of this guy, i am almost grateful for the media storm, maybe this is the way to get answers
I hope we get an answer to the question “what exactly does Tony Bernazard do, and why should anyone be spending this much time and attention on him?”
They will say that everything is fine and compliment Bernazard on his value to the club. Then, on the bus ride back to the hotel, they will send out an email saying that Bernazard was fired. Coupled with the off day tomorrow, they can avoid scrutiny and questioning for a full day so it can die down.
It happened before the All-Star break and only now is being investigated? Is this team a joke or what? You think they react to the papers or blogs? You betcha.
I just wonder if someone in the Wilpon family construction business went into one of their offices, pulled off their shirt and threatened to fight an employee if they would be still working? I guess though when it comes to the Mets front office, anything goes.
There are two plausible explanations for Bernazard’s two outbursts (let’s not forget the scout thing): he was drunk, or he’s crazy. Neither are acceptable for someone in management. Maybe I’ll try an experiment here at work: next time one of my team annoys me or lets me down, I’ll whip off my shirt and challenge them to a fight. I’ll let you know how I make out.
I’m pretty sure it won’t go unnoticed for 17 day, before being brought to your attention by someone not inside the company… Followed by your company investigating it.
I’m pretty sure HR would call up upstairs in about 15 minutes.
Matt seems a little extra bitter today with some of these comments…and I love it…
Matt better watch his back with Tony B……I think Vegas has Tony 3-1 over Matt in 2 rounds…..
Remember this is the same management who suspended Steve Phillips for one day after he impregnated two secretaries ……they investigated and then eventually suspended him indefinitely, changed it to one day and then settled financially with the secretaries…..
Holy ess! Is that really true? No exaggeration?
It was either 2002 or 2003. It was kept low-profile but it was in the papers. I’d imagine you could search the Daily News or NY Times websites…..
Here is what wiki has on it…..
Harassment allegations
For a brief stint in 1998, Phillips took a leave of absence as general manager because of a sexual harassment suit. He admitted to consensual sex with the woman who filed the suit, as well as multiple other affairs, but denied harassment and the civil suit was settled out of court. Phillips was away from the team for a total of 8 days. The Mets defended Phillips privately and publicly, and the alleged victim’s attorney was even quoted as believing in his sincerity.
Two secretaries? I thought that it was only one, and I hadn’t heard anything about a pregnancy . . .
Other than lead a team to the NLCS, what does a guy have to do in order to get fired around here?!
“Everyone knows Tony Bernazard is Jeff Wilpon’s guy. So what does that say? Feeding fraud trade offer stories? Embarrassment born, not made.”
Jeff Wilpon is the Christmas Cake that you can’t take back. He should get down on his knees everyday and thank God he was born into money, because God knows he’d be working as a restroom attendent at Junior’s if he wasn’t.
Is Gammons saying that Wilpon fed the fake story to Heyman? First i’d heard of that.
Unreal. Not Minaya’s inability to articulate basic thoughts. I’ve grown accustomed to that.
Just the fact this team thinks it can continue to sweep this stuff under the rug. More to come on Bernazard I’m sure.
Wouldn’t you think it fair to at least confirm with the manager, players and coaches at Binghamton that this actually happened as descrirbed.
I’d really like to know, how the Binghamton newspaper did not cover this but Adam Rubin did.
I don’t know Tony Bernazard from a hole whole in the wall, other than that he played 2b, but people seem to hate him.
But how did this event unfold and it took 2 weeks for the daily news to report it.
I just think, in this day and age, how did this possibly only break yesterday.
So what I am saying is, it is completely likely that Bernazard dressed down the team, but it is also extremely likely that “telephone” embellished the context of the story somewhat.
you think he was just telling coronado he should be able to lay down a sacrifice and the word got misinterpreted?
If the guy was going out and getting drunk in public, I think it is completely appropriate for him to be dressed down by the organization.
What I am saying is the focus seems to be that he threatened him to a fight.
So, lets just say all things considered that Bernazard was addressing the team, seriously, and Coronado was laughing and not paying attention, undermining him.
Would it be inappropriate for Bernazard to say something like…You think this is funny? This is a funny situation. Do you need me to knock some sense into you?
As he is doing that he threw off his suit jacket or pulled his dress shirt out from tucked into his slacks.
Look, I am not saying that Tony Bernazard is or is not an a-hole. But I am saying that people are assuming the event occurred exactly as Adam Rubin described it.
No one thinks it is at all funny that something of this nature did not erupt immediately. I mean the Sun & Bulletin has had a guy covering the B-Mets for 3 years straight.
I once worked for said Binghamton newspaper. Not exactly a staff of hard-hitting sports journalists. basically morbidly obese, middle-aged loners who rock short sleeves and ties and write about high school sports.
The B-Mets beat is the Holy Grail. You’re not gonna rock any boats by writing something controversial.
By the way, Patrick, thanks for the cots contracts tip the other day—I completely see your $$$ figures (and your point) now. Thanks for educating me.
glad you found the cots link useful.
Look. I get that the BS&P is not exactly the font of entrenched journalists at the peak of their career, but a freaking bat boy with a facebook account would do more damage.
Lets remember, it was the Binghamton newspaper was it not that surfaced the infamous Grant Roberts bong fiasco?
Regardless, as others have pointed out today, Bernazard should be fired for his incompetence on the job.
The fact he’s an a-hole who embarasses the organization on a regular basis is just a bonus.
The sad thing is, the Wilpons probably love this. I know I’ll tune in to SNY tonight to see how they cover this story. Otherwise would I care about the Buffalo Mets vs. the Nats on a Wednesday night? Probably not.
If it is only 6.5 games back, shouldn’t we be buyers? Omar should be working on a starting pitcher and a corner with power
If Jeff had Omar’s back, Tony would be gone
SNY could boost ratings…I’d rather watch Bernazard take on Coronado than watch some of these recent Mets performances
This got swept under the rug in Binghamton because:
1. The so called beat reporter there is a part timer.
2. The “newspaper” he writes for has a circulation that is smaller than Tony Bernazard’s IQ.
3. It was a closed door meeting, no media. And I am sure he was was asked not to report any rumblings he heard.
This isn’t news to the people in Binghamton. Hell I went to a BMets game a week ago and heard about an incident that had occured between someone from the Mets and a player.
I saw Bernazard in Buffalo earlier this year. He’s an arrogant jerk, but no suprise there, he at least lived up to his reputation.
In short the only reason Omar and Tony have a job at this point is the reach and level of influence the commisioners office has on the Wilpon family. The suits at MLB would take a huge hit on their beloved minority hiring focus if 2 of the games bigger minority front office people got gassed for their gross incompetence. So, because the WIlpos don’t want to piss off Bud, we get stuck with these 2 bozos.
Is that kind of like not drafting above slot?
exactly. God forbid they grow a set and flip Bud the bird and do things the way they need to be done. Selig has this demented theory that things should be done the way they were when he owned the Brewers, who spent year after year as total doormats, aside from a couple of very good years in the early 80′s.
The Wilpos will never cross Bud and the MLB office.
The longer that Omar and Bernazard are allowed to be the face of this franchise’s administration the worse it will get. It won’t be long before those 2 tear down a proud franchise, ruin its fanbase and put a black eye on the future that even the most astute front office staff will have a near impossible battle to begin healing, one the ax finally falls on dumb and dumber.
Never thought of that angle. So, the Mets are the sacrificial lamb of MLB. Thanks a lot, Bud Selig.
I’m not so sure it’s League meddling. It isn’t difficult to divine the Wilpons’ philosophical bent, it is not going to be an easy decision for them to dismantle an organization thusly constructed.
Oh hogwash, I could say I have seen Bernazard on several occassions and he has been nothing but decent.
Further ridiculousness is that MLB is forcing the Mets hands.
Frankly the reaction people are having is incredible.
Tony LaRussa threatens a whole slew of reporters with a fungo bat at a press conference two years ago after one of his players gets killed at 2x the legal limit and Tony is given the “pass”.
Right now all we really now is this guy threatened a bunch of paid professionals acting like what would seem to be stupid frat boys.
Take that back, or he’ll start suing.
/twittered
I agree Patrick. I highly doubt MLB would force a team to keep an exec especially one who has hired 2 minority managers in a row plus a minority GM. You can fire them and still hire a minority candidate.
The reason Tony will not be fired he is friends with Jeff basically tying Omars hands even if he wanted to fire him. Jeff Wilpon is becoming Steinbrenner of the 80s who couldn’t stay out of the baseball guys way. Everyone should hope Omar doesn’t get fired because your next Gm will probably be Tony B since he is such close friends.
Gammons is hinting I think that Tony is the one who fed the bogus trade offer.
Go observe Bernazard outside of Citifield, go talk to a minor league player or 2 (if you know any) in the Mets system, or go talk to any professional scouts (if you know any) and then come back to the discussion and tell us what you learn. I’m certain you wouldn’t be singing the praise of Bernazard then. But if believing he’s a really nice guy who is getting a bad deal makes you feel better about life, then by all means, continue on, but dont’ for 1 minute think that the belief you have represents reality.
mlbtraderumors has lugo going to the cards for chris duncan
I hope that there’s $$$ going the Cardinals’ way—Lugo’s signed through 2010, yes?
Good pickup for the Cards, at least compared to what they’ve been sending out to SS and 2B this year.
Without his warm, fluffy coat of nepotism, Duncan should be out of the league by next year.
I find this hard to believe. Why would they give up on Duncan for a Lugo???
This would not be a good move for the Cardinals but a great move for the Sox.
Duncan has 2 seasons of 20+ HRs. He wouldve been a great pickup for the mets (a young power bat that can play the outfield and has a sub $1mill contract) yet another easy cheap acquisition flies under the oh so attentive radar of Omar Minaya.
Bart Hubbuch of Post confirmed Bernazard-KRod “exchange of words.” Would love to get in some better blood into this organization. Really hope he’s let go.
Lugo to the Cardinals, Red Sox will pay Lugo’s entire salary.
So much for “he’s working out with the Mets already.”
The Wilpon’s need to sell The Mets now!
Go to L.A. and sell Dodger caps!
Get the hell out of N.Y. and let our team rebuild.
I miss Shea!
I went to Wilpon World and quite frankly, my dear, it stinks!
The Mets embarrass me, as a life long, since day one, fan!
Wilpons, Omar, Buzzard and losmets; I’m done with this BS!
(Half the guys on the DL ain’t hurt; they are tired of seeing Perez and other “glass” players being over paid and not caring!)
I share your sentiments. I like the term “wilpon world”.
meet the mets, meet the mets, head for the park and fight the mets!
Just End The Season.
Whoops, wrong team acronym pun….
My Entire Team’s Shirtless….
Assistant GM John Ricco, not Bernazard, will be traveling with the Mets in Houston this weekend while Minaya scouts the Mets’ system.
Hmm, there’s a lot to read here. Maybe Bernazard is toast and maybe Minaya had little to do with minor league scouting, for whatever reason. Maybe Minaya is CYAing.
Regardless Bernazard must go. If for no other reason that no FA (or player with a no trade option) in their right mind would sign with this team unless Bernazard is gone and quick.
no wonder omar has traded guys like heath bell, matt lidstrom, brian bannister, for no bodies. He knows nothing about his own minor league system and trusted this nut who clearly favors latin players, call me whatever you want the guy gives the latin players his cell phone number. An organization that allows bias judgment of players cannot succeed.
Well he’s getting into fights with K-Rod too, so I don’t know if it’s about bias….
Tony B. and Omar traded those guys away because they weren’t “there” guys. They were in the system before they took over the regime and weren’t scouted and handpicked by this great regime. All of the guys getting pushed to the moon by this regime are their handpicked “superstars” and this included guys like Pelfrey, Holt, Murphy and Ike Davis. It’s not about race – it’s about these guys stroking their own egos, making it sound like they were rejecting trades for Hallday with this bloated mess of a farm system.
WOW the Brox Zoo of the 70′s has got nothing on this. At this point, is there really any other alternative than cleaning out this organization?
great. now every beat writer is going to have their pet “Bernazard story” in the paper tomorrow, and the Met fans will eat it all up and take it with or without the grain of salt. and the fans will sit back and rationalize that it’s really Bernazard and Wilpon to blame for all the Mets’ problems… they told Beltran not to swing in 2006!!
The entire organization is toxic – from the top on down. Tony B’s problems are just systemic. I don’t think anyone who is rightfully fed up with this guy is saying let’s stop after firing Tony. If I could convince another billionaire confidant of the Wilpon’s to bilk them of another $700M so they’ll go insolvent and sell the team, I would.
Fire Tony, fire Omar, fire Jerry, fire the trainers, fire the scouts, sell the team. Maybe if the first two or three are taken care of, I’ll visit the Brooklyn Dodgers ballpark again, and be cool standing in line for a hamburger for an hour.
This guy is practically doing everything to get fired. Yet? He won’t. Ask Frankie. He’s done a lot for this team. Even Jose Corenado wears a glove? What is Tony B? The Mets mobster? I mean come on. Get this d-bag out of here already.
Oh wait, Jeff Wilpon – you’re a p*ssy. Yeah, you heard me. To bad Tony had to go to your below average minor league SS’s before you.
How about this? Let’s just say the hell with this sh*t. It’s bad enough we lose. It’s bad enough with injuries. It’s bad enough we had two collapses! Or that Luis Castillo can’t catch fly balls or the former Ryan Church couldn’t touch third base. But a VP taking his shirt off challenging players? Taking his shirt off? You’re serious? Bothering our closer? What’s he doing on the bus anyway? The GM and VP don’t need to be near their players 24/7. This is a business, not a school gym.
Personally, it feels like everything is spiraling down… Like it’s not even the injuries. Like this team will just keep struggling for the next couple years if this is the type of stuff that’s going on. The organization is a mess. I really don’t even care what beat writers do… Who cares? I barely even read those papers. It’s not like their opinions or ”insight” is any better than ours (the Post is well below)…
Note to all Mets fans: Don’t buy tickets to Citi Field or watch the games on SNY. Hurt the Wilpon’s in their pocket books. Then maybe the will realize no one wants the product they are selling.
Who gives a sh*t about these Mets anyway? How about this. Wait a few years, hope for a new era and let’s see what happens. Nothing good is coming out of this and we know it. If this team had morale and good intentions, fine, but that’s not it. Even when something does go wrong, they don’t fix it. I’m sick of it. And the Phillies success rubs it in our face like it’s sandpaper.
As a Raiders fan, this whole situation in the organization is eerily similar to the 2 seasons after we lost in the Super Bowl. Major injuries to key players leading to bad play on the field leading to coaches subtly hinting at disfunction leading to negative stories leaking about front office members. Ironically the answer is the same for both organizations…the owner(s) must SELL.
Bernazard crossed KROD? Not sure if this is true but I thought that he had the ear of the Latin players. If certain players say he is crazy and certain Latin players are being challenged to fights, what use is this guy?
The scary thing is that he is Jeff’s guy. Didn’t Bernazard work for the union. Wouldn’t that be an automatic flag for owners not to hire the guy. I mean do the Wilpon’s have a clue.
I can answer your last question…no. If you were the owner of a team and you were building a new stadium would you intentionally model it after a completely different team’s former stadium with a tribute to a player on said different team as the main attraction.