In a must-read report for the Daily News, Adam 
Rubin says Mets VP Tony Bernazard removed his shirt and challenged the Double-A players to a fight during a recent ‘postgame tirade.’
According to Rubin, “alleged underage drinking on the team apparently was one motivation for the eruption,” all of which he confirmed through ‘multiples sources,’ and ‘insiders.’
Earlier this week, also in the Daily News, Rubin said Bernazard was recently seen in the stands going into a profanity-laced tirade directed at the team’s manager of baseball operations, “which left witnesses in the section behind home plate aghast.”
Meanwhile, also in the Daily News, columnist John Harper joins in, pointing out that Bernazard is notorious for his alleged influence in the firing of Willie Randolph and Rick Peterson, adding, “Scouts and executives from other organizations have whispered in recent years about Bernazard’s bullying style of leadership.”
…frankly, if i had a dime for every person who has told me the Mets currently have Three GMs, i could retire… i have heard from agents and other baseball people around the league that, basically, at this point, Jeff Wilpon and Bernazard have a closer relationship than Bernazard and minaya or minaya and wilpon… yet, minaya is supposed to be in charge of all baseball operations… so much for full autonomy, i guess… how did the Mets get to this point again… i mean, it seems like we keep having this same conversation every five to 10 years…
This morning on WFAN, morning host Craig Carton has been calling for Bernazard to be fired, repeatedly calling him a ‘tool,’ and a ‘clown.’
In a poll from Rubin’s report, 71 percent of voters said Bernazard should be fired for his antics in Binghamton.
That said, yesterday, on WFAN, Jon Heyman was asked about recent reports of Bernazard’s behavior, to which he said:
“Well, you know what, it seems to be all in one newspaper, though… You know, there are a lot of personalities that go around, the papers like one guy who’s helping them, they don’t like another guy for whatever reason… I mean, sides are taken and people are made to look bad.”
…basically, and i don’t mean to put words in his mouth, but, what i’m hearing 
in this statement from heyman is: the Daily News has an axe to grind with Bernazard, for whatever reason, and are using the power of the press to tarnish him and force him out… by the way, Bernazard oversees the Mets farm system, and the Daily News does an amazing and honest job of covering the farm system… and, from what i can tell, the Mets take public perception of their farm system very seriously…
For what it’s worth, the Mets Double-A and Triple-A teams are a combined 71-116, while the team’s farm system was ranked middle-of-the-pack in all of baseball heading in to this season.
…here’s the thing, though, in the middle of a baseball season, when the focus should be on field, why are we even discussing the team’s VP, a guy who is supposed to work below the GM…
…actually, how many fans even know who their team’s Assistant GM or VP is… yet, you and i do… why… i have written Bernazard in six posts this season… for pete’s sake, i have a whole category on this blog dedicated to him… why…
Last week, on Baseball Digest Live, Mark Healy spent an entire 90 minute radio show focused on Bernazard’s role on the Mets, during which much of what the Daily News is reporting had been discussed.
The Daily News headline was a scroll in Time’s 
Square for everyone to see, according to this photo from Robert K.
…all of this makes me very uncomfortable and concerned about the direction of this organization… i realize, now, in the wake of so many injuries, losing was likely, regardless of GMs, power-struggles and front-office chaos… one may have nothing to do with the other… then again, it might… in either case, be it fact or fiction, here we are again, five years later having the same conversation we had five years before that, talking about undermining authority, leadership, split autonomy, weak farm systems, and a general sense of disarray, all while the team across town is marching towards yet another post-season appearance…
…man, October 2006 seems like a lifetime ago, doesn’t it…
{ 54 comments }
The Mets are a mess from top to bottom. The whole organization is a mess. The Wilpon’s need to clean house from top to bottom. I’m sorry but the Mets are embarrassing. Jerry Manual gets killed for making a joke about Sheffield’s injury – guess what… he was right! They say it’s nothing one day and then he is headed to the DL. They can’t manage injuries, can’t win at any level, and there management is a total joke. Good job Jeff Wilpon!
I think you had to be there to understand what went down. Young professional athletes are essentially children in men’s bodies, and who knows what triggered Tony. When Bill Parcels acts the same way with his players, he is iconized for it. When Mike Singletary acts that way, he wins over the fan base. Tony was probably just going old-school on a bunch of young kids. I’m sure there is another side of this story.
Having said that, the one thing that continues to concern me is the Wilpon/Bernazard/Minaya love triangle. Too many chefs in the kitchen …
you are treating this like an isolated incident.
this is the Mets VP!
he’s not the bmets manager or some other minor player in the organization.
Where is the B-Mets manager. They need Tony B to come down and reprimand the players on their AA team. Either they have coaches that shouldn’t be in the organization or a certain VP.
Also, Parcells won a couple of titles and Singletary was initially mocked before he started winning games.
Fake tough guys/disciplinarians get run out of town when their records are as bad as Bernazard’s.
Bernazard has been offending people since at least the Delgado negotiations. Yes, Delgado has a kooky agent, but there has to be some element of truth to all the criticism he got from the Delgado side.
If it was just one incident it might be different. But it seems to be a pattern of behavior with this guy that is giving the Mets organization a bad image.
The fact that Omar hired him is a bad reflection on him. Very bad.
The thing is, I don’t Tony was hired to be a PR person. He’s a former player and a talent evaluator above all else. He’s essentially Omar’s talent evaluator. This would be similar to calling out Colton Orr when he was a Ranger for not skating or passing well. That wasn’t really his job. Omar needs to reign in his attack dog here, no doubt, but let’s not forget that this guy is Omar’s heavy, not Jay Horowitz.
You hit it right on the nose Matt
“we keep having the same conversation every five to 10 years”
And EVERY time theres a Bernazard story, someone makes an excuse like “someone wants to bring him down”. How many incidents does it take to stop making excuses for this guy?
I’m so upset that the front office appears to be in shambles. This is exactly what brought us down in the early 2000’s and made us the embarrassment of the league.
The one constant in all this is the Wilpons. We’ve been talking about this every 5 years because they don’t know what the heck they are doing and have no business running a ice cream stand let along a baseball team. Seriously, one of the first rules of investing is to diversify, so how did the end up losing $700M to Bernie Madoff? Greed and Stupidity.
Bernazard is a distraction and a buffoon. Don’t forget he also single-handedly succeeded in getting Carlos Delgado to sign with the Marlins over the Mets because he talked down to him. Any well run organization would have handed him his walking papers years ago, but because he’s a friend of Jeffy’s he gets a pass. In fact, he’ll probably be first in line for the GM position should Omar go. As long as he is around, I can’t imagine Bobby V or any decent manager wanting to have any part of the Mets. Who needs it?
A rotting fish stinks from the head down. I hope the Wilpons become so financially insolvent that they are forced to sell the Mets. That’s the only way this club will ever have a chance of being fixed.
I think even the WIlpons have to be paying enough attention to the outside world to know that giving Tony the GM job will blow up in their face. But, I may be giving them too much credit.
Too bad we couldn’t start a coup to take down the Wilpons, this is getting highly ridiculous and we are a joke organization solely due to the Wilpons incompetence as owners. Where is Nelson Doubleday when you need him?
I wouldn’t be so sure. Remember how Jerry pleaded with the press not to print that crack he made about the medical staff regarding Shef’s injury? (they say cramps, so surgery on Thursday). That indicates to me that the Wilpons are adverse to criticism and probably don’t appreciate those who are candid with them.
Jerry was right to make the joke.
Maybe the Mets should’ve given out over a quarter billion in contracts this past winter. Seemed to work for the Yanks.
Meet the mess, meet the mess, step right up and greet the mess…
I am so ashamed to be a Mets fan right now…this is an organization with no class. That’s all I can really say…wow.
Then become a Pirate fan. That way you’ll never have to worry about anything.
Or a Cubs fan or a Giants fan or an Astros fan.
At least the Mets have won at least 1 WS during our lifetimes (for most of us I’m assuming).
Remember that 1986 feeling, because, it might have to last for a loooong time. Since that time we have seen the Red Sox not only break the curse, but, win twice, the Phillies have won and the Angels have won and the 4 year old D-Backs won, the Marlins won twice, the Yankees won 6 times and we are still no closer today at a WS ring than we where before. We got close in 2000, and, that is all. This team chokes and cant play under pressure, we need a change, on and off the field.
But I’m not comparing us to the stinking Pirates. We are the METS. We have high expectations year in and year out, and when you have high expectations, you are expected to carry yourself in a certain professional manner.
TB may have been dealing with immature children in that locker room, but that doesn’t mean you act like a child yourself and pull a Hulk Hogan. He isn’t developing guys to become UFC fighters, he’s developing them to become professional baseball players. Way to set an example, Tony.
This is just downright embarrassing. If you don’t find yourself disgusted right now, I feel sorry for you.
but that doesn’t mean you act like a child yourself and pull a Hulk Hogan.
LOL….
“King Kong ain’t got s—t on me!”
if these front office problems aren’t dealt with, im going into Mets fan hibernation.
There is no possible way a team can win championships with a misrun front office. Problems are going to keep piling up one after another and the effects of which are going to be talked about in the future like we talk about the Kazmir trade or the Mo Vaughn signing or how the hell we lost Bobby V.
you get to a certain point where even if there it is an axe being ground, perception becomes reality. That, and it is still the bottom line that counts. And the Mets have been failing (organizationally) at both for a while now.
It is becoming more and more of a self fulfilling prophecy that the FO will have to go. At one point, I thought you could dump TOny B to quiet things down, but it seems clearer that Omar is either clueless, or just scrambling to cover his own backside. Neither case is good for the team.
Is it the Wilpons that are so thin skinned about perceptions of the team, or the FO people? If it is the Wilpons, they should be nearly ready for a FO gutting with the amount of negative publicity piling up.
Just can the top guys (Omar, TOny B, Harper) and get a new head of business ops and BB ops i nplace, and let them remake the organization from the top down.
Too much crap and baggage to just make a cosmetic change like firing the trainer, or even just Tony B. at this point.
This organization is a disgrace. One or two incidents you could chalk up to someone with a vendetta. But it seems like every day there’s a new story about Bernazard. And unlike what that fool Heyman says, it’s not just coming from one paper.
The Mets need to completely clean house this offseason. Unfortunately, no one can fire the Wilpons, but we need an entirely new front office.
…man, October 2006 seems like a lifetime ago, doesn’t it…
I completely agree with that and thedude (great name by the way)
This organization is a joke from top to bottom
Minaya put all his eggs in that 2006 basket and since then he has been trying to take that extra step by giving out terrible contracts to old players thinking it would put him over the top. I have to give him credit for Johan, but Johan should have been the last piece of the puzzle, same thing with Krod, instead they were reactionary moves by Minaya to try and make up for previous failures, and he ignored all of our other holes in the process.
The medical staff is a joke of course, had Beltran gone on the DL when he first had the bone bruise, Reyes not been rushed at first, and a decision made on Delgado 3 weeks earlier, wed be rooting for a completely different team right now
The owners are a joke and I wish we could swap owners with the dodgers so everyone would be happy
The minor league system is a joke, Minaya again
The manager is a joke, and thinks everything is a joke, but yet he and Minaya are safe because the stupid owners feel they have to make statements in the middle of a season instead of shutting up
Of course we need to clean house, but it will never happen because everyone seems to be in love with someone else in this train wreck of an organization
Lets go Giants!
It’s one thing to have a losing year and just flat out not do well, regardless of injuries talent, etc. And, as a diehard fan, I think I could live with this team if they were losing simply because of lack of talent and injuries.
But, when you couple the mental/physical mistakes that are being made on the field with the off the field antics it make this season an absolute joke. This organization is a complete joke in everyone’s eyes…fans, media, other organizations. No wonder people don’t respect us. We can’t do anything to garnish that respect. Dropping balls, tripping over our own feet, grown men removing their shirts to challange AA players to a fight, public tirades in the stands in front of fans….seriously?
I’ve been upset about losing in the past and I can certainly tolerate it but, at this point, I’m absoultly disgusted with this franchise. From head to toe…Players to Ownership.
i’m getting very tired of this team, the fans, the NY press, the jealousy of the Yankees. i think i may just find a new team.
Lets face it, the media is just piling on the Mets right now, just kicking a dog when it is down. This would not be the case if the big league club were winning, but with the injuries and the recent losing over the past month, the mdeia is having a field day.
I agree though that the 3-headed monster (Omar, Jeffy and Bernazard) is not a good thing and the same thing happened in 2004 with too many chefs in the kitchen and it lead to the Kazmir trade. So again we are back to square one.
The Wilpons don’t appear to have a clue how to runa baseball team and the Madoff situation has not helped.
It is time for the fans to strike back. Stop buying tickets and you’ll make an impact. Personally I split two season tickets this year with 3 others and I will not be ponying up money again next year.
Francesa made a good point yesterday. The Mets are foolish to not make a push for Halladay because the way things are going they need to show us as fans that they have an eye on changing things for next season. They are going to lose some season ticket holders guaranteed.
I have never been this frustrated either, its just incompetence on every level. A friend of mine said it best, the mets have become the Knicks under Isiah and Dolan
Lets face it, the media is just piling on the Mets right now, just kicking a dog when it is down. This would not be the case if the big league club were winning, but with the injuries and the recent losing over the past month, the mdeia is having a field day.
I agree though that the 3-headed monster (Omar, Jeffy and Bernazard) is not a good thing and the same thing happened in 2004 with too many chefs in the kitchen and it lead to the Kazmir trade. So again we are back to square one.
The Wilpons don’t appear to have a clue how to runa baseball team and the Madoff situation has not helped.
It is time for the fans to strike back. Stop buying tickets and you’ll make an impact. Personally I split two season tickets this year with 3 others and I will not be ponying up money again next year. It may force the wilpons to sell.
Matt,
We can argue that Bernazard should be fired because he meddles, or because he rips his shirt off and challenges minor leagues to fights or because he cursing out his subordinates, but the real reason by Bernazard should be fired is the objective fact the the farm system is horrible.
Mets fans should not kid themselves. I’ve followed the minors for about 16 years now and consider myself a decently informed fan and I see that this farm system is poor. It’s not as bad as the days when D.J. Dozier or Pat Strange were in the Top 10 but it’s bad.
1) The Mets only true blue chippers are Wilmer and Jenrry Mejia.
2) Holt is close behind but his secondard stuff at his point prevent him from getting to that status.
3) F-Mart’s star has faded. He’s looking more like Alex Escobar than the next Manny. he still has youth on his side, but his value is not much right now.
4) Ike Davis, Reese Havens and Josh Thole all have holes in their games be it lack of power, ability to stay healthy or defense. They are second-tier prospects right now.
5) Marte, Puello, Javier Rodriguez, Fransisco Pena, Familia and Anderlin Rodriguez are light years away and don’t have much value until they start moving up the ladder and get closer to the majors.
The truth is that this farm system is Wilmer, Mejia, Holt and then a handful of second-tier prospects (maybe 4) then nothing. That is on Bernazard and the Mets amateur scouting staff.
For that reason, they should allo be fired.
Thank you. A voice of reason when it comes to the farm system, finally.
Just be careful. Bernazard may show up at your house shirtless in the near future.
If he does, I’ll be slap the Tazmission on him and make him tap out! Beat me if you can – survive if I let you.
Sorry, don’t know why I needed the ECW reference. :)
How is the director of player development responsible for the amount of talent in the farm system?
AFAIK, the scouting department is different from Bernazard’s department. The one thing the two departments do have in common is Omar is their boss.
I’m not defending Bernazard here so much as saying he shouldn’t be the scapegoat for things that may be more seriously wrong with the Mets. Because if he is, the one who’s really responsible, Omar, may get off the hook.
The fault lies with both departments which is why I say both areas need a housecleaning.
The scouting department has made some nice finds in Murphy, Gee and Parnell but that doesn’t make up for the horrible showing in earlier rounds on picks such as Kunz, Mulvey, Vineyard, Moviel, Nieuwenhuis, etc.
As for Bernazrd, it’s his ridiculous policy of pushing prospect that I claim are at fault for a number of prospects not developing properly. You can have the smartest second grader int he world, but if you promote him to college he’ll struggle and may never rebound.
Are you talking about F-Mart? Who else? Be specific.
To be fair, I don’t think development is a problem with the organization. It’s scouting and drafting. As well as scouting on the pro level to fill out the roster spots on the bench. And Omar is the head of it all.
The only possible knock on Bernazard I can see in terms of development is if he is in charge of roster management at the AA and AAA levels. Because even if there is a dearth of blue chip talent there, I would think there are things he could have done to help build stronger teams.
A few examples:
1) F-Mart was playing AA at age 18. That was ridiculous, especially considering he hadn’t provided that he mastered single-A. His strike zone judgement at the time was not impressive and it’s something he is still fighting to learn.
2) Francisco Pena was rushed into the FSL and Sally. He has been overmatched for two years. He should have started in Rookie ball and allowed to work on this swing and more importantly his defense at a slower pace.
3) Jefry Marte has no business being on the Sand Gnats. While he showed nice numbers and talent last year, it was mostly due to talent and not knowledge of the game as some scouts have reported. If so, he was bound to be exposed by better pitching. That has been the case. So he’ll probably repeat the league.
Look, there are a few example liek Wilmer and Mejia that have responded, but there is a risk. If you push a prospect and he fails, then you chip away at his confidence and that is harder to rehab.
My point is that they should let the performance dictate how the player is prompoted and promote them only one step at a time.
The rushing part is Bernazard philosophy and it’s wrong and for that among other things he should go.
Fine, but that is a small minority of the prospects and maybe some of those prospects (like Pena) just aren’t as good as advertised. I see no problem with the way Pelfrey, Niese, Murphy, Evans, Mejia, Davis and Holt have been handled. If you don’t challenge players, they aren’t going to grow either. It’s a fine line.
At any rate, development is a minor part of the problems with the farm system. It’s mainly scouting and drafting, and some fans are confusing the two as evidenced by some of the comments here.
I think Bernazard should be fired for his unprofessional behavior. But so should Omar and the amateur scouts who are the primary culprits for the inferior state of the farm system.
I agree with the confusion by some of the fans on what is scouting vs. development, but I think I’ve attempted to separate the two when appropriate in my responses.
The other issue is ownership and drafting philosophy. The Mets need to go above-slot in the draft and be more aggressive in the international market.
Look $ doesn’t always translate to success, but it helps often. Mejia was signed for only $15,000, but that doens’t mean it’ll happen all the time. Why not go after a Chapman in a few months? Why not sign Sano right now? Why not draft and sign Tim Melviille last year?
If the Mets are going to continue to give up 1st round draft pick, then they need to draft 1st round talent that slips in later rounds and sign them by going about slot.
This slotting excuse is so old and pretty lame. Not only do people fail to give proof of how slotting has limited Omar, but many teams don’t exceed slot and still build strong farm systems or find gems. How about Lannan being an 11th round pick in 2005? Omar picked an outfielder the round before who isn’t even playing baseball anymore.
The excuse about the lost first round picks is also lame. I’ve gone over that here before, but I’ll repeat it — Essentially Epstein has lost tons of first round picks due to signing free agents, but he gets them back by offering arbitration to his players. Omar can’t do that because he uses so many past-their-prime players like El Duque, Moises and Pedro who no one wants when they leave the Mets. So part of Theo’s strategy is to compensates for losing first round picks by NOT signing so many compromised players to begin with. That way when they leave, he can risk offering arb and getting picks back.
And what’s so great about Tim Melville? He’s in A ball with a poor ERA this year. Who have the Mets passed on due to slotting issues and has become a good player so far?
Tony Bernazard is the Isiah Thomas of the New York Mets. He’s 100 times over done things and been involved in things that would get a typical person fired. Yet he still has a job, and with every step he gets more and more hooked into the organization.
Only difference being Isiah takes his clothes off in front of female employees, while Bernazard apparently does it in front of male employees.
Well, I’ve defended the Wilpons and Omar in this space, but this incident (or incidents) is/are embarassing to this organization. Omar/the Wilpons must say now that this “incident is under review” for a few days, and then in a week or two, can the guy.
We have to a have a young scouting director or someone of that ilk that can take over.
I agree 100% Bruce…. Problem is I don’t think Omar has the actual power to fire Tony B. It would have to come from the Wilpons and the more and more you find out about the organization… The more and more you find out how CLUELESS they are. How did they ever run am organization successfully?
Well, I think the Wilpons are very sensitive to bad PR, and sometimes, the bad PR necessitates a move. And do they really need this now? No, but they have to show some cojones and do something.
Tony boy must go. This is disgraceful, the Wilpons may not understand how to run a baseball team but they are buisnessmen and they should understand that this is not proper behavior and this is not somebody that they should have under their employ. Its ridiculous. I agree with Bruce Boisclair that we need a young scouting director to come in and deal with the minor league system
While I have not “given up” on this season (i mean it’s july and who wants to give up on our team in july with two and half months to play left) I think that Omar really needs to go. Jerry can take some blame for some of his desicions but with nobody to go too when the injuries happened, that has to be Omar’s fault. Even one of the first injuries – losing Delgado is Omar’s fault. There was nobody to replace his production or his position at first. Luckily Murphy managed to step in (and for all his offensive struggles he has managed good defense at first). With Putz, there was nobody to replace him in the 8th inning. Things have gone into disarray because there is nobody in the farm system to call up and replace some of these injured players. That is all on Omar. I know the Wilpons have given him an extension but if they really wanted to change things they would just fire him and bring in another GM. I think that would go a long way in restoring some balance to this team.
The more that I read about the dysfunction in the Mets organization, the more that I think the Wilpon’s are the problem. They truely do not know what they are doing and so rely on questionable characters.
Omar is a great salesman. Did anyone listen to him on the broadcast last night? When he was asked about the medical staff he said I have full faith and confidence in the trainers and Hospital for Special Surgery. We share the same town as the Yankees. Why do they not have the same issues? Do they go to this hospital? If not, we may want to consider a change.
When asked about the minor leagues and prospects, he said he only accepts criticism from those that scout. Otherwise he doesn’t bother with any of them. He then cited the Santana trade. Anyone with a head on their shoulders knows the Twins did not want Santana in the AL and took a lesser package. It was not a great offer. Why is it that hit AAA and AA team are like 45 games combined UNDER .500. It can’t be because we have great prospects.
I get the feeling that Omar and Bernazard are joined at the hip. They have wanted to turn this organization into a culturally diverse team where they and not the Wilpon’s rule the roost. I also believe there is a good cop/bad cop act going on. Omar smiles for the camera’s and TB yells at players, reporters, managers. Let him take the heat so Omar’s poor moves are out of the spotlight.
Talk of the Daily News having a vendetta against the Mets is plain dumb. They are a horrible organization. They spend more money then any other team with the worst results. THIS IS THE WORST TEAM MONEY CAN BUY!!
The Wilpon’s need to look into winning organizations big and small for guys that focus on player development. Omar spoke of this last night and promised this 5 years ago. Why is he mentioning it now when he hasn’t followed his own rules. Maybe because his job is in jeopardy? Boston, Atlanta, Minnesota, Tampa have had excellent player development. Boston also has the finances to get the free agent player to seal the deal. The Mets have built through free agency with some call ups. Reyes, Wright, Pelfrey. That is it. Everyone else came from another organization.
If the story of Bernazard challenging teenagers to a fight is true, he should be fired NOW!! Send a message to Omar and Jerry that changes are coming. This is an obvious move. No one will argue it should be done. In fact if it isn’t done it just highlights how much control these 2 men have in the organization.
Structural change needs to occur. What is Jeff Wilpon’s role? Should he have one? Cashman basically said give me all the control. If I succeed I get credit. If I fail I get fired. The GM should have that authority. With Jeff in the way, lines of reporting become blurred.
Omar, SELL SELL SELL. Get rid of anyone you can with value that is not considered a building block for next year. Castillo, Schneider, Sheffield, Murphy, Wagner, Feliciano. Start stocking younger, more athletic players in the system. I know these guys won”t get a ton of value but they are cheap and would add some value to a contender. There is no value in holding onto them.
This team and organization is a joke. At least when I watch a team like the Islanders I know they do not have the finances or facilities to compete with the big boys. There is no reason the Mets with a new stadium in the biggest market year after year SUCK!!!
This organization is a total mess. As I suggested before, Can we put this whole front Office in DL and have replacement. If this is true with Tony, what a mess. Matt, you are right, it seems that it is going around in circle.
This is a wild fire gone out of control.
Jerry is cracking jokes to mask his frustration.
Tony is biotching people out and side stepping his minor league managers.
Omar is paralyzed unless he can get a player from the bargain basement.
Wilpon’s are counting their losses both financially and on the field.
We all thought that if the Mets hired Minaya, he would be allowed to run the franchise with full autonomy. This has proven not to be the case.
It may be time to ask the Wilpons to sell the team. They may be baseball fans, I wouldn’t argue with that, but they do not know how to be baseball owners. I’m not sure I would know how to own a baseball franchise, and I think for the Wilpons the idea seemed nice at the time and they bought in.
At this point in time, I do not believe that the Wilpon’s could hire the right GM. They hired a talent evaluator who worked the phones as a GM in a small market, selling at the trade deadline, forced to trade players who were due big paydays. What they should have hired was a GM or assistant GM used to working in a large market with a large budget
I do not think there is much hope as long as Fred & Jeff own the team. If they win, it will be in spite of their efforts, not because of them
The Wilpons aren’t going to sell the team anytime soon, so the best we can hope for is a completely new regime from Omar on down.
This latest episode from Bernazard is not acceptable and it’s nothing short of a reflection on Omar who is the one who hired him. Omar also hired all his old cronies from the Texas Rangers organization, including the director of scouting and the current head trainer on the team — both areas that have come under heavy criticism lately.
The Wilpons really need to do a careful executive search this time. Forget hiring their friends. They need to consult with GMs like Beane and Theo Epstein and other respected executives in the game who can give them recommendations and leads on competent young statistically inclined executives who can do a better job than Omar.
Someone who seems to have a solid vision and is strong enough to stick with it.
I’m a St Louis Rams fan and I’ve recently gone through a FO overhaul as a fan. I knew forever that changes on the field and coaches for that team would mean nothing until the cancers in the FO were excised.
Unfortunately, I’m really starting to feel this way about the Mets too. I was in denial awhile every time I read about the poor way business was being done, but that stage of grief is over. It may be to a point where the FO needs an overhaul.
The big difference between this and the Rams, though, is in this case, the owner is part of the problem. And we’ve seen throughout baseball that that can spell long term trouble (look at Baltimore.) Of course I could be wrong about the state of matters. Obviously I don’t know for sure because I’m not up there in the FO, but I’m starting to get that feeling.
I simply can’t believe what a 2009 season tht started with the optimism of a new park has spiraled into.
Injuries are no excuse for an ownership group who has embarassed their fans at so many turns…from opening a $615MM stadium that barely has the team’s name on it, to insulting a team legend by scrubbing his stontaneous gesture off a wall, to getting bilked out of what could be close to a billion dollars in a ponzi scheme run by one of Fred’s cronies, to maintaining a naming rights deal with the biggest TARP recipeient this side of AIG because they can’t afford not to, to making their scoreboard look like the reader service listing page in the back of the Sporting News, to running a front office that still employs a Rasputen-like shadowy character like Bernazard who undermines the rest of the operation and far as I can tell does not have a single success story on his resume.
Meanwhile, the two best teams in baseball are the two teams who had shrines to their history opened this year. Sure the Yankees insulted their fans with their outrageous pricing, but they sure are not embarassing them on the field, and not when they get into the place and see an organization with pride in itself and not in George Steinbrenner’s fuzzy childhood memories of rooting for a loser franchise. And as for the Dodgers, I think all Mets fans should root for them whenever they come to Ebbetts II – aren;t they the home team after all? Can you buy a Mets shirt at Dodger Stadium? Because you can buy a Dodgers shirt in Flushing.
In mid-October 2006 EVERYONE, including rational Yankees fans, knew the tide was turning in NY. The Yankees were bounced by the Tigers and a young, brash, exciting Mets team was rolling into the NLCS. What we have suffered through since then is staggering..and even more depressing when you factor in that the Yankees may well have spent their way back to the top, or close to it, and after a decade as the Braves lap dog we have squandered our chance to dominate the division in favor of the most losing franchise in history.
Nice post, Matt.
One hates to know that the media can force their favorite team to do things. But getting rid of Bernazard is worth it. Fred isn’t going to tear his shirt off anytime soon and realize grooming his son to take over needs to wait, or there won’t be a franchise worth handing down. And the Wilpons need to get very lucky with their next few hires or we’re headed to another early 90s.
Tony B picking a fight? You know, someone the other day (ot lots of people) said until he goes, nothing changes. Isn’t it bitter sweet knowing he might have to re-sign or get fired now?
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