Opinion: The Mets, Rubin and What’s Important
During yesterday’s press conference to announce the firing of Tony Bernazard, Mets GM Omar Minaya suggested Adam Rubin of the Daily News, who wrote the initial reports about Bernazard, may have had an ulterior motive, or at least a conflict of interest, as he once ‘lobbied’ the team for a job in the their player development department, i.e., the department Bernazard had been running.
In today’s Daily News, Rubin attempts to defends himself.
I will not lie. This is difficult for me.
On one hand, I think Rubin is an amazing reporter; one of the smartest people covering and thinking about the team; he has 
inspired and motivated me, especially early on when he was a big supporter of the blog; and I hate to think he may no longer be covering the Mets. I hope he is savvy enough to use this and spring boards himself in to a being a columnist, where I think he would be more influential than he is.
On the other hand, in so many ways, and on more than one occasion, Rubin has made it known to me and people I work with that he is not fan of what I do… or at least how I do it. I am not sure why, though I have my suspicions; either way, I try not to make it personal, and just assume it is a part of the misunderstood imbalance between blogs and newspapers. It’s not his fault or mine, I blame it on today’s media landscape… all while admiring his work.
In other words, it is difficult for me to comment on this issue between Rubin and the Mets, because I have my own positive and negative personally-involved feelings about both sides.
Regardless, this is all obnoxious. It is.
I realize these sort of off-field issues are fun for talk radio hosts, and for fans who call in to their shows. Similarly, it gives fan-only bloggers the chance to spout off about who is right and who is wrong and who is an ‘idiot,’ who should be fired and who shouldn’t, all while knowing nothing about beat reporting, running a baseball team, and knowing nothing about the personalities involved in this story – and that’s OK, in some ways this is what we do. Print reporters will most certainly be fired up, 
because they had one of their own attacked.
The thing is, sports media takes itself way, way too seriously as it is, be it talk radio to me to beat guys to fan blogs, so I am sure we will all be self-aggrandizing about this, and write and write and talk about it ad nauseum – I mean, I started this post off as such.
The thing is, while I care to a point, and while it makes for interesting afternoon theater, in the end, I want to watch baseball.
For pete’s sake, I’m a baseball fan. All I want is for this team to play hard, play smart, make good decisions upstairs, win and let me and my friends and family have fun watching it all.
Seriously, is that so much to ask?
For more on what talk show hosts, reporters and bloggers are saying, click below:
This morning on WFAN, host and former professional athlete Boomer Esiason said:
“I understand where the Mets are coming from… You don’t win when you take on the media, but I understand what Omar Minaya is doing…So here is a guy who is supposed to be covering the day to day of the team, on field… and, now he’s taking on a member of the front office… There are beat writers, and then there are columnists… Minaya felt there were personal attacks on his buddy, Bernazard, and the Mets took a shot at Rubin because he was embarrassing them publicly… I know what Omar’s thinking. Is the reason this guy is writing these stories because I didn’t give him a job… I don’t blame Omar.”
His co-host, Craig Carton, who once was a beat reporter, said:
“When the only guy writing the story about Tony Bernazard is the same guy looking for a job from me, why wouldn’t it dawn on Minaya… Look, I have lived that life of a beat reporter, I have covered three NFL teams, it’s not the easier job in the world, especially when covering a team losing, but, you can’t do that, you can’t look for work from the team… Do I think he ever said, ‘Cam I have a job with the Mets?’ I don’t know. But, when you take off the reporter hat and play buddies, you’re crossing the line… Of course the Mets are mad at Adam Rubin, who he had a scoop about the Mets… But, you can’t be asking if you can be the guy to replace Bernazard, come on, you can’t do that… I think it’s a pretty fair assessment by Omar, and both sides are kind of right… It’s Fundamental Reporting 101… Rubin is a fantastic reporter, but he crossed an ethical line you cannot cross, period.”
Newspaper-Reporter-turned-Blogger Murray Chass says on his blog, Murray Chass, “In my view, though, Rubin was wrong because yes, Adam, it was a conflict of interest.”
James K from Amazin Avenue essentially agrees with Chass, saying Rubin is trying to have it both ways.
Adam, the Brooklyn Met Fan, believes Minaya’s actions yesterday will be the beginning of the end for him as GM of the Mets.
In a post to Faith and Fear, Greg Prince calls this politics at its worst.
Lastly, for or more Bernazard – you know, the guy who was actually fired – read Kristie Ackert’s report in the Daily News,
