And you thought the Mets doctors were the problem.
Well, things were supposed to get better when they arrived in Washington, a chance to breeze through the league's worst team and put their troubles behind them.Well, not so much.
Monday the Mets little world was put in disarray by the leak that Jerry Manuel and Omar Minaya received a vote of confidence from ownership - although it was quickly cleared up that the phone call to reassure them came weeks ago, before the Mets had slipped into the freefall that has taken over since then.
No one seems safe today - least of all Tony Bernazard, the Mets' VP of Player Development. A New York Daily News story today detailed an incident in which the 52-year-old Bernazard took off his shirt in a postgame meeting with the Class AA Binghamton Mets and challenged the players to a fight, while cursing at them.
While the minor league team - like most of the Mets minor league affiliates - has performed poorly on the field, the object of his rage according to the story was underage drinking by some of the prospects. While his anger at that may be understandable, his actions are not. The Mets are deciding his fate - although it would be surprising if he was let loose, despite the bad publicity, despite the ridiculous actions and despite the poor performance of the farm system.
Bernazard is well liked in the Mets upper echelons - even if there is little trust of him at many levels. Last year Willie Randolph was convinced that Bernazard was undercutting him, lobbying for Manny Acta to be the manager in place of him. While Randolph eventually met his demise with the Mets, Bernazard has seemed to grow more powerful.
Minaya has a close relationship with ownership, but stories have surfaced placing Bernazard more in the Wilpon's ear. Minaya is aware of this, but has never expressed any resentment or animosity towards Bernazard, who he brought on board.
There's one player on the Binghamton Mets who is below 21. Underage drinking was the issue, though?
Posted by: JoJo's Jacket | 07/22/2009 at 08:50 PM