As was widely reported late yesterday afternoon, Omar Minaya went off the deep end during his Tony Bernazard press conference, strongly implying that The New York Daily News' Adam Rubin's reporting of the Bernazard shenanigans was motivated by Rubin being frustrated after not getting a job with the Mets for which he lobbied, or wanting to get Bernazard fired to take his job, or something along those lines. At least that's what I took from it. However you slice it, it was bizarre. Go watch it here if you missed it.
Rubin was livid during the presser -- thanks for the split screen SNY! -- and today he responds:
As I told the reporters who descended upon me after Minaya left the press conference, I have never, ever, asked Omar Minaya for a job. Or even career advice. Frankly, I've never been very close to him. What I have done, and what Mets COO Jeff Wilpon acknowledged later yesterday, is ask Wilpon for "career advice." My question: Is it even remotely feasible for a baseball writer to get into an administrative job with a team - any team - down the road and what would I need for that to be achieved?
Wilpon once invited me to his office at Citi Field for an advisory session. I never took him up on it.
Some people are complaining about Rubin's potential ethical lapses in all of this, but I don't have much of a problem with him talking generally with the Mets about his career prospects, if that's all he did. It's a tough world out there, and the kinds of journalistic integrity principles people cite in such situations - you can't possibly talk to the people you cover about anything! -- seem kind of quaint in a world where everyone is hustling to stay alive all the damn time. Besides, this is tabloid journalism we're talking about here. If what they're reporting is true -- and Rubin's stories about Bernazard have not been questioned on that front -- I really don't care what Rubin's career development plan looks like. And even if that truly matters, there is nothing short of Omar Minaya's insane ramblings to support the notion that Rubin wrote what he wrote out of spite or anything. The Bernazard stories were legit news, and he got the stories right. That, as they say, should be the end of the story.
The bigger question here is why anyone lets Omar Minaya near a microphone. Or near the controls of a baseball team for that matter. Bernazard was his guy, and look how well that turned out. The Mets are his team, and look how good that's going. Rather than take responsibility for any of that, he's setting the phasers for "paranoid" and going out and attacking reporters.
If I worked for the Mets' media relations department, I'd be hesitant to knock down the press conference table this morning, because by all rights there should be another one very, very soon.
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Good points, Craig. Regarding Rubin, I don't recall screaming and yelling when political reporters started joining the Obama administration shortly after covering the presidential election for their respective media outlets.
Here's who's wondering about their jobs and future careers: Every single person who works in print media. If it gets printed on dead trees, and you work for it, you have no more than 5 years left no matter you are. There is no ethical tangle here.
What is evident is that Omar isn't upset that he hired a monkey in Bernazard, he's upset that people reported on his monkey getting up to monkey business. What's left of the Wilpon family is utterly incompetent, Omar is totally incompetent. I feel pity for any Mets fan.
Does anyone remember how they handled the Randolph firing? Willie must be sitting in Milwaukee and smiling right now.
I thought the same thing re: Randolph, Mo.
He's in a better place.
It is about time this fool was fired. Omar should be next. While I have questioned some of JM's decisions during games, and how he treated Church, anointing Murphy as a great hitter, etc., I do not think he has been given the horses he needs to win the race.
Let's face it, the Mets are a mess, and hard to watch. Omar has gotten some front line players, but everything else is a disaster, especially the minors. Time for the Wilpons to make another move...
Howie Rose said last night on WFAN that Rubin was definitely interested in a job with the Mets. He said that he made it perfectly clear on many occasions that he was hoping to be employed by them. I am not saying that this makes it right for Omar to pretty much ignore the Bernazard situation and call out Rubin but there may be more than meets the eye here.
I might have to change my tune about only Jerry Manual getting fired this year. I really didn't think Manaya was in that much danger. But after this press conference, it is clear he is on a rocky road. No one with a true assurance and secure job flips out like that for no reason. His attack was pointless too. Doesn't achieve anything even if the allegations were true, which i am willing to bet are not. Count the days guys. Manaya and Manual should be getting their resume's ready.
By implying that the reporter is somehow responsible for the firing, Minaya is sending two very scary messages here:
1. That he would not have fired this guy had these stories not showed up in the media. This is terrifying because the guy was clearly out of control, and Minaya either didn't know or didn't care.
2. That Minaya is willing to fire a guy who he believes is competent simply because the media thinks he's not competent. This is even more terrifying because it shows that Minaya is pretty much willing to throw anybody under the bus. Not that I blame him, since he is clearly not capable of doing his job.
Good points. The whole thing reminds me of the dish network ads where they pretend to be cable executives: Let's have a blame-storming session. I blame Adam Rubin.
Mo......you are a very wise man!
Look at the Mets and the Knicks and you wonder why either are viable in their sports.
"blame storming".......media, fans, weather, venue, ownership, coaches, managers, directors, scouting, schedule, injuries, etc, etc, etc.......
Manaya needs to look in a mirror to find the true person to blame.
minaya is a nutcase. he has proven he does not know how to run a baseball team, evaluate talent, and make good overall decisions. the mets are given special treatment because they are a NY team, and they do not deserve it.
what a mess minaya has created, he needs to be fired.
Couple of things...
Minaya is ticked because Bernarzard was his guy. I would wager that even with all of the garbage he caused, Omar would not have fired him unless he really, really thought he had to. And even then, he has to caveat it by pointing the finger at Rubin.
Secondly, I would challenge any team to lose their leadoff, cleanup, and third-place hitters simultaneously for a significant amount of the season and be viable contenders.
The Wilpons needs to clean house. Find a competent medical staff, a smart baseball man who can develop talent as well as evaluate the free agent market, and a manager who is a little less philosophical and more demonstrative.
Remember, the Yankees started turning things around while Steinbrenner was on suspension. They started being smart and not just a rich team.
Make willie randolph the GM and lets move on..Give Manual the boot while you are at it.
I have to say that I have several Mets hats, and Mets T-shirts, and I am embarrassed to wear all of them. It is not that the team has suffered epic collapses the past two seasons. Or that they play a style of baseball that can only be described as unwatchable. It is that they are a lousy organization. The people in charge are absolute jokes. How are so many Americans out of work and a man like Omar Minaya has a three year guaranteed job contract, which has not even begun yet? For that matter how do people like the Wilpon's oversee such an an organization?
Every year the Mets look great on paper. Every year they fail to actualize their potential. Every year I wait for the disparate parts to congeal and look like a team. And every September I watch 40 men sit in a clubhouse of strangers.
I am actually angry that my baseball team has been hijacked by these clowns. Mets fans deserve better. I think a walk around Citi Field should make every Mets' fan blood boil. We designed a ball park to look like the Dodgers old stadium. Why? I am not a Dodgers fan. (Yes I understand the history) Do you know why the seats are green? Because the seats were green at the Polo grounds. Right, the place where the NY Giants called home (Yes, I know the Mets played there for 2 seasons). I enter Citi Field through the Jackie Robinson rotunda. He must have been the best Mets player in the history of the team. Oh he never played for the Mets. Oh yeah, and the current face of the franchise, let's make it really realy hard for him to hit a HR in his own ballpark.
The Wilpons are complete and utter fools, who clearly don't care about this organization. I am angered and sad that my team is, and has been been, in such disarray for so long.
Delfino, stop your crying, and stop your whinning. I've been a Met fan since 1964. I have seen far worse teams then this bunch of players. They do have 5 key players on the DL. As of late the team is starting to stabalize, Francouer gives David wright some protection, and some of the other players are starting to hit. They will probably get Jose Reyes back soon. I think the Wilpons have done a reasonable job. They built a new stadium without tax payer assistance. If you can't stand the heat become a Yankee fan, it's easy to be a Yankee fan. They spend a half a billion dollars on salary and haven't won anything in years.
Well said, Jack25624. Well said.
Craig, I see u got yourself a NEW MAN TOY, HAVE FUN LADIES
BY THE WAY,,,,,,,,, Tony went to talk to the minor league team about under age drinking,,,,,,,,,,,, I noticed nobody is bringing that up, maybe when they all get locked up for DUI CRAIG WILL BE HAPPY.REAL NICE CRAIG
I think we are in the precense of a future POTUS. Who's with me to start the MinayaPAC? 2012 is too soon but maybe 2016 we could make it in :)
I think it would be WONDERFUL if LOS METS FIRE Minaya and HIRE Adam Rubin, since u ALL THINK SO HIGHLY OF SOMEONE WHO LOBBIES FOR A JOB WHILE ON ANOTHER COMPANIES DIME. I imagine your boss would be EXCITED to know you were behaving in such an HONORABLE FASHION.