Mets VP of Player Development Tony Bernazard has long been rumored to be the guy that went behind Willie Randolph’s back last season when he was fired. But now Adam Rubin of the Daily News reports that Bernazard screamed at the Double-A Binghamton team, then ripped his shirt off and challenged them to fight. You read that right… To a fight!
Bernazard is a 52 year-old man challenging a team mostly made up of kids in their late teens and early 20’s to fight. Sure, the B-Mets are a terrible team with a 37-58 record in last place in the Eastern League. The incident is said to have occurred just before the All-Star break.
When Mets GM Omar Minaya was asked about it, he said that Bernazard spoke to the team in a stern voice and that he was upset about underage drinking on the team among other issues.
Rubin goes on to recount a story that Bernazard blasted the Mets manager of baseball operations at Citi Field recently. Apparently, he wanted a seat that was occupied by a D-Backs scout. The employee told him to wait until the half-inning to make the seat change and that set Bernazard off.
We never hear much from Bernazard himself. Although he did interview, unsuccessfully, for the Seattle Mariners GM job during the off-season. But the more we hear about him, the more there is not to like.
As much as I’d like to see Halladay in a Met uniform, it doesn’t make sense to unload four big prospects for him right now for the Mets. The 2009 season is all but over for the Mets so they shouldn’t be in a position to be buyers right now.
They can get their hands on Halladay after the 2010 season as a free agent anyway. So to give up young players wouldn’t be a prudent move for the Mets as a team. It’s too bad though. I’d love to see Johan Santana and Halladay together for a couple of years.
Both SI.com and New York Post are reporting that Mets COO Jeff Wilpon met with GM Omar Mianya and manager Jerry Manuel during the Subway Series at Citi Field. The purpose of the meeting was to assure both that despite the horrible season that the Mets are having, their jobs are safe.
When asked about the assurance from Wilpon, Manuel said that no such meeting took place. He said that he wished it was true, but it wasn’t.
Jeff Wilpon has long been rumored to use Jon Heyman of SI as his media mouthpiece. This was especially evident last season before Willie Randolph was fired and Heyman always had the scoop from a “confidential” Mets source about what the organization was planning. It looks like that’s the case this season again, minus the “confidential” part.
I’ve heard a lot of complaints about Minaya and Manuel from Mets fans and some are valid. But this season was just completely lost to injuries. It really wouldn’t be fair to hold them accountable for what’s happened this year. Although if things go awry next season, the Wilpons might have a quick hook especially for Manuel.
Minaya has three more years on his contract and there’s no way the Wilpons are going to eat three years. It’s just not going to happen. So for those of you that want Minaya gone, and I’ve heard from you, don’t get your hopes up. He’ll be here for at least one more year.
The Mets are reported to be continuing their “hold on” strategy for this season by working out Julio Lugo in the Dominican Republic. Lugo was designated for assignment this week by the Boston Red Sox. There’s no way that any team is going to claim him, and highly unlikely that he can be traded within 10 days before he has to be released. Lugo’s contract is huge, $9M this year and $9M next year that could vest into $9M for 2011 as well.
The Daily News is reporting that to make room on the roster for Lugo, the Mets will release Tim Redding. He’s been a complete bust of a free agent. The Mets will have to eat the rest of his $2.25M salary for this season. Redding is 1-3 with a 7.22 ERA and recently lost his spot in the rotation and hasn’t fared well in the bullpen. The Mets haven’t been happy since day one with Redding when he showed up in spring training reportedly 20 pounds overweight and injured.
Lugo is 33 years old and doesn’t add anything significant to the Mets. This is a move just to help them complete the rest of their games this season, not win the games. Don’t hold your breath for Roy Halladay, Matt Holliday, or any other difference makers at the trade deadline. This isn’t the Mets year and the front office knows it.
The list of Mets injuries is still pretty long and includes some of the players that are key to the team having a successful season. Omar Minaya had a review of player statuses with reporters yesterday prior to the Mets return from the All-Star break in Atlanta.
Fernando Martinez: Out 6-8 weeks. He had surgery to repair a torn meniscus in his right knee.
Carlos Beltran: He had another MRI during the All-Star break. He still has a significant bone bruise in his right knee. Team medical staff still hasn’t cleared him to begin jogging.
Jose Reyes: He’s running lightly and hitting. Reyes could be back by the end of July
John Maine: He threw live batting practice yesterday. The plan is to get him into rehab games within the next 10 days and back with the Mets by the end of July.
Carlos Delgado: He’s been hitting lightly. The plan is still for him to return in August.
The injury situation is so bad that I see it hampering the Mets motivation to make a big trade this month. There’s so much uncertainty about how these critical players will perform during this season that it doesn’t make sense to unload big prospects to make a run this season.
Three Mets are in St. Louis today for the mid-season festivities. David Wright will be starting at third base and hitting sixth in the National League lineup. Francisco Rodriguez is in the bullpen and it’ll be interesting to see where he gets into the game. In my mind, he should pitch the eighth inning. Trevor Hoffman should get the ninth, despite the fact that he was added because Jonathan Broxton couldn’t make it because of injury.
The Mets have asked Charlie Manuel, the NL manager, not to use Johan Santana unless it’s an emergency. So don’t plan on seeing Santana unless the game goes to extra innings. Santana just pitched on Saturday and threw seven innings against the Reds. I’d be thrilled if he didn’t make it into the game tonight at all for the Mets sake. He’s too important to risk in an exhibition game.
Of course, Carlos Beltran would have been starting in center field but he’s recovering from a bone bruise to his leg.
Enjoy the game tonight. I know that I will be. Sure, it’s an exhibition but the National League could sure use a win. It’s been a long time and the Mets could use home field advantage in the World Series this year. Right?
The Mets and Braves trading right fielders gave me a great opportunity to share opinions on the deal with Braves blogger Peter Hjort of Captiol Avenue Club. Peter does a great job there of documenting the Braves performance. Here are the questions I had for Peter and his answers about what we’ll be seeing from Jeff Francoeur:
Mets Report: Every once in a while you see a very promising young player like Francoeur seemingly lose it and not be able to get it back. In your view, how did Francoeur go from a Rookie of the Year candidate in 2005 to where he is today?
Peter Hjort: Well, there are 2 fundamental problems with Francoeur. The first is his lack of plate discipline. Pitchers figured that out after his monster July of 2005 (his first month in MLB) when he posted an OPS of 1.326. He was able to get by during the remainder of 2005 through 2007 posting decent numbers despite his lack of plate discipline due to his incredible athleticism. After the 2007 off-season he tried to bulk up in an attempt to hit for more power. That backfired and he not only lost the ability to hit for power, he lost the ability to hit at all. His horrendous stats tell half the story and the fact that his bat speed was completely shot in 2008 tells the other half. So the combination of his lack of plate discipline and the deterioration of his athleticism are the reasons he is where he is today. Other issues like his stubbornness (early in his career) and his perceived birthright to a starting role didn’t help. Add that onto the high-pressure situation of playing at the highest level in your home town and you’ve got a rather unfavorable situation.
Mets Report: Is Francoeur’s fielding skill enough to carry him as a corner outfielder if he’s not hitting?
Peter Hjort: No amount of fielding skill in Right Field can make up for how bad he’s been over the past two years. Right Fielders simply don’t have enough defensive chances to make that kind of an impact with their glove. But when he bulked up pre-2008, his foot-speed went with his bat speed and he’s been a below-average defender in right for a year and a half now. In 2005, 2006, and 2007 he was very good in right displaying average range and a plus plus arm. The arm is still there and this year he’s re-gained some of the range he lost in 2008. As he continues to shed the raw muscle and get into better “baseball shape” his range should come back and he’ll be an above-average defender again before we know it. He has the potential to be the best defensive RF in the game. But when you’re putting up a sub-.300 OBP, you just can’t make up for it with corner OF defense.
Mets Report: It seemed like some ill will developed last season between Francoeur and the Braves when they sent him back to the minors for a few day. Is that accurate?
Peter Hjort: Yes. That is accurate. Francoeur didn’t approve of the demotion. He also seemed upset that Frank Wren and Bobby Cox only gave him “a five minute meeting” to explain the demotion. But Francoeur eventually realized he was being a bit immature and in the words of many, he grew up a lot from that experience. I’m sure the organization was irked by his public comments and refusal to admit he was hurting the team, but they never showed any signs of disapproval–especially since he was recalled after only 3 days. Francoeur has always been good about saying the right things to the media with regards to his teammates but not so much when talking about the coaching staff or the front office.
Mets Report: Do you think that the Braves would have non-tendered Francoeur after this season?
Peter Hjort: Yes. I don’t think there’s any chance they would’ve tendered him a contract. The Braves simply can’t afford to take a chance on a guy not producing offensively in his 2nd year of arbitration. I think the upside of the move for the Mets is that Francoeur has 2 option years left and if he continues to struggle the Mets can probably afford to stash a player in his 2nd year of arbitration in AAA in hopes that he gets his swing back.
Mets Report: What was Francoeur’s reputation in terms of locker room presence?
Peter Hjort: Francoeur was loved by teammates and was always a positive influence in the locker room. When Francoeur was down, the team was down. When he was up, the team was up. I’ve heard loads of anecdotes about him being a tremendous positive influence in the locker room and none about him being a negative influence. He will certainly be a great addition from that perspective.
Thanks to Peter for doing a great job with his answers and giving us some insight into what we’ll see from Francoeur. The down side of this deal is that it seems to be universal opinion that the Braves would have non-tendered Francoeur after this season and the Mets could have picked him up for nothing.
You can read my answers to Peter’s questions about Ryan Church at Capitol Avenue Club.
The Mets are reported to be continuing their “hold on” strategy for this season by working out 
Three Mets are in St. Louis today for the mid-season festivities. 
The Mets Report 