The New York Mets have always played second fiddle to those men in pinstripes, the Yankees. This week, however, the Mets may have stolen the spotlight if only for a day.
Normally, being the big cheese would be a welcome development, but in the case of the attention general manager Omar Minaya has drawn toward the Mets this week, the attention has been anything but welcome.
Monday’s press conference had all the makings of the standard 5 W’s (who, what, when, where, and why), with a little hint of sports cliche on the side. Omar Minaya, now in his fifth year as the top man for the Big Apple’s second franchise, called the media gathering to announce the firing of Vice President of Player Development, Tony Bernazard.
The press interaction won’t be remembered for Bernazard’s firing, however, as much as it will be for Minaya’s unbelievably childish response to questions posed by New York Daily News beat writer Adam Rubin. Rubin was the reporter who exclusively outed Bernazard as a ticking time-bomb who had not only taken his shirt off and threatened to fight two Mets’ prospects, but also unleashed a flurry of profanities at All-Star closer Francisco Rodriguez.
Rubin was following up on his story (for which the press conference had been called), and rather than be cordial, Minaya insinuated that Rubin’s reporting stemmed from the fact that he had “lobbied for a player personnel position” within the Mets organization. Although Rubin sought career advice from owner Jeff Wilpon, he's never sought employment with the team.
There are certain things in life you just don’t do, and one of those things is intentionally embarrassing someone in a professional setting. Minaya did just that and then some. Instead of being the leader that he’s paid $700,000 a year to be, he belittled a man simply trying to do his job.
It would be easy to say that Monday’s debacle is the most embarrassing moment of Minaya’s Mets career, but it’s not. He fired well-respected manager Willie Randolph in the team's hotel after a loss in Los Angeles in 2007, and has presided over teams with a total of zero championships, zero pennants, and a less than impressive .536 winning percentage. A single playoff appearance (2006) may be ok in say Denver or Seattle, but not in the city that never sleeps. Next time Minaya wants to call someone out, wouldn’t it be wise to look in the mirror first?
For the record, I hate the Mets more than any other team in the league so I'm never sad to see NY's B team fall flat on their faces. That said I can't imagine what it's like to be a Mets fan. In The last 4 years, you've seen a skyrocketing payroll, the greatest choke in MLB history, the firing of one of the classiest guys in baseball, and 4 sub .500 septembers.
ReplyDeleteHow do you keep your head up with this consistently mediocre performance, when they are spending money like no one else in the NL east?