brokedownpalace:

Mets owner Fred Wilpon, technically still alive (Image via cantstopthebleeding.com)

And so what we thought was the spiral curling into a sad, quiet final 60 or so games of the New York Mets lost 2009 season has instead transformed into a heaving, gluttonous scandal monster. In the best way I know how to explain this: Mets Vice President of Player Development Tony Bernazard ripped his shirt off and challeneged several Class AA Binghamton Mets players to a fight after yet another loss in their equally terrible season last week. He also recently berated a subordinate inside Citi Field during a game when said subordinate would not immediately ask a rival scout to leave Bernazard’s “seat.” Bernazard also engaged in a shouting match with star closer Francisco Rodriguez, and perhaps staff ace Johan Santana. Tony Bernazard is a cunt. Any reasonably serious Mets has long known this. He has long been considered the villain in Willie Randolph’s firing. He’s been a duplicitous and undermining presence in the clubhouse. His reputation is one of a gunner, looking for a GM gig to call his own. Big deal. Organizations have plenty of cunts. Sometimes that’s why they’re there: To do the ugly, uncomfortable work so the darling GM doesn’t have to. Still, Mets GM Omar Minaya vowed to “investigate” Bernazard’s shenanigans and get to the bottom of the situation. Four days ago.

The Bernazard fiasco elevated to hysterical heights yesterday. Minaya finally addressed the media, firing Bernazard and seemingly putting an end to this quagmire that happily sat in standstill over the weekend. Only he didn’t. Nearly all of the stories outing Bernazard’s bizarre Machiavellian behavior originated with the New York Daily News and Mets beat reporter Adam Rubin. At today’s press conference Minaya accused Rubin of pining for a job within the Mets system. When he was reportedly rebuffed, he took action with the pen to undercut Bernazard.

Bernazard, Wilpon, and Minaya: So hawt with their shirts off

“You got to understand this: Adam for the past couple of years has lobbied for a player development position. He has lobbied myself, he has lobbied Tony,” Minaya said. Rubin did, in fact, ask Mets COO Jeff Wilpon for some tips about how to get hired by a major league club. That’s all, according to him.

So, um, yeah. A rallying cry against the media and now Omar Minaya is officially on Mets Death Watch. We have seen this story before: Steve Phillips, Jim Duquette, the aforementioned Randolph, Jeff Torborg, Bobby Valentine, Bud Harrelson, Dallas Green, Art Howe, Rick Peterson, and so on and so forth. This is what the Mets do. Scandal and failure arises. The media pounces, and then routinely pummels. All  could think today as I drove for nearly two hours after Minaya’s press conference listening to Joe Benigno and Evan Roberts on WFAN 660 was “Wow, tough day for Mike Francesa to have off.” He’ll feast on this.

This is what Adam Rubin looks like. No jokes.

But that’s not exactly what intrigues me about this story. Rubin, the possibly slandered beat reporter, said he thinks covering the team now, in the short term, is going to be “impossible.” Minaya effectively ended the News’ beat reporter’s stint covering the team. Certainly a sad thing for Rubin, a steady baseball writer and keen reporter. But what does it say for the respect for beat writers, and journalism in general? Not much. Baseball teams and their attendant ownerships and management have long tussled with the media. Steinbrenner comes to mind, obviously. But for Minaya to essentially attack a writer, undermine his credibility, vanquish his short-term career, and act brazenly (and also speak incredibly inarticulately, which didn’t help his case) is a dangerous ledge for the GM to be sashaying across. But it also might mean nothing. Maybe Rubin doesn’t sue Minya. And maybe the Mets—winners of three straight and strangely looking alive these last few days—recover from a horrendous season. Maybe Jose Reyes is back in the lineup in two weeks and the team makes a go at the playoffs. And maybe the Wilpon family, so terribly ravaged financially by “close friend” Bernie Madoff’s ponzi scheme, have their most profitable year ever in Mets revenue, after the returns on a brand-new stadium and a thriving sports network come in. And maybe Adam Rubin is out a job in two years. And then the Daily News closes. And the New York Post. Etc etc etc. And then ex-beat writer Marty Noble will be the only one left to cover the team for mets.com (besides metsblog.com, obviously). And then will it matter that Minaya besmirched a lowly reporter at one of the biggest newspaper’s in the country. Probably, yes. But only because we’ll always know that Minaya, who always seemed wily and sort of fun to have as general manager, is impetuous and maybe an asshole.