The Bernazard Fiasco--the Fallout

by GenJackRipper on Jul 28, 2009 9:44 PM EDT Comment 27 comments

Reprecussions positive and negative:

Positive:

1.) Obviously Bernazard had to go. Yes, I don't trust Rubin and I think that was a hit piece, but Bernazard's behavior and comportment has no place in any profession, and it's about time he got what was coming to him. He was competent, but hardly irreplaceable.

2.) I would not be surprised if Fred Wilpon actually did still root for the Dodgers. If he devoted half of his exqusite P.R. sensitivity to the business of being in command of a baseball team, the Mets would be perpetual playoff locks. Ergo, a debacle like this was pretty much the only thing that gives Mets fans strong grounds for hoping that Omar Minaya is demoted from his position at GM. His talents are undeniable, but the evidence that he is, all in all, the wrong man for the job is now overwhelming.

Negative:

1.) I am no fan of Adam Rubin, and my impression of him is that he is smart enough to realize that the copious quantities of ink trashing the Mets farm system are spent in the service of intellectual dishonesty and just plain dishonesty. I would not be the least surprised if he was in fact belittling the Mets farm in order to push key players out of their posts so as to attain a position in player development. Rubin, being fairly intelligent, comes off looking way too good when pitted against Minaya's rambling, incoherent codswallop. On a better note, there is little chance that the Wilpons will now take the P.R. risk of rewarding him with such a position, as it would simply raise suspicions further.

2.) If Omar gets fired, the N.Y. media might be dangerously emboldened. The N.Y. media have displayed too much influence already and Omar would have been much better off throwing Bernazard under a bus and making the decision seem like a no-brainer so that the media would have played the traditional role of informing rather than becoming agitators and advocates, and--even worse, getting its way. If the media were to become even more powerful in this town than it is, be prepared for 100 years of baseball futility.

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There's no way Rubin gets a job in the Mets organization

but Negative #2 is an intriguing point. I’ve always been skeptical about how much attention Mets higher-ups pay to the media, specifically tabloids like the Post, Daily News, and Newsday. The week’s events make me think they pay substantial attention, and that is not a good thing.

Newspapers are desperate to stay afloat, and Rubin’s muckraking has drawn a lot of local and national attention to the Daily News. I’d bet anything that these papers will produce more stories like the Bernazard one and this one, not only for the attention, but for the power that the press seems to have over the Mets at the moment. Good luck to anyone in the Mets organization who has any skeletons in their closet or once called someone a motherf*cker.

by James Kannengieser on Jul 28, 2009 10:46 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

Rubin does not belittle the Mets farm system.

Unlike other writers, he in depth follows the prospects and realizes that just because they don’t have as many prospects in the upper levels doesn’t mean its bad.
If you don’t research this, you’re no better than Wallace Matthews.

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on Jul 28, 2009 11:47 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

which is exactly what made his recent smear job of the farm system so, to use his word, despicable. rubin was clearly trying to intentionally mislead readers — like you said, he knows better than to believe some of the crap he was writing.

by T Pac on Jul 28, 2009 11:59 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

This was pretty much my impression.

Nothing can get by him; especially in a small room: Mike Francessa

by GenJackRipper on Jul 29, 2009 12:14 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Could you link to an article where he does that?

Not saying you’re wrong, but I don’t recall reading any of Rubin’s stuff that burned the farm system (except perhaps the occasional mention that the system was light on prospect depth that could contribute now and was more bottom level heavy), and I read everything he writes. Again, not saying you’re wrong, I just don’t remember it myself.

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on Jul 29, 2009 2:07 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Right here

Link

Read the title. “Failing Farm System”

“More importantly, the vulnerability to injuries is exacerbated by their impotent system.”

Does “impotent system” qualify as “the occasional mention that the system was light on prospect depth?”

by James Kannengieser on Jul 29, 2009 7:29 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

That's fair, but that actually isn't Rubin who says that in the article.

That’s a NL scout. Rubin goes on to say, after the quote:

The reality is that any team would be hard-pressed to withstand losses to the caliber of the players currently occupying the DL with the Mets, including Beltran (knee), Reyes (hamstring), Delgado (hip), John Maine (shoulder) and J.J. Putz (elbow). The subtext with the Mets is that the dropoff to the replacement players is precipitous because of a lack of credible options in the upper levels of the farm system.

That’s still a little harsher than I would think is fair, but it’s not wrong. And like I said, I feel that if Rubin was just saying this, then it’s offset by all the prospect talk he does in his beat reporting.

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on Jul 29, 2009 10:22 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

If Rubin disagreed with the scout's assessment

he might have said so in the article. But he didn’t. I’m gonna call him Adam “Hitman” Rubin from now on, if I refer to him at all ever again.

by James Kannengieser on Jul 29, 2009 10:57 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Rubin's words

no one else in the minor-league system is remotely ready to plug a vacancy on Opening Day 2010. That’s a damning indictment. Since Fernando Martinez and Deolis Guerra, who was traded in the Santana deal, signed as 16-year-olds the summer after Pedro Martinez’s addition, that pipeline of Latin American talent has failed to follow.

Putting down Harper and Madden for their ignorance while holding Rubin up on a pedestal isn’t fair.

by James Kannengieser on Jul 29, 2009 11:05 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Ok, that's more what I'd consider a "farm system burn".

That’s all I was asking for. No need for everyone to get so huffy. I agree, I was just saying I didn’t particularly remember any articles that said that, and was hoping for a refresher.

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on Jul 29, 2009 11:45 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

No worries

didn’t mean to be too huffy.

by James Kannengieser on Jul 29, 2009 8:43 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Wow that's quite a quote there.

A statement like that for a guy like Rubin is inexcusable, and even worse than a guy like Madden trying to make this kind of argument. At least Madden has the [lame] excuse that it would have taken him 5-10 minutes of research to find the name “Wilmer Flores” or “Jenrry Mejia” as evidence against such a claim. Rubin already does the research, making a claim like this is clearly false to anyone who is informed on the subject, and Rubin both holds himself to be and has displayed the qualities of “being informed” in the past, so this really is just crappy, non-objective, and perhaps even agenda-driving propaganda.

"All energy flows according to the whims of the great magnet

What a fool I was to defy him"

-HST

by Mark Himmelstein on Jul 29, 2009 12:26 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Come on now...

Wallace Matthews? Have a heart man.

Nothing can get by him; especially in a small room: Mike Francessa

by GenJackRipper on Jul 29, 2009 12:23 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I'm confused

Are you likening GenJackRipper to Wallace Matthews?

by James Kannengieser on Jul 29, 2009 7:25 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

IDK

Have you ever seen Wallace Matthews drink a glass of water?

Nothing can get by him; especially in a small room: Mike Francessa

by GenJackRipper on Jul 29, 2009 7:49 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Were you ever a prisoner of war,

Mandrake?

by wobatus on Jul 29, 2009 11:04 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

No...

just that in general, people have to be a little more clear when they discuss this issue. It’s easy for people to get confused one way or another, when the reality is that no one’s really right and no one’s really wrong. In this case, I feel the statement of:

the copious quantities of ink trashing the Mets farm system are spent in the service of intellectual dishonesty and just plain dishonesty

is unfair, because Rubin really hasn’t really trashed the Mets farm system. I don’t disagree with the overall point of the post, and I just feel that good journalistic practices should extend to posts such as these. Not that you have to be held to the same standards as a printed journalist, but that I consider GenJackRipper BETTER (i.e. more intelligent and rational) than Matthews, so I think if we’re discussing someone’s credentials as a journalist which may or may not lead to him losing his job, we have to be careful to make sure we’re giving him the most fair and just treatment that we can, and that includes recognizing what he has and has not done.

"I dunno. I never smoked any Astroturf"
-Tug McGraw

by squid92 on Jul 29, 2009 10:28 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

I forget the exact wording

but Jay Greenberg in the Post today had a line in a piece about “Omar must go” about how Omar insists that the Mets have good prospects but that is almost universally contradicted by other GMs and scouts.

That is the kind of line (and I know it isa different paper) that you hear all the time. And the proof of this to Greenberg was that there is no difference maker up from the system, or a player imported via trade for any such prospects). And he went on to note that Fernando martinez was not ready and Murphy is a nice back-up.

Of course, it is true that much of the Mets system’s talent is a year or so away, and they are famous for rushing some talent. But it is interesting to me that Niese, for one, was available and not used.

It is hard for me to be objective, but if Fernando retains prospect eligibility, the Mets have 2 top 25 types in Mejia and Fernando, Davis to me is in the top 100. A case can be made for Havens, although his production may need to pick up to get there this year, Holt have seen mentioned top 50 even, although he is goingb through a rough patch and may have slipped somewhat, Thole has his admirers, Tejada is awfully young and may be top 100 himself in a year or so. Flores is also up there on a lot of lists.

The Mets don’t have the best system but it is coming on fast. lack of a number 1 this year kinda hurts, though.

by wobatus on Jul 29, 2009 11:13 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

If Omar gets fired

the media will say he dug his own grave. And they’re right. The media just magnifies what’s already there, build a winner and they’ll praise you. What I’m saying is media-!→futility, futility—>media.

King of the bling come to lay down the evidence//Not George Bush, L-Millz be da president

by Sam Page on Jul 28, 2009 11:50 PM EDT reply actions 0 recs

I disagree to an extent

If you bought into the WFAN line, you’d think that issues such as David Wright’s chronic unclutchness, the team’s lack of grission, and Jose Reyes smiling too much are severe problems with the team. The media magnifies the shit they make up as much as they magnify what’s already there.

And this unpleasantness might make people like Francesca smell blood. They might start to be more aggressive in pushing their agendas and more willing to simply lie to get their way. This does not bode well for a team as sensitive as the Mets.

Nothing can get by him; especially in a small room: Mike Francessa

by GenJackRipper on Jul 29, 2009 12:30 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

To be fair, though...

… JoseJoseJoseJose does smile a lot.

(w….ink)

by LeiterMilnerFasterStronger on Jul 29, 2009 4:00 PM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Apparently All Mets Beat Writers Want a Job in Player Development ...

… because pretty much all of them report that the Mets farm system stinks. Maybe its not true, but in many if not most cases they’re only reporting what they’re hearing from scouts and front office people from other teams.

by RetireNumber17 on Jul 30, 2009 9:27 AM EDT reply actions 0 recs

John Sickles, as well as several others

understand that the Mets have and average to above-average (slightly) farm. John Harper and other idiots do not have the capacity to understand anything. Rubin used to be objective about the Mets’ system; he started piling on recently, leading several to suspect that he developed an agenda.

Nothing can get by him; especially in a small room: Mike Francessa

by GenJackRipper on Jul 30, 2009 10:56 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs

Sherman today

Said that even after trading away Knapp, Marson, Carrasco, Donald and Marson, the Phils still have a better system. He said an anonymous scout said so.

Well. Drabek, Taylor and Brown are 3 blue chips, no doubt. They have some beyond that. And it was very nice for them to get Lee without parting with any of those guys or happ. Fernando Martinez, Mejia, and Flores are rated about as highly as those 3.

Sherman also said the Mets didn’t have the guys to make that trade. That is completely false.

If the Mets had wanted to do it, Holt, Niese, Thole and Tejada is about the same value wise. maybe they would have had to put in Mejia over Holt to beat the offer. I don’t know. But it is insane to think they can’t put an attractive package together. If that made any sense.

George Willis also weighed in saying the 4 game winning streak, possible Beltran return, etc., meant Omar should do a deal. Also to save his job.

This is the real crux of it. The reporters seem not to comprehend that the Mets could easily put a package together, make deals, and still have talent left in the system. It just doesn’t make any sense. In fact, they’d leave the organization as susceptible to injuries as this year. Next year, there will be a ton of talent further along in the system. And it would be pointless to squander it now. In fact, I’d consider starting the clock early and calling some of it up in August if the Mets get even closer.

by wobatus on Jul 30, 2009 11:31 AM EDT up reply actions 0 recs