New York, NY (WFAN) -- Boy, these Mets sure know how to put on a press conference, don't they. They can't seem to get enough of them. After Monday's fateful fiasco where G.M. Omar Minaya veered way off course to try and take N.Y. Daily News' beat writer Adam Rubin's scalp, they followed it up with an organization-driven apology from C.O.O. Jeff Wilpon yesterday. And just think - there's more to come - Omar will get back to us (probably Thursday) with his own mea culpa, once he finally recovers from the self-induced trauma he inflicted on himself and the Mets.
On Tuesday, Jeff Wilpon stated - "We're very sorry about what happened yesterday. It was the wrong forum, the wrong time, the wrong situation for Omar to express himself in that way. I have a call in to Adam to apologize on behalf of myself, the organization, ownership - I'm going to ask him if he'll accept a call from Omar. Omar would very much like to call him and apologize for the venue that he took to embarass him and talk to him in that manner, and I'm hoping Adam will accept that phone call. And I hope he accepts my phone call and the apology from the organization."
Wilpon went on to say - "Omar's extremely remorseful. He's upset about this. This has taken a toll on him in a very big way. He's feeling the effects of what he did. He was angry, he was upset, a little bit about Tony (Bernazard), a little bit about some of the things that had been portrayed about the organization. He was trying to protect it, and I think he really understands he made a very large mistake here. He's apologized to ownership. he's apologized to a bunch of the staff, and he understands he put us in a bad spot here."
Here's what happened and what triggered the outburst that stunned everyone. The press conference start time floated, as, it always seems, everything Met-related does - it was 3:00, then 3:30, then 3:45. The SNY Network - killing time - put Rubin on prior to Minaya's appearance. Meanwhile, Minaya was watching, along with several players - some friendly with Bernazard - in the Mets clubhouse. Minaya obviously felt that Rubin was gloating over toppling Bernazard, the blood began to boil, some of the players expressed their displeasure, the anger rose and - voila - you had the perfect storm. Minaya carried it from there to the podium, and the rest is history.
Now for Tony Bernazard. He deserved it, if for nothing else than overseeing a rather barren farm system while being the Vice-President of Player Development. While the Mets suffered critical injuries, the cupboard was bare. But it was much more than that. A people-person Bernazard was not. I always said hello to Tony upon seeing him, regardless of the circumstance. Rarely, if ever, was the salutation returned. The hello was usually ignored. He ruled by intimidation, and treated many subordinates with disdain. He had a legendary temper, which he never seemed to hide very well. I always came away with the feeling that he thought he was better than others - that he had a grand sense of entitlement. If you could do something for him, you mattered - if you couldn't, you didn't. Jose Cruz, the first base coach of the Houston Astros, once asked Tony to speak with his son, Jose Cruz Jr., who was having some issues at the time. Never heard from him. When G.M. Tim Purpura was fired by Houston owner Drayton McLane, Jose finally heard from Bernazard - hey, can you put in a good word for me, can you put me in contact, etc..
Never mind you, what can you do for me lately. One final time - Hi Tony, how's it going? Don't worry, he'll be fine - people like that always make sure they are.
C U soon
Eddie C.
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