Is Mets VP Tony Bernazard is the master manipulator?

Gotham Baseball Magazine says:

“Bernazard was never really on board with the hire, but waited until he had consolidated his power to start sowing his seeds of discontent. For nearly two seasons, Bernazard has been undermining the skipper in the clubhouse and in the front office.”

“Minaya’s firing of Randolph had a heckuva lot to do with his own job security. If he’s going to go down, he’s going to go down with his own guy, Manuel. You see, back in 2005, Rudy Jaramillo was Omar’s first choice to manage his club. Bobby Valentine was also a consideration, but not an option. Randolph – who had been linked to the Reds with Minaya as a possible manager-GM team in 2000 — was a compromise candidate, agreed on by Omar with full support – and strong suggestion — of ownership.”

Newsday says:

“Take this for what it’s worth, but Wednesday, I received two phone calls from industry contacts – the first, a longtime friend of many Hispanic players, and the second, a scout from an American League team. Both, unsolicited, brought up Bernazard, both professed to not know him and both offered the same sentiment: ‘I hear he’s a really bad guy.’”…Early Tuesday morning, when the hatchet fell on Randolph and the two coaches, Bernazard could be seen in the team hotel, giddy as a schoolgirl with a new dress.”

WFAN:

A beat writer approached Bernazard before yesterday’s game asking questions about his role in the decision to fire Randolph. Bernazard refused to comment, and then had the reporter removed from the field, courtesy of the team’s public relations department.

ESPN:

“a Mets front office member would often tell players about negative evaluations from Randolph, which were intended to be private.”

NY Post:

“Don’t be conned by the Met spin. The owners and their pet p.r. man were totally involved in Randolph’s firing and how it was handled.”

NY Daily News:

The political climate that swallowed Willie Randolph may ultimately consume Omar Minaya as well, with VP Tony Bernazard in prime position to assume the GM responsibilities if Minaya is ousted, insiders tell the Daily News.

In the Mets’ highly political environment, the no-nonsense Bernazard appears to have gained the trust and respect of chief operating officer Jeff Wilpon.

Bernazard, whose responsibilities include overseeing the farm system, has differentiated himself from Minaya by positioning himself as someone who stresses homegrown players.

Bernazard’s relationship with newly named interim manager Jerry Manuel has been the latest hot-button topic. Randolph’s acquaintances suggest the fired manager suspected Manuel of undermining him by bad-mouthing him to Bernazard. That’s a complicated accusation.

It’s clear that Bernazard and Manuel have a solid relationship – far better than Bernazard’s relationship with Randolph, who detested the Mets’ VP in part because of his clubhouse presence. Without exaggeration, Barack Obama’s relationship with Hillary Clinton during their campaigns for the Democratic nomination may have been considered civil compared with the frostiness between Bernazard and Randolph over the past three-plus seasons.

It’s also clear, according to team insiders, that Manuel viewed Randolph as stubborn and overmatched. Randolph would frequently ignore Manuel’s advice as bench coach.

DAILYSKEW SAYS: Sounds like a good conspiracy, and confirms everything we suspected about how the Mets are run. What a pathetic franchise. It needs new ownership and new management.

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