ShareThisI keep trying to put myself in that room at Citi Field, where the New York Mets found yet another way to embarrass themselves.
I keep trying to imagine myself sitting there, listening to general manager Omar Minaya, in a bizarre and shameful turn, vindictively try to smear the reputation of Daily News beat writer Adam Rubin, who had the audacity to expose the boorish, bullying antics of Tony Bernazard, the organization's now-fired vice president for player development.
I keep trying to figure out what thoughts would've been racing through my mind Tuesday afternoon, as I witnessed this stunning lack of professionalism and class from someone who is supposed to know better.
And all I can come up with is this: There's no way this ends well for Minaya.
Nor should it.
There is no excuse for Minaya's behavior -- for viciously attempting to publicly discredit the reporter who took down Bernazard, for foolishly dragging the Mets into a public-relations war they can't win, for recklessly plunging an already-troubled franchise to previously unseen depths of disgrace.
There is no reasonable explanation for a man of his stature and experience suffering such a public meltdown during what should've been, by New York standards, a routine press conference.
There is no way he survives. Not in New York. Not after this.
Upset that Rubin's solid reporting on Bernazard's tirades -- among them were a heated verbal exchange with All-Star closer Francisco Rodriguez and a bare-chested, profanity-laced, clubhouse threat to fight the entire squad of the Class AA Binghamton Mets -- forced him to fire his close friend, Minaya committed a cardinal sin in media relations.
He let his emotions get the best of him. Lost it. Snapped.
Instead of thanking Rubin for helping the Mets rid themselves of a clubhouse cancer, Minaya reacted like a mob boss. He wanted blood. He wanted to destroy the writer's career.
So in the same gathering in which he announced Bernazard's firing, he publicly alleged that Rubin had "lobbied for a player-development position" and implied that Rubin had an ulterior motive when he wrote all those negative stories about Bernazard.
Which is ridiculous.
In a first-person analysis that appeared in Wednesday's editions of the Daily News, Rubin wrote: "I have never, ever, asked Omar Minaya for a job. Or even career advice. Frankly, I've never been very close to him. What I have done, and what Mets COO Jeff Wilpon acknowledged yesterday, is ask Wilpon for 'career advice.'" Or to be more specific: Thinking about his future, Rubin asked how a 35-year-old baseball writer might work his way into an administrative job with a major league team.
He didn't lobby for Bernazard's job.
But Minaya, unable to protect his buddy from himself, bent on striking back, arrogantly and purposefully tried to twist an innocent inquiry into something sinister.
That's more than despicable. It's slimy. It should be beneath the acceptable level of conduct from any major league organization, especially one struggling to fill a new ballpark. And the damage done is irreparable.
It was bad enough Minaya, despite operating with the biggest payrolls in the National League throughout his tenure, has put together teams that have failed miserably on the field.
Now he has picked a fight with a newspaper and, worse, made himself an easy target for talk-radio rants all over Gotham, where his judgment and competence are justifiably in question. The drumbeat has begun. And, from where I sit, even that mind-boggling contract extension won't save him.
There's no way this ends well for Minaya.
(Ray McNulty is sports columnist for Scripps Treasure Coast (Fla.) Newspapers, The Stuart News, Fort Pierce Tribune and Vero Beach Press Journal. Contact him at ray.mcnulty@scripps.com or on the Web at www.tcpalm.com.)
