FanHouse Omar Minaya

With the New York Mets struggling through injuries all season and well out of the NL East race, it's no surprise that Mets fans aren't happy with the way 2009 has played out. Throw in some Tony Bernazard right crosses and general manager Omar Minaya has been feeling the heat.

So while there are plenty of Mets fans who wouldn't mind seeing Minaya gone after the 2009 season, Mets owner Fred Wilpon came out on Sunday and said that both Minaya and manager Jerry Manuel are going to be back with the team next season.

Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in Baseball Brunch.

Now that the hands are dealt -- expect for one or two more this month -- we can examine the pennant races to come.

There wasn't much point in assessing the races until after Friday's non-waiver trade deadline, when we know what we're dealing with. Some important pieces will change hands after they clear waivers this month, but they probably won't be difference-makers.

Before we get to the predictions, though, let's talk about one trade that didn't happen.

If you've been following the long, strange trip of the New York Mets this season, you know what a tangled, complicated world the front offices of Major League Baseball can be. You understand the frustrations, the egos, the outbursts, and the Machiavellian maneuvering. If you haven't been following the Mets, let me catch you up: "They are the Mets, only they got really bad sooner."

For further analysis, please click the following link and enjoy tonight's Dugout.

NEW YORK -- Omar Minaya erred in his handling of Monday's Mets news conference, team COO Jeff Wilpon said Tuesday, and Minaya owes an apology to Daily News writer Adam Rubin. But, Wilpon said, Minaya is safe as the team's general manager.

In announcing the firing of Tony Bernazard, the Mets' controversial vice president of player development, Minaya said that Rubin had "lobbied" the Mets for a front-office job -- intimating that Rubin's stories, which helped bring down Bernazard, were part of an agenda.

"Omar's our general manager," Wilpon said. "Omar's going to be our general manager.

---

---

NEW YORK -- The Mets are certifiably nuts. Just when you think they've done most everything they can to invite mockery and derision, they readjust the clown nose and refill the water hose.

The team called a press conference Monday to announce the firing of Tony Bernazard, an executive whose personnel file had grown thick with reports of odd and inappropriate behavior. Most anywhere else -- even, dare we say, over at the Knicks' main office, which once housed people doing pratfalls into giant mounds of dung -- this would have been a fairly easy one-and-done. Take a few questions, tie it up in a bow, and vow to focus energy on the trading deadline, getting players healthy and making a run for a wild-card spot.

It hasn't been an easy season for the New York Mets. They've been decimated by injuries, and, despite a gaudy payroll and the winter additions of Francisco Rodriguez and J.J. Putz, entered play 10 1/2 games behind the rival Phillies in the National League East on Monday night.

Things might have bottomed out this afternoon, though, as GM Omar Minaya addressed the New York media about the firing of team official Tony Bernazard. Minaya challenged the validity of reports by the New York Daily News' Adam Rubin, who initially broke the story of Bernazard challenging Mets minor leaguers in Binghamton to a fight.

It got weird when Minaya intimated that Rubin may have broken the story in hopes of getting a job in player development with the team.

As we reported on Friday, the Braves traded an under-performing outfielder, Jeff Francoeur, to the Mets for an under-performing outfielder, Ryan Church. My theory? The general managers were just bored. Saturday's Dugout is after the jump.

NEW YORK – Now batting cleanup for the Mets: faith. Hitting fifth: hope. But how many runs can they drive in?

"You have to believe that somebody is going to catch fire and hopefully pick up some slack," Mets manager Jerry Manuel said Monday after the team placed center fielder Carlos Beltran on the disabled list.

"There is no doubt that this is going to be very challenging for us."

To recap: the Mets are without Beltran (fourth in the NL with a .336 average), first baseman Carlos Delgado and shortstop Jose Reyes.

That's three of the top five hitters from the Opening Day lineup and three guys who combined to score more than 40 percent of the team's runs in 2008.

WASHINGTON -- Forget their neighbors in the Bronx, there is no better soap opera in the major leagues right now than the New York Mets.

The Mets' latest chapter of intrigue (or sorrow, if you're feeling especially gloomy) has nothing to do with a rickety bullpen or a crushing September collapse. Instead, it revolves around a vicious injury bug that has already bitten first baseman Carlos Delgado and whose latest victims include shortstop Jose Reyes and setup man J.J. Putz.

"You always build a team with depth in mind, and now that's going to be a challenge for us," New York manager Jerry Manuel said.

---

---

Starting Five is our wrapup of the previous day's baseball action, with a quick nod to what's ahead.

You Oughta Know ...
That it's awfully hard for K-Rod to earn his money if J.J. Putz isn't doing his job ahead of Rodriguez. For the second straight day, Putz had a rocky outing. He surrendered two runs in a touch and go eighth inning Sunday against the Marlins (the Mets still won the game) and followed that Monday by allowing four runs and taking the loss against the Pirates.

Putz gave up four consecutive singles during Pittsburgh's rally, and attributed much of his performance to misfortune.

"A couple hoppers up the middle," Putz said. "They hit groundballs; they just hit them to the right spot.

"There's not much you can say about that. There's a little bit of bad luck involved."

---

---