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.
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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."
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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.
Wednesday morning, it seemed a little crazy when the New York Daily News broke a story about the Mets' VP for Player Development Tony Bernazard flipping out on the Double-A Binghamton Mets, reportedly removing his shirt, challenging the players to a fight, and calling shortstop prospect Jose Coronado, "a slang term associated with a woman's anatomy." Surely, every farm director gets a little fired up from time to time when his prospects are disappointing, but this seemed over the top.
For Bernazard, though, it seems like this type of behavior may be par for the course. The New York Post ran a story Wednesday afternoon reporting that Bernazard also recently tried to pick a fight with the big-league club's closer, Francisco Rodriguez. They quoted an anonymous player as saying Bernazard is "crazy."
After signing a four-year, $24 million contract last winter, Luis Castillo was a huge disappointment in his first full season with the Mets. He hit just .245, nearly 50 points below his career average, and spent large chunks of the season on the bench after losing his regular starting job to the likes of Damion Easley and Argenis Reyes.
Ordinarily you'd think the Mets would try to move Castillo, but they've decided to give him another chance, and not just because his contract makes him nearly untradeable. Soon after the season ended, Castillo had his agent arrange a face-to-face meeting with GM Omar Minaya and VP Tony Bernazard in which he took responsibility for his poor showing and pleaded for a chance to redeem himself. From the New York Post:
"He wanted to let the front office know that he was disappointed in how the year went, and promise to do everything he could to get in shape and be the kind of player he had been for 10 years," Minaya said.
It's believed that the Milwaukee Brewers have their managerial search down to three candidates: Ken Macha, Bob Brenly, and Willie Randolph. As to when the Brewers will make their decision, nobody's quite sure, but it probably won't be announced until after the World Series is completed.
Of course Willie Randolph has other offers available to him besides the Brewers job. Both the Colorado Rockies and Washington Nationals have offered Willie a job as bench coach, but it's looking like Randolph has his sights set on the Brewers gig. According to a report out of New York, he's already told the Nationals he's not interested.
Willie Randolph turned down an opportunity to join the Washington Nationals' coaching staff, and if he doesn't get the Brewers' managing job, he'll probably sit out the 2009 season, a person familiar with the situation said.
Randolph, fired as Mets manager June 17, spoke with the Nationals about serving as either bench coach or third-base coach under manager Manny Acta, but he ultimately decided against working under Acta. The two men had a tenuous relationship in 2005 and 2006, when Acta worked as Randolph's third-base coach, because of Acta's strong alliance with Mets general manager Omar Minaya and vice president of player development Tony Bernazard.
It's also reported in the same article that Ken Macha is the front-runner to land the Brewers job, so unless something changes, it looks like Willie will be sitting out the 2009 season.
Carlos Delgado opened the year slow, but in case you haven't noticed, he's been raking the ball lately. Before the All-Star break, Delgado hit just .248 with a .748 OPS. Ever since then, he's been hitting .286 with a .972 OPS. Does his revival have something to do with Jerry Manuel replacing Willie Randolph? John Harper of the New York Daily News and Mets assistant GM Tony Bernazard seem to think so:
No player seemingly has benefited more from change than Delgado. His return to form as a feared slugger, after looking ready for retirement early in the season, already had been so remarkable you couldn't help but wonder if he was somehow lacking motivation under Randolph.
[...] "Delgado is such a student of the game," said Bernazard. "If you're running a good game, he knows. When you're running a bad game, he knows."
It's an interesting theory, I suppose, and hey, everybody is entitled to an opinion. But is Delgado's resurgence even that surprising? Part of the reason his early struggles were magnified was because of his strong finish last year. When you look at the numbers, Delgado has consistently improved his OPS after the All-Star break each of the last five years. With few exceptions, it's a trend that's existed his entire career.
To ignore that trend and instead attribute Delgado's current success to Randolph's absence is both mean-spirited and ignorant. If the two developments are at all related, it's the opposite that's true: Randolph is no longer around because Delgado wasn't hitting.
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.
Every Sunday, MLB FanHouse empties out its notebook in 
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."
NEW YORK -- 
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.
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 
Wednesday morning, it seemed a little crazy when 
After signing a four-year, $24 million contract last winter, 
It's believed that the Milwaukee Brewers have their managerial search down to three candidates: 
