06-20-2008, 08:08 AM
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#1 (permalink)
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| Senior Member
Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Orlando, FL
Posts: 3,424
|  About Heals' "Peas in a Pod" article:
Online Home of Gotham Baseball Magazine - Peas In A Pod Quote:
Back in 2004, or the last time the Mets' front office was in this much turmoil, one guy (with some help from another guy) was the divisive force that created so much havoc that super-prospect Scott Kazmir was traded for a injury-prone, arbitration-eligible (and serious non-tender candidate) right-hander, Victor Zambrano. That guy's name was Al Goldis, and his partner in crime was Bill Livesey. Yeah, those guys. “The Super Scouts”. These two geniuses helped destroy a blossoming farm system, an exceptional scouting department, and got an undeserving GM fired. They also helped turn a fan base against Jeff Wilpon.
Sound familiar?
Later that year, after the white-hot venom of the Mets' fan base had erupted for several months, the Mets decided that Omar Minaya would fix all of the Mets' problems, repair the front office, and circle the wagons. At first, he did. Then he made the mistake of hiring Tony Bernazard as his assistant.
Unlike Goldis, whose agenda to usurp any influence that newly-minted GM Jim Duquette (after spending half a year as the interim GM after Steve Phillips was fired) began the day he was hired, it took Bernazard a year before he got himself promoted to VP of Player Development, despite having not a shred of scouting, coaching or front office experience. That's quite a trick. But hey, his resume clearly indicated his fine work on the World Baseball Classic.
He never wanted to undermine his good friend Omar Minaya, but his actions and behavior have had the same result. Even better, like Goldis, he has – for the most part -- put enough of his cronies in place so that any criticism – or corroboration – is virtually non-existent.
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Now, I'm not arguing that the Met front office is a mess with this Tony B saga, but if you continue to read, Mark goes on to explain how the Wilpons had little to do with the deal in 2004, and little to do with Willie now. That's all fine and good, but he also states they should then get little of the blame. That's where I disagree. The fact that they let this type of atmosphere grow and fester twice now, shows there is a serious and inherent problem with their approach. Even if Jeff isn't the leak, why aren't the Wilpons in an uproar to find them? After all the PR blunders this team has had, why are Howard and Horowitz still here? This team has done this sort of stuff cyclically, and the GMs and Scouts are definitely not the constants in that equation. They need to realize that before it ever changes...
__________________ Quote: |
Originally Posted by Frank Isola There was no greater leader, teammate or unselfish player than Larry Johnson. He'd arrive for games at 4:30 just to stretch his aching back. He always played hurt. He always guarded the other teams best big man. He had the most underrated Knicks career in franchise history. The Knicks won two playoff games the year after Patrick Ewing left. They've never won a playoff game since Larry Johnson retired. They haven't had a winning season since Larry Johnson retired. Larry is the man |
Last edited by Hojo of 1991 : 06-20-2008 at 08:13 AM.
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