Minaya's power takes another hit with Pena firing
Photo credit: Sipkin, Corey | Omar Minaya holds press conference before a game regarding the firing of Mets VP for player development Tony Bernazard. (July 27, 2009)
Mets 2009 season, game by game
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Photos: Meet the (ailing) Mets
The popular phrase around the Mets nowadays is "No scapegoats." Barring a very surprising change of heart from ownership, Omar Minaya and Jerry Manuel will return for the 2010 season, a reflection of the Wilpons' belief that such a horrible season occurred largely because of terrible luck on the injury front.
But while Minaya may have more job security on paper than his manager Manuel -- Minaya will start a three-year extension next season, while Manuel has one year left -- it's the Mets' general manager who clearly emerges the bloodiest from this nightmarish opening to Citi Field.
Minaya's power has taken multiple hits, the latest coming with the firing of Ramon Pena, his special assistant, who, like the departed Tony Bernazard, carried an awful reputation throughout the industry.
In addition to Pena, who headed the club's international scouting, many of the scouts who worked under Pena are expected to be dismissed.
The sackings of Bernazard and Pena say much about the Mets, and about the thinking of ownership.
1. Bernazard was responsible for gathering and developing young, domestic talent, and Pena was supposed to mine Latin America for low-cost gems. In other words, the duo had the burden of creating organizational depth. When the injury bug hit the Mets, they were fully unprepared due to their lack of organizational depth. Bernazard and Pena have now paid the price.
2. Yet simple ineptitude can't account for what went down. Bernazard and Pena both came aboard as friends of Omar. Bernazard had no front-office experience whatsoever. Pena had considerable experience with Detroit, but that never seemed to help him in any concrete form.
You know about the trouble that Bernazard stirred up, getting involved in the firings of Willie Randolph and Rick Peterson. Pena didn't reach that level, yet when he first arrived in 2006, he had to be told to stay away from the big-league club and focus his efforts where they were supposed to be.
3. Minaya now has far fewer allies in the organization, especially if vice president of scouting Sandy Johnson retires, as the New York Daily News reported. Not that he'll be alone. He has a close relationship with assistant GM John Ricco and special assistant Bryan Lambe, and of course Manuel.
This season, however, has impacted Minaya's previously tight bond with both Fred and Jeff Wilpon, according to multiple industry sources. The Mets owners are understandably not pleased with what went down, and Minaya memorably dug himself a hole by turning the Bernazard firing into an attack on the Daily News' Adam Rubin.
It might be Year One of Minaya's new deal, and he'll have some money to spend this coming offseason, even if the Mets do cut payroll. Yet his rope, it appears, won't be much longer, than Manuel's.
Minaya needs to produce, and he needs to do so with a new mix of advisers. He had best make more intelligent choices than he did the first time around.
Cold Winter?
With the national economy not displaying much bounce, player representatives are bracing for what could be another difficult offseason.
"They're going to use the economy as an excuse," one agent said, on the condition of anonymity,
The top available free agents like Jason Bay, Matt Holliday and John Lackey figure to get their money, just as the top free agents did last year. After that, though? It figures to be difficult.
A player like Bobby Abreu, who had to accept a one-year, $5-million deal from the Angels last winter, will probably be more aggressive this time around and jump on a more generous offer -- even if it doesn't match his sense of his value.
