2009 Mets Season Thread

[Rome]

I just did.  A real team is about to begin playing.

[ice grillin you]

Who's their top sideline reporter then? Do tell.

michelle tafoya

[ice grillin you]

ATLANTA -- Brian Stokes doesn't like Billy Wagner giving a name -- specifically, Stokes' name -- to a nothing role in the Mets' bullpen.

"He's nobody to me," an angry Stokes told The Post yesterday, his voice quivering as he spoke.

Stokes was firing back at Wagner after Wagner told The Post earlier this week that he thinks the Mets will limit him to being "a Brian Stokes-type player [who] might pitch once a week" when -- or if -- he returns from Tommy John surgery.

Stokes, a 29-year-old right-hander in his second season with the Mets, said he realizes he doesn't have the most prominent role in the bullpen. The former Tampa Bay Ray has appeared in just 34 games -- the fewest of any Mets reliever that began the season on the big league roster and isn't on the disabled list.

But Stokes didn't appreciate Wagner using his name as an example, especially because Stokes said he barely knows Wagner.

"In one ear and out the other," Stokes said before last night's 11-0 debacle against the Braves. "It's his opinion. I could not care less about it. I'm not going to try to start anything with him, but if that's how he feels about my role, that's fine. If that makes him sleep better at night, fine with me."

Stokes also defended his role, pointing out that he has been on the big league roster since Opening Day for a team whose bullpen has otherwise been a revolving door.

"I'm in uniform, right?" Stokes said. "I'm in the major leagues, right? Every time I go out there, I do the best I can to keep the team in the ballgame. I think every single person in here has a responsible role."

Stokes said he had been told of Wagner's comment about him earlier in the week and that it was hardly a shock coming from the notoriously blunt and outspoken closer.

"I'm not surprised at all," Stokes said.

What surprised Stokes is to have Wagner single him out, considering the only time they crossed paths last season was in spring training and occasionally in the Mets' clubhouse late in the year when Wagner was getting treatment on his elbow.

"I don't really know him, and we've never really talked, so I don't know why he would think to talk about me," Stokes said.

It's an open question whether Stokes and Wagner will have the chance to cross paths again as teammates with the Mets.

The Mets already have told Wagner they don't plan to pick up his option next season, and he is never mentioned as part of the team's regular injury updates.

Wagner said he doesn't think he will have a major role once he returns, which could be late August or early September, but manager Jerry Manuel disagreed yesterday when Wagner's pessimism was relayed.

"That's not true," Manuel said. "We would very much welcome Billy Wagner -- a guy of that status, a guy that has saved games. He would be ideal for us. It would probably be a great situation for him, as well."

Just don't expect Stokes to welcome Wagner with open arms.

[MDS]

wagner is still playing?

[Sgt PSN]

with himself from what i hear. 

[SD_Eagle5]

Always good for a laugh. Kick em while they're down.

[Feva]

[img=http://www.nypost.com/seven/08262007/sports/mets/its_not_official__but_nl_east_.htm]http://Always good for a laugh.[/img] Kick em while they're down.

That "Preview" function is a beautiful thing. 

[Sgt PSN]

ha. 

[PhillyPhreak54]

2 hour, no extra base hit, shut out by John Lannan.

5 games under .500.

Ha. Ha.

[ice grillin you]

[Rome]

I'm stealing that.

[Sgt PSN]

that shirt is dope

[PhillyPhreak54]

Omar's lackey/assistant Tony Bernazard, who last week cussed out his assistant because the assistant told him to wait until the half inning to demand a seat away from a Diamondbacks scout is back in the news again.

WASHINGTON - The Binghamton Mets clubhouse nearly turned into a scene out of WWE Raw recently, when VP for player development Tony Bernazard removed his shirt and challenged the Double-A players to a fight during a postgame tirade, multiples sources told the Daily News.

Bernazard particularly went after middle infield prospect Jose Coronado, using a slang term associated with a woman's anatomy, a source indicated. The confrontation happened about 10days before the All-Star break, according to insiders.

"That's an all-timer if true," an AL official said upon hearing the account, which was corroborated by multiple people with ties to the Mets.

GM Omar Minaya acknowledged Bernazard spoke to the B-Mets in a "stern voice," but said he had no knowledge of the scope being portrayed.

"I know he did have a team meeting with them," Minaya told the Daily News. "It was not a 'you-guys-have-been-great meeting.' I know he spoke to them in a stern voice. But as far as what he was wearing, what kind of shoes he was wearing, I don't know anything about that."

While the 52-year-old Bernazard's actions were over-the-top no matter what the motivation, alleged underage drinking on the team apparently was one motivation for the eruption, an organization source said. Still, sending players to counseling rather than challenging them to a rumble might have been a more appropriate course of action.

Binghamton went 1-6 during an early July home stand against New Hampshire and Erie that coincided with that tumult. Three of the defeats came by at least seven runs. The team's longtime Double-A affiliate entered last night with a 36-58 record, in last place in the Eastern League's Northern Division.

"It's ridiculous that anyone in a professional baseball environment thinks it's acceptable," a friend of several B-Mets said about the treatment of the players.

The shoddy treatment of people in the system has led to mocking of the VP behind his back.

The News reported Tuesday that Bernazard, one of GM Omar Minaya's top lieutenants, recently erupted at the organization's manager of baseball operations. During a game at Citi Field, scouts took their customary seats in a row behind home plate. Bernazard showed up during play and wanted a seat occupied by a D-Backs scout. Bernazard's deputy, already seated in the row, suggested to the Mets VP that he wait until the half-inning ended, to minimize the disruption. Bernazard ripped into his deputy with a profanity-laced tirade as scouts and patrons watched in disbelief.

[Rome]

LOL at the incredible hulk act.

One of those young dudes should have kicked his face in.

[Sgt PSN]

can we change the name of this thread to the "2009 Point and Laugh at the Mets" thread?