Just when you thought the Mets' woes were bad enough, the club's vice president of player development Tony Bernazard has potentially gone off the deep end.
According to the Daily News, Bernazard recently challenged the entire Double-A Binghamton Mets clubhouse to a fight during a postgame locker room outburst in which he ripped off his shirt. The report also indicates that the VP singled out middle infield prospect Jose Coronado, using very degrading and disgusting terms.
The event happened roughly 10 days prior to the All-Star break, when the B-Mets were 1-6 during a July home stand which featured three losses by seven or more runs. Entering this week, the team was roughly 20 games under .500 and reports claim that the last straw for Bernazard was that players have been allegedly drinking while underage.
"I know he did have a team meeting with them," Mets GM Omar Minaya said in the report. "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."
The Mets released a one-sentence statement Wednesday afternoon that said: "We take these reports very seriously and are investigating the matters."
