“The bottom line is I made a mistake,” Minaya said.

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Today’s Nooner is quite clever and covers the Omar Minaya-Adam Rubin Saga and manages to link Brett Favre to one of the funniest movies ever made, “Dazed & Confused.”

A day after the now infamous Rubin-Gate press conference at Citi Field, Mets COO Jeff Wilpon has come out publicly to apologize and say that Mets GM Omar Minaya made a “very large mistake” in questioning Adam Rubin’s motives in writing the Tony Bernazard stories.

You can say that again.

“I think he really understands he made a very large mistake here. He apologized to ownership, he apologized to the staff,” Wilpon said. “Omar has told me he’s remorseful about what he said.

“I can only apologize from the organization’s standpoint. Omar made a mistake and he admitted to me he made a mistake and he’s apologetic for his mistake.”

Wilpon gave Minaya a vote of confidence as the team’s GM despite its struggles on the field and enough off-the-field distractions to fill a circus tent.

“Omar’s our general manager, he’s going to be our general manager,” Wilpon said.

We’ll see how long that lasts.

If the Mets slide and finish near the bottom of the NL East and/or there are any more embarrassing incidents, Minaya could be gone at year’s end.

On a related topic, do you think it’s OK for a reporter to inquire with a team he’s covering about potential employment in that field?

As I said yesterday, if Adam Rubin directly asked the Mets about working for their team, it’s a conflict of interest because there’s a perceived quid pro quo involved….You give me a job and I’ll cover your team in a “positive” light.

If, on the other hand, he asked general questions about a career in baseball, I’m less problematic with it.

SI’s Jon Heyman reportedly said he had no problem with Rubin’s actions today on NY radio, according to The Big Lead.

On the other side, NY Times sports editor Tom Jolly called it “inappropriate” on his Twitter feed.

What do you think?

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(PHoto courtesy SI.CNN.Com)

]]> http://www.zagsblog.com/2009/07/28/wilpon-says-minaya-made-a-very-large-mistake/feed/ 1 http://www.zagsblog.com/2009/07/27/mets-minaya-digging-own-grave/ http://www.zagsblog.com/2009/07/27/mets-minaya-digging-own-grave/#comments Tue, 28 Jul 2009 03:41:01 +0000 Adam Zagoria http://www.zagsblog.com/?p=19686

This was supposed to be the day that the Mets moved past the Tony Bernazard fiasco and marched boldly forward without him.

Mets GM Omar Minaya should have just gone into his press conference at Citi Field and made a brief statement.

Something to the effect of: We have investigated the reports of Tony Bernazard’s improper behavior in the minor leagues and after conducting that investigation I decided it would be best for the organization to let Tony go.

Something short and sweet like that would’ve enabled the Mets to move past this embarrassing chapter in their increasingly tumultuous history.

Instead, Minaya rambled along and decided to question the credibility of Daily News reporter Adam Rubin, who covers the Mets for the paper and broke the Bernazard stories.

It looks like Minaya wanted to exact revenge on Rubin for bringing to light the embarrassing stories about his friend Bernazard.

“You got to understand this: Adam for the past couple of years has lobbied for a player development position. He has lobbied myself, he has lobbied Tony,” Minaya said.

Rubin was sitting at the back of the press conference and looked shocked by what Minaya was suggesting.

“Is what your alleging that I tried to tear Tony down so I could take his job?” Rubin asked. “Is that what you’re saying?

“That’s despicable to say that.”

“No,  no, I’m not saying that,” Minaya said. “I am saying, that in the past, you have lobbied for a job.”

“Over the years he said a number of times that he would like … he asked me personally … to work in the front office,” Minaya said according to The Associated Press, “in my front office. Not only me, but he’s asked others.”

Rubin ended up giving his own press conference to his colleagues, a bizarre scene for sure.

“I was flabbergasted,” Rubin said. “When he first mentioned my name, I thought he was paying a compliment, an uncomfortable compliment for him. This was absolutely startling.

“I never asked Omar directly for a job,” he added, according to the Associated Press. “I don’t know how I’m going to cover the team now. I’m absolutely floored. I asked, ‘How do you get a job in baseball.’ That’s it.”

Minaya later backtracked — somewhat — during another press conference, saying it “was not the proper forum to raise those issues.”

He said he was sorry for making the comments at the press conference, but stood by the content of the message.

If Rubin specifically asked the Mets for a job in their organization, then that is a clear conflict of interest and he should be removed from the beat.

If he just asked generally about how to get a job in baseball, that is a gray area but clearly not as much of a problem.

Mets COO Jeff Wilpon confirmed that he had spoken with Rubin about him potentially working in baseball.

“I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that,” Wilpon said. “I believe Adam was just doing what anybody else does. I probably get a call a week from someone asking for career advice.”

The bottom line is that the stories Rubin wrote about Bernazard were true, so how can Minaya call him out with a straight face?

And why would a guy looking for a job with the Mets write stories that made them look so unorganized?

Either way, it will be difficult for Rubin to cover the team now.

Rubin may be able to cover the players and the games, but how can he cover the GM?

His paper is standing by him for now.

“This was a well-reported, well-researched, exclusive story, and it’s a shame that the Mets deemed fit to cast aspersions on our reporter instead of dealing with the issues at hand,” Daily News editor in chief Martin Dunn said in a statement.

“We stand by Adam 1,000 percent.”

As for Minaya, if he went out there rogue style and damaged Rubin’s credibility, he should be fired.

If he didn’t and was pursuing a party line aimed at exacting revenge on Rubin, then the Mets, as Ricky Ricardo might have said, have some ’splaining to do.

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They reached an agreement with left-handed free agent pitcher CC Sabathia, according to the New York Post.

ESPN is saying it’s for seven years and $160 million. The Yankees initially offered six years and $140 million.

Looks like the Yankees haven’t been impacted too badly by the recession.

Sabathia, 28, went 17-10 with a 2.70 ERA last season. The year before he won the AL Cy Young.

Sabathia, who was a workhorse down the stretch for the Milwaukee Brewers, is exactly what the Yankees need. A front-of-the-rotation ace who can pitch the first game of any postseason series, if the Yankees can get back there.

Sabathia joins Chien-Ming Wang and Joba Chamberlain in a rotation that was decimated by injury last season. The Yankees are also pursuing free agents A.J. Burnett and Derek Lowe. Bringing back Andy Pettitte is also an option. Youngsters Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy are still in the mix as well.

The Sabathia deals comes a day after the Mets announced a three-year, $37-million deal with closer Francisco Rodriguez.