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)
DRSUPREMO / July 28, 2009
Omar Minaya’s public comments at the press conference were outrageous. If he worked for my organization, I would fire him — not at the end of the season — but now. It is obvious that he was ticked off that his buddy was “outed” by the reporter.
This guy is a walking public relations nightmare (his handling of Randolph’s firing was equally ridiculous) — similar to the way the big auto execs traveled to Washington on private planes when they were asking for billions in taxpayer bailouts. My father used to tell me.. “If you are born stupid, you are stupid for life.” Minaya qualifies!
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