What could possibly happen to the free-falling New York Mets that would prove more embarrassing than suffering their 2nd complete game defeat at the hands of sure-thing Hall Of Famer John Lannan? Perhaps, in the words of the New York Daily News’ Adam Rubin, Mets VP of Player Development / serial-underminer Tony Bernazard, “removing his shirt and challenging the Double-A Binghamton Mets to a fight during a postgame tirade.”

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.