Do Not Cross Mets VP Tony Bernazard or He Will Try to Fight You

Wednesday morning, it seemed a little crazy when the New York Daily News broke a story about the Mets' VP for Player Development Tony Bernazard flipping out on the Double-A Binghamton Mets, reportedly removing his shirt, challenging the players to a fight, and calling shortstop prospect Jose Coronado, "a slang term associated with a woman's anatomy." Surely, every farm director gets a little fired up from time to time when his prospects are disappointing, but this seemed over the top.

For Bernazard, though, it seems like this type of behavior may be par for the course. The New York Post ran a story Wednesday afternoon reporting that Bernazard also recently tried to pick a fight with the big-league club's closer, Francisco Rodriguez. They quoted an anonymous player as saying Bernazard is "crazy."

Both articles go on to say that Bernazard won't be fired, but this is a huge hit to his reputation that may cost him in the long run anyways. In the past two seasons, he's interviewed for both the Pirates and Mariners open general manager positions. He obviously didn't get either job, but the fact that he was on the short list of two rebuilding organizations is a pretty good indication that he was generally thought to be a good prospect to become a GM somewhere in the near future.

These accusations, particularly the one about challenging minor leaguers to a fight, I'd imagine, are going to follow him for the rest of his career. It's hard to think of a team wanting to hire a man who actually ripped his shirt off in a fit of rage directed at his players. There will likely be some damage control from the Mets in the coming days, but it might already be too late for Bernazard.