Well, I guess if you want to put a positive spin on the hit Mets vice president of player development Tony Bernazard has taken over the last couple of days it would be, there’s no place to go but up.

The bad reports about Bernazard continue to pile up and from what Ken Davidoff of Newsday is reporting he doesn’t seem to care.

Davidoff wrote that Beranzard hung around Angel Stadium laughing and joking with Jay Horiwitz during batting practice yesterday. When asked about the negative things being said about him Bernazard told Davidoff:

“I’m not going to comment on it, I don’t talk about what we talk about internally. I’ve got a great reputation. I don’t have to defend myself against unfounded rumors.”

This only seems to be getting worse and worse for Bernazard, every story paints an even more bleak picture than the next. Davidoff continues:

The truth, however, is that Bernazard’s reputation has taken a pummeling. Take this for what it’s worth, but Wednesday, I received two phone calls from industry contacts — the first, a longtime friend of many Hispanic players, and the second, a scout from an American League team. Both, unsolicited, brought up Bernazard, both professed to not know him and both offered the same sentiment: “I hear he’s a really bad guy.”

Davidoff’s column has much more and it doesn’t get any better. I’m not sure what the Mets are going to to about Bernazard if anything but it is not a feel good situation, that’s for sure.

New Mets manager Jerry Manuel spoke to Mike Francesa and Chris Russo today on WFAN. To listen to the interview click here.

Hat tip to The Final Score for the video.

John Franco pulled no punches while blaming the players for Willie’s demise. Franco was a guest today on XM’s The Show with Kevin Kennedy and Rob Dibble.

“To be honest, I really think there is only a handful of players on the Mets who really give a damn about Willie Randolph getting fired and the others are just there to collect a paycheck and that’s just my opinion from the outside looking in, but each guy in that locker room should be held accountable and feel accountable for their poor play on the field that led to Willie Randolph being fired and the coaches getting fired because the players didn’t do their job and with the talent they have, it’s inexcusable for them to be playing the way they’ve played.”

For more on Franco’s thoughts regarding Willie’s firing go to MLB on XM.

Everyone in the country is hammering the Mets because of the shabby way they handled the dismissal of Willie Randolph and rightly so. I find it exhausting at this point and I know its because I care about the team that I root for and the way it is viewed. We are a laughingstock right now and that makes me sad. With that said, let the beating continue. Here are some thoughts from ex-Mets manager Jeff Torborg, who spoke on XM’s Baseball this Morning with Mike Patrick and Buck Martinez.

“To this day, I don’t know if the Mets know quite how to fire their managers…I was fired at home, but I had not spoken to the general manager for four days prior to my firing…he originally would come down every night…when I was fired, I came to a host of cameras, it was suggested I come in through the bullpen, I said, ‘I’m not going to go in through the back door here..’ I woke up that morning listening to the news that I had been fired…I was not flown across country, I was attacked [by the media] outside Shea Stadium…It’s unbelievable to me…Willie has an impeccable reputation, Captain of the New York Yankees, that’s really something special, then a trusted coach for a number of years, now he takes the Mets and does, what I thought a terrific job…”

Via MLB On XM

The always entertaining Brad Bortone of Bugs and Cranks gives us his take on Omar’s press conference yesterday. The following is a taste but make sure you head over there and read the rest, it’s well worth your time. Funny stuff.

Omar: “It was my decision. It was done based upon how I see our team for the past year or so. It was a tough decision. You have to understand, Willie was my hire. I decided to fire Willie, it was my decision. It is a tough one. I say its tough, why? Because I hired him.”

Bortone’s Translation: I didn’t want to fire the man, but the Wilpons said, “It’s either you or Willie,” and that’s when I booked the next Southwest SuperSaver to L.A.

Omar : When I talked to Willie last night, Willie had told me all along, Omar, just give me a heads up before something happens, communicate with me. Its a kid from Brooklyn communicating with a kid from Queens. I told him im going to try and make a decision on this trip. Willie said lets just get this done, the sooner the better. He gets back to the hotel, we sit down, I said Willie I made a decision, I have two choices here I can say you will be the manager for the year or you’re not the manager and I told him you’re not going to be the manager.

Bortone’s Translation: Willie, being “a kid from Brooklyn,” also chose to donkey punch me when I wasn’t looking. But as a kid from Queens, I understood his frustration.

via Comedy Central

Omar Minaya explains his decision to fire Willie Randolph and ESPN’s Buster Olney gives his take.

Video via NY Post’ Mets Blog

Video via NY Post

WFAN’s Eddie Coleman spoke to Mike and the Mad Dog this afternoon.

“You could say it was inevitable but we were all caught by surprise, the way it went down. Willie was upbeat after the game, they just played one of their better games, they beat a good team, they have Santana going tonight, there was no reason for him not to think optimistically. He knew was on thin ice, under the gun but he was as upbeat as I’ve seen him because they responded in a big way for him and with Santana going he thought maybe the roll was coming.”

“I spoke to Willie early this morning. He was taking calls from everywhere and he was busy it was just a couple of hours after it happened. He was brief but I did sense a bit of relief from him and he use the term “this has been hanging over me for a while” and in a sense he felt at peace with himself… Its been tough trying to get this team ready and focused when everything is swirling around. He was disappointed and shocked by it but at the same time he told me he was at peace with himself and the job that he did.”

“I told him he kept his head high the entire time and that he had nothing to be ashamed of. We had talked over time about how I felt the deck was stacked against him on a lot of fronts. Injury wise, just normal baseball stuff and he handled himself better than any person in his position could during this time. He did the right things and did all he could to keep his team headed in the right direction. They are coming off two wins in row and Jerry Manuel is taking over at least that’s a head start for him.”

Asked about the way Willie’s firing was handled:

“Incredibly ill timed is the nicest way I could describe it. There are a lot of other ways you could describe it as well…I can’t understand why it was done this way, you put a guy on a plane and fly him out here… It makes absolutely no sense. I just don’t understand the thinking or the rational behind this whatsoever.”

“I will tell you one thing, when we were at the ball park last night. I did not hear this but I was told this from Steve Popper of the Bergen Record, he asked Tony Bernazard, who is here on this trip whether anyone would be fired? This was late last night, 11:30 or so west coast time and he asked if anyone would be fired tonight? Tony said no. Now, when he was seen later at the team hotel Steve Popper confronted him and said “you said nobody was going to be fired tonight”? his response (Bernazard) was “well they weren’t, they were fired today.” …So how about that one.”

Newsday’s David Lennon at his blog On the Mets beat is really staying on top of the situation out in Anaheim. Lennon reports that he…

Just saw Willie Randolph, Jerry Manuel and Sandy Alomar leave for the stadium from the team hotel. No sign yet of Rick Peterson or Tom Nieto. Stay tuned …

No word yet on what Willie ate for lunch or if he actually has an appetite.

Update -7:03 p.m.- MetsBlog is reporting that Willie Randolph, Sandy Alomar, Jerry Manuel, Rick Peterson and Howard Johnson have all been seen at the stadium in Anaheim.

So that leaves the real root to all of the Mets problems… Tom Nieto MUST GO!!

Update -7:36 p.m. - The Journal’s John Delcos is reporting that Tom Nieto is at the ball park.

Well, I guess we can only hope to win despite his continued presence.

Hot Foot’s own Andrew Beaton was the first to let us know about the good time the Texas Rangers had sliding on the tarp during yesterday’s downpour at Shea. In this video you can see the fun they had and hear the chants of ‘Lets Go Rangers’ from the fans who loved watching it.

Hat tip to mvn.com for the video.

Ryan Church was a phone-in guest yesterday on ESPN’s ‘The Pulse’. He discussed his health, Willie Randolph and answered some e-mail questions from viewers.