As we might have mentioned before, we bought Mets tickets online about four years ago. We must have clicked the wrong box or not clicked another, but we now get mets.com updates sent to us via e-mail all the time. Whee! But for once, it was useful. We opened up our “message from Omar Minaya” and received a message that we will put in italics, interspersed with our own comments in regular type:

I wanted for you to hear directly from me today regarding an update on the investigation of Tony Bernazard, our Vice President of Player Development.

That would be the Tony Bernazard who “removed his shirt and challenged the Binghamton Mets to a fight while using a slang term for a part of a woman’s anatomy to single out players.”

Prior to a series of articles published in the media, our Baseball Operations and Human Resources departments had begun looking into several matters involving Tony. Once those reports became public, we accelerated our investigation. We wanted it to be thorough and complete it as quickly as possible while still being fair to Tony. That process concluded over the weekend.

But first: We danced like we’ve never danced before.

Yesterday, I met with Tony in person to have a frank conversation about what we had learned following interviews with numerous people. I also wanted for Tony to have the opportunity to give his side of the story.

That side of the story possibly included other slang terms for the female anatomy.

After meeting with Tony, and giving a lot of thought to the facts, I came to a decision on Tony’s status which I shared with Ownership last night. My recommendation was that we needed to part ways with Tony, as his behavior in his interaction with others was inconsistent with our organization’s values. Ownership agreed with my assessment and accepted my recommendation.

The Mets have always insisted on using the proper clinical terms for female anatomy when describing young prospects. (There’s a Kevin Mulvey/Seinfeld joke in here somewhere, but we’ll let it slide).

I spoke with Tony this morning and informed him of my decision to terminate his employment with the Mets. Personnel decisions are never easy. And one can’t make them without giving it a lot of thought. It’s even harder when you know someone as I do Tony. Tony and I go back a long time. He is a dedicated baseball man who loves the game, someone I like and respect, and someone who has contributed to the Mets. In the end, however, I just told him I couldn’t leave him in his position after all that had transpired.

[Redacted].

As General Manager of the Mets, I am fully accountable for our Baseball Operations department — on and off the field — and stand by this decision. Thank you for your ongoing support of the Mets.

Or, at the very least, your decision several years ago to attend an afternoon game filled with screaming children at Shea Stadium.

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