In an article in today’s New York Times, Mets owner Fred Wilpon emphatically denies that he will sell the Mets and that the money they lost to Bernie Madoff was nowhere near the reported amount of 700 million dollars. The article has already been linked to on Metsblog.com and talked about on WFAN radio. Yet that has not stopped Evan Roberts, WFAN radio host, and his callers from assuming the article is inaccurate.
In the article, the Mets CEO made two points. One: the Mets are not for sale nor will they be in the future. The Mets will remain in the family, meaning Jeff (COO) will inherit the team and so will the grandchildren. Two: the amount of 700 million in losses as some have reported is way off base.
The evidence that Roberts, his co-host Joe Benigno, and others use to prove the Mets are hurting financially is that the Mets will reduce payroll next year. If that’s the case, the sole reason has to be that the club was fleeced by the now imprisoned Madoff.
But here’s the real story. It is likely that every Major League team with large payrolls will reduce the amount of money they spend next season. Even the powerful and super rich Yankees are said to be reducing their player expenses in 2010. If you haven’t heard, the country is in a recession, the worst since the great depression of the 1930s. Just look at your grocery bill to prove my point.
It’s easy for fans to assume the Mets are financially strapped because if the Wilpons have millions, and their revenue streams are tremendous, they should be able to simply spend money on players without consequence. They can’t. And it may have nothing to do with Madoff. It has to do with the economy.
A caller to the Saturday morning talk show asked Evan if he was calling Wilpon a liar. Roberts said no, that he liked Fred and thought he was a decent person. Well Evan, what are you calling Fred Wilpon then? You succinctly said that you did not believe his claims in the article because the Mets are cutting payroll next year. Sounds to me like you are saying the Mets owner is lying. But where is the story if Roberts and others were to report that the Yankees, as well as other teams, will br reducing payroll too. As they say, never let the facts get in the way of a good story.
Another point to be made here is the bitter Mets fan whose desire is to see the Mets sold. Be careful what you wish for. While many of you think that the Wilpons are only out to make money (as if any one of us is not out to make money), the fact is they spent more money on their payroll than any other team in the National and American League except for the Yankees. That hardly proves that Fred and Jeff are ripping everyone off. If the Mets payroll was 40 million instead of 140 million, I would say there is merit in the claim. But that’s not the case and hasn’t been since the Wilpons took over full ownership several years ago. The Mets will likely continue to field the most expensive team in the NL next season because of how much more they spend compared to other teams and the other teams reducing their payroll as well.
If the Mets have spent their money wisely or not is another argument, one worth debating. But if you think Fred and Jeff are skipping gleefully down
You want the story of the 2009 Mets? Here it is… The Mets in 2009 suffered unbelievable injuries to all their star players. No team in baseball, including the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, and whomever, could have survived by replacing their stars with farmhands standing by. Had the Mets remained healthy, they would have remained competitive, likely battling for the division again. We would probably be arguing over what moves Omar Minaya should have made at the trading deadline to bolster the teams chances in the shadow of falling short the last two seasons but make no mistake, the Mets would be contending.
Also, the injuries did expose cracks in the armor. The Tony Bernazard flap would have likely remained dormant had writers not needed something juicy to report. Bernazard needed to go and Minaya’s actions in doing so, blaming writer Adam Ruben, was reprehensible. It may still cost him his position.
The farm system was exposed in that the upper levels were barren of talent to bring up or to trade for Major League ready players. But the amount of injuries was so dramatic, I can’t fault Omar for not trading the chips they do have when likely, no difference would have been made.
Erin Arvedlund has written a book titled “To Good To Be True” which is about Bernie Madoff and the empire he built by swindling many of the wealthiest Americans. In the book she claims Fred Wilpon will be forced to sell the Mets, maybe as soon as 2010. Maybe she is right and maybe Fred is lying. But many have said the Wilpons assets are stable including Bob Dupay, the president of Major League Baseball. He oversees the financial reports of each team and he has reported the Mets are firmly in the black. Someone is not telling the truth, time will tell who it is.
And for those of you praying that Wilpon sells, who do you want to buy the Mets. How about Jim Dolan, he’s done a fine job with the Knicks and Rangers, don’t you think? Leon Hess sold the Jets to many fans’ applause. Just how many Superbowls have the Jets won under Woody Johnson? As I said before, be careful what you wish for. The grass is not always greener.
