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April 20, 2011 Shea What? Joe Janish

MLB Takes Over Dodgers – Mets Next?

MLB commissioner Bud Selig has announced that he is appointing someone to take over operations of the Los Angeles Dodgers.

From The New York Times:

Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig said Wednesday that he would appoint someone to oversee all operations of the Los Angeles Dodgers because of his “deep concerns” about the state of the marquee franchise.

But two people with knowledge of the situation said that he was also strongly considering forcing the sale of the team by invoking his “bests interests of baseball” powers to wrest the team from Frank McCourt, the owner since 2004, who he believes has mismanaged the franchise while enriching himself.

Selig said in a statement that he informed McCourt of his decision, which he said was made to “protect the best interests of the club, its great fans and all of Major League Baseball.”

Though the route to disaster was different — the Dodgers are in a financial mess because of the McCourt divorce and the $100M+ that the husband and wife took from the team as “personal distributions” — the end result is similar to the current situation with the Mets. So will Bud Selig take a similar approach if things don’t improve in Flushing, to “protect the best interests of the club, its great fans, and all of MLB”?

Some might argue that an MLB takeover happened last fall, upon the “appointment” of MLB executive Sandy Alderson as Mets GM. But, since Fred Wilpon is in Bud’s “inner circle”, he was allowed a longer leash than the McCourts and saved from the public embarrassment of having MLB “officially” take over the Mets.

What do you think? Will MLB eventually take over the Mets if the financial situation doesn’t improve in the near future? Is MLB already running the Mets, or is that a “conspiracy theory”? Share your thoughts in the comments.

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Joe Janish began MetsToday in 2005 to provide the unique perspective of a high-level player and coach -- he earned NCAA D-1 All-American honors as a catcher and coached several players who went on to play pro ball. As a result his posts often include mechanical evaluations, scout-like analysis, and opinions that go beyond the numbers. Follow Joe's baseball tips on Twitter at @onbaseball and at the On Baseball Google Plus page.
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  1. Izzy April 20, 2011 at 6:43 pm
    Well, since Omar Minaya was the Gm for the Expos, maybe Bud will make him GM of the Dodgers and bring Frank Robinson in to manage the Mets. MLB didn’t do too good in Canada. They’d probably make things in worse in Flushing as well.
  2. xDanTanna April 20, 2011 at 6:55 pm
    It will not surprise me to see something happen w/ the Mets as we get closer to June. The best interest of baseball clause is something I discussed all winter. It should be used here to push 2 lying sods + no good losers as ownership out the door. So we can finally start a new era. We can keep changing the GM & Manager, but until these circus clowns are gone, there will always be s big top atmosphere in Queens.
  3. 86mets April 20, 2011 at 9:31 pm
    It’s definitely a warning shot across the bow of the Wilpon ship that MLB could very well step in and take over. If the Billion $ lawsuit vs the Mets goes against the team, even if the court awards Picard only a portion of the billion dollars, it’s hard to imagine the Wilpons being able to maintain ownership of the Mets. They’re already $400 + million in debt, borrowed $25 million from MLB last fall, and need new minority partners, now, to keep the team afloat. One can only imagine the situation if they then have to pay out $500 million-$1 billion in a lawsuit. IMO, the sand in the Wilpons hour glass is very quickly draining out and the end of their ownership nigh at hand.
  4. Ryan April 20, 2011 at 10:13 pm
    Alderson is a Selig shill. The Mets have already been taken over. Bud is holding out to save his buddy Wilpon’s face and keep things contained until the Picard suit is settled.
  5. dougieflynn April 21, 2011 at 3:23 am
    It’s only a matter of time that the Mets can’t make payroll & MLB seizes control of the team.
  6. Kenny April 21, 2011 at 9:04 am
    ryan is correct. take a look at who is occupying the mets offices and i do not mean sandy alderson, as he is the obvious one. look at how many ppl came directly from mlb’s office this past offseason from the traveling secretary on down. the media isnt doing its job. the story is right in front of their noses and nobody is writing about it.
  7. Anthony April 21, 2011 at 9:26 am
    I would actually argue that MLB did great when it took.over the Expos franchise.

    They bought the team for 150 million and sold it for 600 million!!!

  8. Mike April 21, 2011 at 10:09 am
    I really believe that unless it got to the point that the Mets could not pay salaries (something that despite the loans they claim they can do) MLB will give the Mets every opportunity to bring in the investor and get things righted on their own.
    • CatchDog April 22, 2011 at 8:56 am
      Exactly. It’s easier and faster to line up minority ownership, that will quickly inject capital into the organization short term for things like operating expenses, Draft money etc while looking for a Daddy.