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March 20, 2012 Around the Blogs Paul Festa

Blog Roundup: Financial Edition

The heavyweight court bout between Wilpon, Katz, and company vs. Irving Picard ended in a…well, sort of split decision.  All in all, it was good news for the owners of the Mets, as Fred, Jeff, and Uncle Saul only had to payout a paltry $162 million.  After the ruling, the Mets were able to sell 12 minority ownership shares of the team at $20 million apiece, infusing $240 million into the organization.  This allowed them to immediately pay back their debts to the Bank of America and Major League Baseball.  That’s the good news.  The bad news is, the Wilpons won’t be forced to sell the team.

The Blogs check their accounts:

  • Ian O’Connor of ESPN thinks Fred is still a loser.
  • Hardball Talk says the Wilpons are happy, and praise Mario Cuomo (this is not a blog post from the mid-80s).
  • Amazin’ Avenue explores the ramifications of today’s ruling.
  • MMO wonders if this means better days ahead.
  • Metstradamus examines what this does to the culture of negativity among Mets faithful.
  • Tedquarters, meanwhile, is always thinking about his stomach (apologies to Han Solo).  How would you define a sandwich?

We here at Mets Today work for free, so we don’t have to worry about million dollar settlements.  Stay tuned for more Mets news.

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Paul is a freelance writer, blogger, and broadcast technology professional residing in Denver. A New Jersey native, he is a long-suffering Mets fan, a recently-happy Giants fan, and bewildered Islanders fan. He's also a fair-weather Avalanche and Rockies supporter. In his spare time, he enjoys the three Gs: Golf, Guitars, and Games.
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  1. Kanehl March 20, 2012 at 1:50 pm
    Sad, sad day for Mets fans. The Wilpons will likely hold onto control of the Mets for years to come. But, here’s what will happen:

    1. The payroll will not go back up b/c they (i) are heavily leveraged in real estate, the Stadium, and the network, with payments coming due, (ii) they’ve lost Madoff’s funny money cash stream they relied on in the past, and (iii) stadium and team revenues are likely to decline even further over the next 2 or 3 years (indeed, the only hope is that this happens so disastrously that they sell the team to save the family fortune, but that seems pretty remote).

    2. In another year or two, Alderson will get disgusted and leave, at which point The Idiot Son will again take over and hire a GM in the Duqette-Omar mold: a subservient nitwit willing to pretend that Lil’ Jeffie knows what he’s talking about.

    3. In short, I see no path to building a successful organization. The Mets will have the same long-term pattern as the Orioles: a once-proud franchise ruined by befuddled, cash-poor ownership.

    4. I’ve been a faithful Mets fan since 1962 (when I was too young to know better), but it’s time for me to search for another team. Since I like the NL-East and, of course, can’t abide the Braves or Phillies, I’m thinking about the Nats, who may be around the same place that the Mets were in circa 1983 (good young talent, especially pitching, poised to make them a legitimate contender).

    • Izzy March 20, 2012 at 6:16 pm
      MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY! (except for # 4. I get the Nat games and I have come to kind of like them especially with Davey in charge, but they can’t rise higher than # 2, at least not yet. Maybe when Wright is sent away I’ll join you) Rod Kanehl…..My favorite Met of the early 60’s.
  2. Kanehl March 20, 2012 at 7:01 pm
    I hear you on #4. I’m just not sure what I’m rooting for anymore. A uniform with “Mets” on the front of the shirt and a transient collection of roster fillers inside? It’d be one thing if I thought the organization was in new hands committed to a rebuilding program (like the early 80s, for example). That’s something I’d wait for (we Mets are nothing if not patient and hopeful.) But when the Mets MLB roster sucks over the next 2 years, and seats are empty, the Wilpons will revert to rushing/ruining still-developing prospects and signing overpriced Free Agents (always settling for the ones that the real contenders don’t want, at least not at the years and dollars that the next Omar will throw at them). I just don’t think I can stand in the tracks and wait for that train to arrive.
    • Izzy March 20, 2012 at 7:12 pm
      I hear you Kanehl. But living out of New York i am known as a suffering Met fan by all the Philly fans around here. But I have those 4 Super Bowls they can’t stand and I have the Steeler fans to pounce on them in the winter as well. We lose the Summer, but it wouldn’t be the same if I became a Nats fan. Would I then have to become a Skins fan as well. I’m stuck with the Mets. No money for Wilpon however. He makes so little on a road game that I’ll head to Nats Park or PNC or Camden Yards every now and then and have good natured back and forth with their fans. Never Philly. Their fans are totally whacked out in their park.
      • Kanehl March 21, 2012 at 11:48 am
        Izzy, I grew up in Jersey and now follow the Mets long distance from LA. Been to Citifield, been to Port St. lucie twice, catch the mets games when they’re in @LA or San Diego. Been a loyal fan for a long time, but I’m at the crossroads with them now. It’s one thing to be patient and enjoy their occazinal period sod success. It’s another to commit to a couple of decades of mediocrity under someone as arrogant , dishonest and stupid as Jeff Wilpon.
  3. NormE March 20, 2012 at 10:15 pm
    Now I know why Izzy is gets angry so often. Living in Philly, surrounded by the crudest fans in the all of sports, will do that to you.
    I, too, live away from NY. I’ve seen the Mets play in Atlanta,
    Pittsburgh, LA, Baltimore, Philly and maybe DC or Fla. this year. When I go to NY I never even dream of going to Citi Field.
    Kanehl and Izzy are correct, it’s a sad time for Mets fans.
  4. murph March 21, 2012 at 1:55 am
    “The Magic is Back”
    http://www.baseball-reference.com/teams/NYM/1980.shtml