The
announcement this week that the Mets sale to Steve Cohen
has gone south feels like the death of a close family member. I, as a
Mets writer, have a duty to report what I know for a fact, and nothing more. I
have received considerable information regarding this mess, but all of it is second
hand information without a confirming source. You have read both statements
that have come out by the Mets and Mr. Cohen. Neither go into details and
violates the non-disclosure agreement (NDA) they signed when this deal was
first offered.
It
doesn’t matter anymore. I don’t care who was zoomin’ who. The sale is over and I have to move on, both
as a fan and a writer.
Some
thoughts on this…
-You
can’t sit around waiting for some knight in shinning armor to come out of the
blue and offer Fred $2.6billion dollars to buy 80% of a company that the new owner
will not be able to run for 5 years.
-You
also can’t expect fair results from some firm that has now been given the task
of finding a new owner to change the terms, especially since Jeff’s son is
heading up that search. Do you think he will call his Dad up and say: “I got
you the deal but you are out”?
No,
you have to leave this mishugas to the Wilpons, the Board of Directors, and Saul Katz. It’s no big secret that the team is
bleeding cash. The Board isn’t happy and Katz is livid. The 80+ year old
President of the Mets wants his money out of this so he can finalize his trust
for his family, Can you blame him at this point in his life? It’s bad enough
that the last thing he ever did in his life was be President of this.
So…
What
about you?
-Love
the Mets and the players even more. Hey, the players have nothing to do with
this.
-Support
your General Manager. Yeah I know… some of you might think I am going too far
here, but, in my book, I think he has learned a lot from that infamous
Cano-Diaz trade. He traded no prospects in this off season and managed to talk
the Wilpons into giving him the cash to sign pitchers Michael
Wacha, Dellin Betances, and Rick Portello and
outfielder Jake Marisnick. Sure, there is no one
named Mookie here, but 4 previously successful major leaguers for only money is
good in my book.
-Don’t
be a Knick fan here. You know, one of the people that go to The Garden, sell it
out, and chant ‘sell the team’. What motivation does Dolan have to sell if he
still is getting your money? No, stay away from CitiField and make the money bleeding
even more critical.
One
of two things are going to happen here.
One,
a new sale will eventually be finalized, possibly for less cash or less
restrictive clauses. Nobody in their right mind is going to agree to what the
Mets currently wanted from Cohen.
Or
two, there will not be a sale.
Either
way, it shouldn’t change your fandom. What are you going to do? Root less for Pete Alonso?
We
desperately need a winning season in 2020. We need great years for Edwin Diaz and Betances, and an actual playoff game
played at our home field. We need a decent year from Portello and a healthy one
from Yoenis Cespedes.
Forget
about the owners.
Root
for the team.
Just off the phone with my brother. He hates Jeff Wilson with a passion. His take is Jeff is despised around baseball and by quite a few former players.
ReplyDeleteWe can root thru it. We have little choice.
Can't we take up a collection to send Jeffy on a long African safari (without weapons)? What's the worst that could happen?
ReplyDeleteAs I have said before let's set up a Gofundme to make Jeff an offer he can't refuse.
ReplyDeleteI'd like to give Jeff and Fred a little something, but I can't seem to get the Coronavirus in a box (ha, ha).
ReplyDeleteAll kidding aside, I do believe they will sell this team because they have to. It is not a option to hold on to it for the reasons cited above. We just have to be patient. They may need a higher price tag, but I think it will be done.
What I hate most about the Wilpons is that they exploit the Mets fans loyalty. If it were as easy as walking away from them, I would. But, Mets baseball has become a big part of my life in the 50 years that I have followed the.
Seems like Met fans aren't allowed to have nice things.
ReplyDeleteMy hope is that a different buyer emerges and the team gets sold sooner then the proposed
five year window that Mr Cohen was given.
Debt and financial pressure have a funny way of making folks do things they might not want to
do on the surface.
But, your point is a good one, Mack......root for the team and the players.
The deal fell through because two very rich men (or 3) couldn't agree on final terms. This happens all the time in the world of high finance.
ReplyDeleteThe original deal was negotiated with both sides' advisors contributing, and if Cohen agreed to the 5-year span it was not because he was tricked or duped by Fred and Jeff. He didn't make his billions by being naive or stupid, though his ethics in the past have been questionable.
As in any business deal, the seller will now seek another buyer and again two very rich men will negotiate the terms. It's on a much larger scale, but otherwise not unlike if I were looking to sell my condo. Except that the principals are much more experienced and savvy than I and the buyer.
As for the silly talk of "fan boycotts", there's only one thing that will make fans stay away---LOSING.
As long as the team is contending or better, fans will come. Unlike losers like the Knicks and Giants, Mets fans will not fill the seats if the Ws are not there. And if they are there, who cares about the owners and the payroll? No matter how fans feel about the Wilpons or the new owners, I can guarantee that there will be no empty seats at Citi for any post-season games played there.