Reese Kaplan -- To Have, Have Not and Have Again

For people who grew up in a Christian belief system, there was a period in their lives when they questioned the reality of Santa Claus and what his existence could mean to improving their lives.  Many Christians and non-Christians had that same kind of moment of wonder when on December 4^th came the announcement everyone dreamed but no one believed would ever be made – that the New York Mets owned and mismanaged for years by the Wilpon family was being sold to Steve Cohen, a Mets fan version of Santa Claus.  It was all anyone could imagine having a new owner who would forge ahead with proper investment in talent to propel the team into the post season once again.

Yup, that sounded like a nice dream.  Then we woke up.  On Tuesday, February 4^th the announcement came from hither and yon that the whole Cohen-as-savior gambit was dead in the water.  Oh no…say it ain’t so! 

The issue at hand allegedly was an eleventh-hour change in contract terms by the Wilpon family which would ensure they would get Mr. Cohen’s money right away, but the Wilpons would not relinquish any control of authority for more than five full years.  Just so we understand what this means to the deal, the Cohens and Wilpons agreed in principle that Cohen would infuse capital immediately and would assume management at the same time.  Then the Wilpons realized that as much as they desired money, they were not exactly ready to vacate their offices and let someone else prove to the world how dumb they have been (Jeff, more so than Fred).  The Wilpons are drowning in debt and one of the major partners, Saul Katz, wants out immediately.  It seemed as if minority owner Steve Cohen’s interest in expanding his role was a perfect fit until they decided at the last minute to test whether he wanted to own the team or run the team.

Steve Cohen essentially told the Wilpons to do something anatomically impossible and was prepared to walk away entirely.  Some media pundits are claiming that it’s all a big negotiating tactic between the two sides to get some movement on the contract terms.  Others are jumping into the pit of misery, figuring the last great hope for a post-Wilpon Mets has been dashed.  The New York Times is one of the few legitimate outlets stating that the deal is not dead and movement can still happen.  Then again they predicted Hillary Clinton would be President, so we don’t know how much faith to put into their prognostications.

As normally pessimistic as I am about things on the Mets front, the fact is that the club is desperate for money and these alleged contract changes pretty much seal the deal that they will have to embrace Cohen or realize there’s no one out there stupid enough to put up with their shenanigans.  Cohen is a master negotiator himself and knows that by threatening to pull out before the deed is done, he’s in the driver’s seat.  He has put out a statement saying the deal is dead and the Wilpons have done the same.  No one is going to want to embrace the Wilpons given what they've done.  Even with the proclamation from Rob Manfred that it's not going to happen, I still think it will get done.  Even the Mets say they want to find a new buyer.  No one is shallow enough to sign up to work with the Wilpons.  Of course, the anxiety the Wilpons caused their fans is simply par for the course and should have been expected.