Reese Kaplan -- Sell the Damned Team, Wilpons!

The news of a prospective celebrity buyer for the Mets gave non-coronavirus news to the mostly home-imprisoned fanbase that is craving to hear something other than Dr. Fauci, Governor Cuomo or the president making speeches that essentially out-contradict one another.  Yes, the Wilpons did lose out big time when Steve Cohen walked away when he found out the prospective former owners insisted on having a hand in the management of the newly found company that was funding but not running the ballclub.  

Now when it appeared that the billionaire hedge fund hustler was going to bring a commitment to winning to the Mets, the fans were starting to dance in the aisles.  Then when it turned out that the deal was in flux, people were bemoaning the state of the Mets history, the Wilpon history and how all was not right with the world.  To some it was the ongoing participation of less-than-popular Jeff Wilpon.  To others it was the conspicuous gap of SNY not being a part of the allegedly $2.6 billion deal.  

Once the door was open to other potential buyers, all kinds of names started to surface.  Some folks wanted Mark Cuban.  Others wanted to see Robert Kraft enter the fray.  Some wanted to see an investment from a Fortune 500 sized organization who would have the funds to lead to long term success.  Basically it became ABW -- Anyone But Wilpons.  

Then yesterday word filtered out that Alex Rodriguez, longtime Mets fan and former star primarily with the Mariners and Yankees, was gearing up to buy the Mets.  He got his wife, highly successful entertainer, Jennifer Lopez as part of the buying group and then engaged a team at J.P. Morgan to put his buying group together.  

The first reaction was enthusiasm as the desire to be done with the Wilpons is nearly as high as the desire to end the coronavirus pandemic.  He was a “name” and she was a “name”, so that type of ownership would instantly put the Mets as temporary owners of the back pages of the local newspapers.  

However, the more you look at it, the more questions start to arise.  A-Rod is not without his own plethora of issues with baseball that did not leave him with a squeaky clean image.  Remember, owner pedigree is not necessarily important to success.  You need only look at the history of George Steinbrenner when he was in charge of the Yankees to see that winning is all fans seem to value.  

The second issue is that the “J-Rod” couple, though filled with notoriety, are not as filled with cash as was Steve Cohen.  The more people you need to integrate into a buying group, the longer it’s going to take to put it together and to create a proper reporting structure.  

The third issue is baseball’s reaction to A-Rod as owner material.  He had his contract issues, his steroid issues and his “Me, and everyone else” issues.  He was not the most well liked player by front office personnel, and his dabbling in PEDs was not making him a fan of Major League Baseball.  Of course, many might look past all of his indiscretions and shortcomings for the opportunity to see more of J-Lo.  We’ve seen that happen in other conspicuous management positions in the United States.

Of course, many feel that A-Rod’s attempt to put together the buying group is to try to get the Wilpons to reduce their asking price significantly and to step away immediately from any management roles.  That thought process seems rooted in fantasy rather than reality.  

The other idea that gets debated regularly is that this approach by the young and well-to-do couple is merely a leverage to get Steve Cohen back into the mix.  You’d have to think he is as interested in buying as he ever was, but being a master negotiator suggests he wants to be positioned as the winner in this deal.  Had he bought into the Wilpon deep grab for money without releasing control would not let him trumpet his great victory over the sellers.  Now he could come back, get a lower price and more control.  Those changes would make him the temporary king of Mets.

Anyway, whether it’s the Rodriguez/ Lopez group, Steve Cohen or even a clown like Vince McMahon, it’s good to see the sale of the Mets is still a faint though possible outcome.