So once again there was great rejoicing in Metsville. The Mets had found not one but two Billionaires that are interested in buying the team and SNY.
It will be great right?
Anyone is better than the WIlpons, right?
As
per Tim Ryder in Metsmerized noted: “Joshua Harris, currently worth $3.5 billion,
and David Blitzer were the lead investors in the group that purchased the
Sixers for $287 million from Comcast in 2011. Two years later, another group
headed up by Harris and Blitzer purchased a majority stake in the Devils, as
well as the operating rights to the Prudential Center in Newark, for $320
million. Today, the Sixers are worth $2 Billion and the Devils are valued at
$550 million.”
Sounds pretty good.
The
NY Post a couple of day ago had this: “If Steve Cohen was willing to pay $2.6
billion for a team that hemorrhages money and no TV revenue before coronavirus,
the Wilpons can expect Josh to pay them 20 cents on the dollar now,” said a
source familiar with Harris and Blitzer.
Yesterday
the NY Post added this: In the 13 years before they bought the 76ers, the
team had made the playoffs nine times; in nine years since, the 76ers have made
three postseason appearances. And in the 25 years before they bought the
Devils, the team had made the playoffs 21 times, including five trips to the
Stanley Cup; in the seven years since, the Devils have been to the postseason
just once.
Plus: “— Harris Blitzer Sports & Entertainment caught
plenty of heat in March when it announced it was asking 76ers and Devils
employees to take pay cuts of up to 20 percent and move to a four-day workweek
in light of the coronavirus pandemic. By the following day, after Embiid
pledged money to support those 76ers employees affected, they reversed course
and admitted they were wrong.”
They did a pretty good job of tanking for a number of years
with both franchises. I am sure Mets
Fans will “Trust the Process”.
They also had one of the best GMs in the NHL, Lou Lamoriello, who built one of the most successful winning teams in the sport. When they took over, they limited his duties, and he was gone in two years.
So, their teams are good at tanking, they loose good people,
and they make a lot of money for themselves.
Say this about the WIlpons.
I think the genuinely love the team and want it to win. They just do some dumb stuff once in a while.
Dumb stuff? What do you mean?
Sign a guy to hit lead-off who struck out 100 times in
Japan?
Hire a first-time manager that can’t even fill out a lineup
card?
Replace him with another first -time manager who the second
gets tied to a controversy, you throw him under the bus when you didn’t do your
due diligence in the first place?
Hire your best buddy the Agent with no prior GM experience
to be the GM over career baseball people who have built winning teams
elsewhere?
Build a spacious stadium that is made for players that can
run and fill your roster with power hitters that can’t catch the ball?
Build a stadium that is extra spacious where your best
hitter goes deep?
Build a stadium that is homage to a team that moved out of
NY over 50 years ago while ignoring the team you own?
Build a stadium and take 11 years before your franchise
player gets a statue?
Trade 4 top 5 draft picks including the 6th pick
overall in the country for a CF you later release, a relief pitcher coming off
a career year, a starting pitcher a year and a half away from free agency and a
35 year old 2B with leg problems that has $120M left on his contract?
Finally have a manager in your system that stresses defense,
fundamentals, and aggressive base running, wins a championship, and then fire
him (sorry – reassign him to a team ambassador job)?
Wait, those are more than once in a while things.
Never-mind.
Bring on the two Billionaires.
Bring on the tanking.
We will trust “The Process”.
It can’t get worse, right?
8 comments:
Good stuff on these two.
Mkes the Wilpons seem livable.
Mack - I know how the Mets fans base screamed while the Wilpons tried to get out from under the Madoff mess. I am not sure how they will handle tanking.
How will they handle tanking? Well, you start by trading away the future for over-the-hill and expensive players who are in decline. Fortunately Alonso, McNeil and Davis kept them from fading into baseball oblivion.
Reese - if they are over the hill, fans will understand moving players. If they trade players in their prime so they can lose and get good draft picks - I am not so sure.
Sell and hell rhyme. Time for the Wilpons to sell and remove us from hell.
As a wise saying goes, "Be careful what you wish for ; you might get it".
Just ask the Marlins fans how they feel about the Jeter crew and their billions.
Nice piece. Was going to write about the same subject today. The way these 2 guys have fun their previous 2 purchases worries me
Sorry. Make that "run their previous 2 purchases"
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