1
2009
Mets VP Calls Madoff Claims Outrageous And Grossly Irresponsible
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Yesterday, Erin Arvedlund, author of the book “Too Good To Be True”, appeared on FOX Business News and faced off against Mets VP of Business Operations, Dave Howard.
Howard vehemently denied some of the charges that Arvedlund made in her book which claims that the Wilpons lost $700 million in the Madoff Ponzi scheme, and that it will force them to sell all or a part of the Mets.
To watch the full video, check it out here courtesy of Brian Costa.
The author claims that her source was a Mets front office employee who has been with the Mets for two decades, a claim that Howard called “bogus and untrue”.
Howard made it absolutely clear (with no wiggle room) that the Mets are not for sale now and will not be in the future.
“The Mets are a family owned team that will remain that way for a long, long time.It’s a passionate long-term investment. There’s no need to sell. There’s no reason to sell. There will be no sale and I can’t state it any more definitively than that.”
I believe him, and I must say that the author seemed unwilling to defend her book and her claims when she had the chance. All she kept saying was,
“It’s my opinion based on my research.”
Howard went completely ballistic on her at times calling her claims “outrageous, unfounded and grossly irresponsible.” He also added,
“The figures she’s thrown out are inaccurate and substantially overstated. The losses incurred from the Madoff fraud have not and will not affect the operation of the Mets.”
Dan Duquette, also appeared on the show and stepped back from comments he made on his Sirius Radio Show that the Mets shutdown their fall instructional league due to cost-cutting measures. He said that when he levied that charge he was unaware that the Mets had shifted that operation to the Dominican Republic so that they could compete against many other teams that had academies in that area. I actually ran with the original story and inaccurately made the same assumption as Duquette. I apologize to the Mets and retract my statements.
It is my belief that the Mets could make things so much easier if they simply communicated the extent of their losses so that these charges and assumptions would simply go away. They have a right to keep that information to themselves, but I feel that if they just came clean on this, the truth will supersede all the speculation that is running rampant out there.
As a privately owned company, the Mets are not subject to the same disclosure rules that public companies have to abide by, but in this case it would certainly do more good than harm. The Mets keep saying we didn’t lose $700 million, and if so then great. Come out and say it was only $400 million, or whatever it is, and lets move on already. We have been dealing with this issue for nine months already. It’s not simply going to rise up and walk away.
Anyway, I still see some evidence of financial woes in their actions, and until I see otherwise I will continue to believe there are tough and lean times ahead.
I do believe that despite the $30 million dollars in savings from the departures of Delgado, Putz, Wagner, etc., that the Mets will slash payroll from $145 million to $120-125 million. Prove me wrong…
And as the author said in the final words of her interview, “Only time will tell.”
About the Author: Joe DeCaro
Went to my first Mets game, a Mayors Trophy game at Shea, in '73. We beat the Yankees 8-4 and I was hooked. I marched in two Banner Day parades, and before the Grand Slam single, there was the "Hendu Can Do" grand slam - I was there. I've collected Mets memorabilia all my life and started Mets Merized Online to feed my addiction.
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NL East Standings
| Team | W | L | Pct. | GB |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nationals | 26 | 18 | .591 | - |
| Braves | 26 | 20 | .565 | 1.0 |
| Mets | 24 | 21 | .533 | 2.5 |
| Marlins | 24 | 21 | .533 | 2.5 |
| Phillies | 23 | 23 | .500 | 4.0 |
Last updated: 05/25/2012
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I find it interesting that the rebuttal came from Dave Howard and not Omar. Guess the Wilpons don’t mind having Omar talk for the team, but when its time to talk for them, Omar is nowhere to be found. LMAO.
I don’t know what to believe.
Again, as we said yesterday, transparency would extinguish any flames fanned by the rampant speculation on the Wilpon’s losses. I understand it is a private company, and no one is required to make their private finances public, but as Joe says doing so would be the Wilpons strongest defense. At this point all we have to go on is the track record of the management, which has been horrible to say the least. If money is not a problem, why all of the obvious cost reductions? If the Wilpons are still financially stable, and are “free spenders” as some have said today, then why no real free agent trading moves or aquisitions? Why are they not trying to build a championship organization? I agree with Joe, prove me wrong! I’ll eat crow if I am, I actually hope I am because that would mean the Mets would be a championship caliber team.
CAPSLOCK=DISABILITY ACCOMODATION
ACE, I STILL DON’T BUY INTO MUCH OF THIS CONJECTURE. TO ME, IT’S POINTLESS IF THEY LOST $1.00 OR $700,000,000. THEY LIKELY WOULD BE CUTTING PAYROLL JUST LIKE EVERYONE, INCL NYY, HAVE. SINCE, IF I RECALL ACCURATLY, THEY STRUGGLED COMING UP WITH THE $500,000,000 OR SO TO BUY OUT DOUBLEDAY IN 2002; IF SO, HOW DID THEY SUDDENLY HAVE HUNDREDS OF MILLIONS AVAILABLE FOR L/T INVESTMENT? TRULY, THEIR ONLY ACTUAL LOSS IS THE AMOUNT THEY ACTUALLY INVESTED, NOT WHAT THE PORTFOLIO WAS SUPPOSEDLY VALUED AT. MANY HYPERINFLATED NUMBERS ARE FLOATED CONCERNING CRIMINAL LOSES TO PAD THE TAX ALLOWANCE OFFSETTING PROFITS. SEE HISTORICAL DISCONNECT BET AMOUNTS CLAIMED BY BANKS IN BANK ROBBERIES Vs AMOUNT ROBBERS CLAIMED TO GET. THE ONLY CONCERN TRULY IS THEIR CONTINUED WILLINGNESS TO INVEST AT A COMPETITIVE RATE. THE WILPONS TRULY WERE NEVER,EVER “FREE-SPENDERS” THEY ALWAYS MANAGED UNDER A ‘HARD CAP’ SET AT LUXURY TAX DEMARCATION. CHECK IT OUT IF U DON’T BELIEVE WHAT I’VE REPEATED HUNDREDS OF TIMES. THE TRUE DIFFICULTY IS SIMPLY, A BLIND REFUSAL TO INCUR SUCH TAXES FOR EXAMPLE, SHOULD A PLAYER BECOME AVAILABLE THAT WOULD REQUIRE AN INVESTMENT ONLY 500K OVER SAID TAX LINE, FRED WOULD PASS REGARDLESS OF ASSURANCE THAT PLAYER WAS THE GUARANTEED MISSING PIECE ala CLENDENON OF ’69. EITHER THAY’D PASS OR CUT ANOTHER PLAYER TO BALANCE IT OUT. IT TRULY IS A “HARD” CAP IN FRED’S MIND. HE USED TO ASSIGN PHILLIPS A PAYROLL BUDGET SIGNIFICANTLY UNDER THE LINE REQUIRING PHILLIPS TO BUILD A CASE TO EXCEED IT. WITH OMAR IT SEEMS THER’S MORE TRUST & THERE ISN’T AN ARTIFICIAL BUFFER SET.
Lets not forget that this is the Wilpons we are talking about. Dave Howard is their employee and we all know that the Wilpons do not have a problem with lying to the media or telling half truths. Until they come out and say that they lost 300 mill, 400 mill or whatever they lost this distraction, which is what it has become will not go away.
Of course Dave Howard’s job was on the line to sell a good story on this, communicate well, and be convincing. No surprise that Omar was left out, because none of that is his strong suit. Oh yeah, just what is Omar’s strong suit? But I agree that until some degree of transparency is offered, the issue will continue with reinforcement everytime the Mets implement some cheap-o cost saving action.
What is it Gregg and all these lying claims you are making? In your other post lie was all over it,is there any other word you know or are you hung up on this word? Now everybody at the Mets lies? Come on dude calm down and have some facts. Anybody can say that someone lied w/o facts and hope that all others will agree without checking it out. Please Gregg come up with some other words to use, try the Dictionary or Thesarus.
The most interesting part was how the author didn’t really try to defend her prior position. Almost as if she was backing off.
While I do think that the Mets have money problems, I also believe that Howard won this argument clearly.
But in time we’ll se who’s right.