Listen: Mets Conference Call, Wilpons Could Sell 25% Of Team

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• Markcomic1 January 28, 2011 at 3:07 pm

  The Wilpon’s will not own the Mets in five to ten years..I just have a funny feeling within the next two or three years they will be outed has having more if not full knowledge of the Madoff ponzie scheme and will be forced to sell the team to cover debts from the scandal.

  Personally, I think they are not doing well financially, that their personal finances are a mess and this is the first move, that will eventually lead to them selling the team. I just hope we get family ownership instead of some corporation..

  Also if Jim Dollan or the Dollan Family buys in, this team is doomed! We would have Isaiah Thomas at the podium saying how happy he is to be brought in as a special adviser to Sandy, and how he was directly responsible for all the trades and signings that led to the 8 mets championship season lol
  • Markcomic1 January 28, 2011 at 3:10 pm

    86 mets, not 8 mets lol sorry folks
• Mr North Jersey January 28, 2011 at 3:40 pm

  I just finished watching the video when i see Metsgirl post this on twitter.

  Caryn / metsgrrl.com
  “Let’s not forget Dave Howard’s appearance (via telephone) on the Fox Business Channel in August 2009,…”

  twitter.com/metsgrrl/statuses/31083464136597504

  It’s true that Erin Arvedlund did say back in August of 2009 that she felt the Mets would have to add investors in the next 1 or 2 years but remember that she said this because she said the Mets had lost in her “opinion” $700M.

  The Mets announcement today is based on the Lawsuit by the Madoff trustees not as Arvedlund suggested that the Mets lost money in the Madoff scandal.

  If anyone would like to see that clip the bizofbaseball has it on their site.

  bizofbaseball.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3518:video-dave-howard-exec-vp-of-business-ops-for-mets-grills-book-author-on-team-sale&catid=70:mlb-club-sales&Itemid=157
• Markcomic1 January 28, 2011 at 3:57 pm

  I would love to see Mark Cuban buy the team..
  • Bayonne Mets Fan January 28, 2011 at 4:17 pm

    So you want a guy that financed a movie that put the live of our young man and women overseas at danger?

    He put his own ideology ahead of the lives of 19 & 20 year old kids fighting for us overseas.

    It would be an unmitigated public relations disaster and would never go down.

    Cuban can drop dead.
  • METS62FAN January 29, 2011 at 11:51 am

    Mark, it’s possibly Cuban’s ONLY path into MLB & I concur wholeheartedly as I recently opined to some personasl friends/family with NYM rooting interests which I’ll share here as I’m way too lazy to do more than CUT/PASTE please excuse the CAPSLOCK as it’s easiest for me in my personal correspondence:
    Wilpons don’t want to sell any part of Mets, but lawsuit stemming from Madoff scandal forced action FROM A METFAN PERSPECTIVE, BERNIE MAY END UP WITH HERO LAURELS IF THE “RIGHT” PARTNER IS BROUGHT IN… IT’S TOUGH FOR ME TO CONCEIVE OF ANYONE INVESTING A FEW HUNDRED MILLION DOLLARS INTO A DOWNWARD SPIRALING BUSINESS & AGREE TO REMAIN SILENT SUPPORTERS OF THE SAME BUSINESS MNGT REGIME! NO, I DON’T THINK FRED’S GONG TO HAVE SUITORS QUEING UP IMMEDIATELY UNDER THOSE CONDITIONS I WOULD THINK HUMAN NATURE ALONE MIGHT CAUSE SAUL KATZ TO DESIRE MORE SAY AS HE’S BEEN UNDER FRED’S BUSINESS CONTROL FOR DECADES UNDER STERLING, EVER SINCE BEFORE HE MARRIED FRED’S SISTER. WHILE SAUL MAY BE THE BIGGEST NEBISH IN BROOKLYN, I DOUBT HIS SONS WILL BE SO LOYAL AS TO ALLOW THEIR FATHER TO GO DOWN WITH UNCLE FRED’S SHIP STEARED INTO THE BERG BY COUSIN JEFF.
    SAUL’S ELDEST SON, MICHAEL, IS AN ACXCOMPLISHED EXECUTIVE WITH HIS CPA & MBA FROM CUNY(BARAUCH CAMPUS) , NEXT IS DAVID KATZ WITH HIS BA FROM HOFSTRA & FINALLY, THE YOUNGEST, GREGORY KATZ & HIS BS FROM THE WHARTON SCHOOL @ PENN STATE AS THEY’VE ALL BEEN FORCED TO REPORT TO COUSIN JEFF, & HIS ASSOCIATES DEGREE FROM PALM BEECH COMMUNITY COLLEGE,.AS ALL OF THE 4 KATZ, 2 WILPONS AMONG OTHER NON-RELATED PARTNERS FORM THE POWERBASE @ STERLING AS WELL AS THE METS, IT’S HARD FOR ME TO COMPREHEND THE ENTIRE KATZ CLAN REMAINING SUBJUGATEDLY RUBBERSTAMPING WILPON DECISIONS ESP IF A WILDCARD SIGNIFICANT SHARE IS IN THE POSSESSION OF A POTENTIAL MAVERICK. DETAILS ON STERLING LEASDERSHIP:
    http://www.sterlingequities.com/about/leadership.php
    JUST AS FRED BEGAN HIS MET OWNERSHIP AS A 1% HOLDER ALONGSIDE THE DOUBLEDAY CONTROLED 99%. FRED EVENTTUALLY WORE DOWN THE “BLUE BLOOD” WITH THE HELP OF ANOTHER STEALTH LEGAL ISSUE BROUGH ABOUT WHEN THE BOARD OF DOUBLEDAY PUBLISHING CHALLENGED NELSON’S USAGE OF CORP FUNDS ALONGSIDE HIS PERSONAL INVESTMENT TO AGGREGATE THAT 99%, THE THREAT FROM WHICH STIMULATED NELSON INTO RELINQUISHING AN ADDITIONAL 49% TO FRED WITH THE CAVIAT HE REMAINED AS MANAGING,CONTROLLING PARTNER IN 1986. NELSON, RETREATED INTO THE BACKGROUND ONCE THE PRIMARY WS CROWN GOAL WAS SATISFIED UNTIL 1998, WHEN FOR THE FIRST & FOREMOST, MOST PUBLIC TIME NELSON INVOKED HIS MNGT POWERS FORCING BOTH STEVE PHILLIPS & FRED WILPON TO REVOKE THEIR NEGATIVE POSITIONS ON THE PROPOSED BY FL ACQUISITION OF MIKE PIAZZA. THIS “FLEXING OF MUSCLES” CAUSED SUCH AN UNCROSSABLE RIFT BETWEEN DOUBLEDAY & WILPON AS TO EVENTUALY STIMULATE FRED INTO ELIMINATING NELSON’S INPUT ALLTOGETHER BY BUYING HIS ENTIRE PORTION FOR WHATEVER PRICE A CONTRACTED APPRAISAL SET, I SEEM TO RECALL THE FINAL NUMBER WAS ASSESSESSED @ ABOUT $200M WHICH FRED BALKED AT BEING HIGHLY INFLATED & INACCURATE, SUBSEQUENTLY THE DECISION WENT INTO MEDIATION WHICH FRED LOST, EVENTUIALLY BEGRUDGINGLY PAYING THE ENTIRE ASSESSMENT TO DOUBLEDAY.
    THUS IT’S DIFFICULT FOR ME TO IMAGINE FRED WILLINGLY SHARING CONTROL WITH ANY OUTSIDER(NON-FAMILY) & SINCE HE’;S ALL OUT OF SISTERS TO MARRY OFF…LOL
    As regards Mark Cuban specifically I also wrote;
    Mets need to sell at least 50 percent of team, bring in equal partners – NYPOST.com the first name that comes to mind here is Mark Cuban, as buying a piece of an existing team looks like his
    ONLY way to gain a foothold into MLB ownership, tried & failed @ more than once, with both CHC & TEX his group was considered heavy favorites; however, once before the ownership committee mysterious permutations occurred whereby the Ricetts & Ryan groups mysteriously roared to the forefront. Mark Cuban would be the best thing that could happern to NY NL baseball & possibly the worst thing to happen to overall MLB, at least according to those sm-mid-range owners that dominate the Commissioner’s Ownership Committee, buying into an existing team would bypass the Committee’s influence/power & even if he started as a minority silent partner, he wouldn’t be required to remain that way especially if the Maidoff case goes South on Sterling with Cuban being positioned expertly to “assist: them out of their financial quagmire., best guesses I’ve heard afix a $200M pricetag onto that quarrter share Fred’s contemplating parting with @ that price, I’m relatively certain Cuban could place a condition that he have first refusal on any additional shares being released to mkt., I personally have trouble envisioning Fred even sharing a dinnertable with Mark Cuban, let alone power on the Mets(esp after the Doubleday disaster) the saving factor is Doubleday was “OLD” MONEY, cuban, NEUVEAU RICHE. like Fred; however one is receding the other, Brash! I can’t imagine Selig tolerating the opinionations of a Mark Cuban, imagine the outbursts over Bud’s tentativeness over replay usage, the moment the Mets lose a relatively unimportant game due to a blown call! Bud will be likened to a Geico caveman by the former “Dancing With the Stars” contestant”!

    I readily admit it’s highly unlikely; however, politics makes strange bedfellows & this Maidoff claim stinks of highhanded class politics It certainly has likely been a lively holiday season around the Wilpon Sader table.
    From what I recall reading it was Jeff who initially cajoled Fred into accompanying him to one of the Bernie “private” sales pitches, can u imagine what’s transpired bet Saul Katz & his sons & the Wilpons? I’ve also read that Fred’s, HS chum, Sandy Koufax, was stung by Bernie, I hope he wasn’t involved because of Wilpon influence
    • t agee January 29, 2011 at 12:26 pm

      ’62, I would not be in favor of a Cuban Revolution. He’s too much of a wild card. He craves A LOT of attention and with his ego would think he can “make a few key moves” and we wind up once again with “the worst team money can buy.” His attention grabbing nature would certainly cause a rift with the lower key Wilpon Family.

      You do make a good point about Saul’s family though.

      Fred had the right of first refusal and the arbitration arrangement put into the contract in 1986 when they became “partners.”

      Anyone investing now would do the same which could really lead to a stalemate and affect the on field product.

      I really believe we have the right management team in place right now and expenditures will be reigned in but results will actually be better.

      Once the farm starts generating results the black cloud will lift and the team (and revenues) will follow. If some of Omar’s kids come through it will just be a couple of years.

      Regardless of why or how the era of checkbook baseball came to an end, we as Met Fans are going to be the beneficiaries of it with a competitive team year after year.
      • METS62FAN January 29, 2011 at 12:37 pm

        T, u make a goood point; but either way there’s going to be bumps in the road; but longterm I believe an owner with the moxy & resources of a Cuban will benefit this team’s long range prospects. Hell, when Stenbrenner first came to power after his first lavish offseason, he spoke of his vision for an udefeated season if the Yanks could weather that storm, we can tolerate whatever malaprop missteps come from a “Wildcard” as long as those blundering steps are forwards more times than backwards, in fact, I be;lieve Mark as sesttled down enough that even Stern may have shelved his Cuban voodoo doll temporarily, lol.
        • t agee January 29, 2011 at 1:29 pm

          ’62, You could be right about Cuban “maturing” but I still feel that having the ego to think HE could fix this thing right away would be a temptation too hard to resist and it would certainly fly in the face of the Wilpon’s newly found scruitiny of properly valuing contributions on the field and the likelyhood of receiving them.

          Speaking of George the 3rd, there is almost certainly a revisionist history about the Man.

          He was the first to jump on the FA train. He was certainly ahead of the curve there and was able to capitalize on that foresight but without Gabe Paul, where would it have gotten him?

          Smart trades for Chambliss, Nettles, Dent, Randolph, Pinella/Gamble, Blair/Rivers and Lyle along with holdovers like Roy White and Thurman and intelligent fillins like Cliff Johnson and young pitchers like Guidry and Figeroa had WAY more to do with those early WS championships then Jackson, Hunter and Gossage.

          After a short time he started going mad. Signing Davey Collins when he had no position to play him at, talking about putting Astro turf on the field because the Royals finally beat him, moving to NJ, trying to dig up dirt on his best player and eventually leading the team back into the dark ages.

          If it weren’t for Gabe Paul, his eventual suspension and Gene Michael he would be remembered as a blustering blowhard who got a couple of early Championships and followed them with a 25 year run of non stop buffonery.

          He was very very smart about buying such an undervalued asset as the Yankees were but that was more about CBS’ bad decision than anything else. Can you imagine just how much money CBS would have made over the last 40 years if they had the Yankees on 25% of the year?

          George the 3rd would have been known for his box office schtick right alongside Bill Veeck and nothing else if it weren’t for Gabe Paul, Gene Michael and his second suspension from MLB.
          • METS62FAN January 30, 2011 at 8:19 am

            T, while Boss certainly had Paul & Michael also Connors for pitching advise; Cuban would have Alderson,Riccardi,Dipodesta I certainly would prefer a ramrod maverick to another nebishly conservative wallflower avoiding the press as plague carriers. Boss aleways knew the value of the BACKPAGE, that Fred would just as soon ignore. BTW, check outr nebish in your Webster’s u’ll find the lost Fed Wilpon HS graduation pic the family has long sought(lol)
            BTW, stop your consideration of CBS continued involvement @ the time CBS owned the Yanks, I was employed by them in my first out of school job & I can clearly & certainly justify smashing your dilusions od success with a clear conscience. Should u mistakenly believe CBS would improve, I’ve got only one name as my rebuttal beyond reproach…KATIE COURIC! see old dogs getting fleas before new tricks.
            • t agee January 30, 2011 at 9:17 am

              I’m afraid Cuban would turn the Mets into the Super Freaks. Stability is such a huge ingredient for a consistent winner, and the threat of constant turmoil goes against that.

              Add in Connors if you like but Art Fowler would be 1/2 of that ingredient.

              No doubt that Paul, Michael and his own suspension were by far and away the 3 largest reasons he won any titles at all.

              If CBS had hired Paul and left him alone they could have at least raised the value of their asset and if they had kept it with no rights fees they would have made a fortune. Why not? Katie Couric? What does she have to do with anything?
              • METS62FAN January 30, 2011 at 10:37 am

                THE EFFECT UPON THEIR EVENING NEWS RATINFGS WITH cOURIC SHOULD BE SELFEXPAINATORY, I WAS HIGHLUGHTING THE “QUALITY” OF THEIR BUSINESS ACUMEN. FYI IT WAS A JOKE! BTW, THE BIG ISSUE WITH CORP Vs PRIVATE OWNERSHIP IN MY OPINION IS SUITS TENDENCY TO TRAET THE SPORTSBUSINESS SIMILARLY TO THE BUSINESS THEY’RE FAMILIAR WITH P&Ls RULE! COST/EXPENSE CUTTING EASIEST/QUICKEST PATH TO HIGHER PROFITS. SEE BRACES UNDER TURNER Vs UNDER TWC OR LIBERTY.
    • stick January 29, 2011 at 12:37 pm

      interesting history lesson. Where do you get all the facts from?

      I do disagree with a major part of your premise. The mets are not a “downward spiraling business”. that would be Blockbuster.

      the Mets (with SNY) are a license to print money, that is in a down period at the moment (but still probably profitable). Plus, as you note with Cuban, there are limited opportunities to get into the brotherhood of owners, especially with a major market team like this.
      • METS62FAN January 29, 2011 at 1:01 pm

        Stick much of it comes from being a lifelong (life of Mets, not me as they’re 13 yrs younger) being disabled from working nearly 19 yrs with the time to read most everything written re. the team combined with a good memory for trivia & the time to confirm my recollections via google searches.

        Stick as the measuring stick foer ALL capitalistic businesses is PROFIT. It’s my belief that an additional ruler is applied to sports franchises as businesses, namely winning so that while let’s say the Atlanta Braves are potentially less profitable than the NY Mets as a business entity, the W% component would clearly favor Atlanta over New York as regards the perception of upward or downward movement. Thus considering Attrendance, W%, R&D(Farm), the general direction of the NY National league Baseball franchise is heading in the wrong direction from an investor’s criteria and as it’s a long established tenant that sports franchises are not considered to be onging money making investments until total divestment(sale); but as ongoing ventures they are not considered a good short-term investment financially making the sports related criteria that much more relevant to directionality.
        • stick January 29, 2011 at 1:15 pm

          investors only care about the money (return). and I will admit I know nothing about the convoluted structure of the mets ownership and how it relates to SNY and Citifield say. So someone buying 20% of the mets is getting what, exactly?

          but bottom line, an investor might pay more to buy into the Pirates than into the Mets if the profit potential was higher (yes, mets bring in more revenue, but with higher expenses).
• MetsMan86 January 28, 2011 at 4:11 pm

  Donald Trump is a season ticket holder, a suite I believe. Would love to see “the Don” get a piece of the Mets.
  • METS62FAN January 29, 2011 at 11:55 am

    I truly doubt “The Donald’s blood is so orange/blue as to invest a quarter of a billion into a downward spiraling nusiness model while powerless to alter it’s course. That’d be worse than risking his fortune on obe of his Roulette Wheewls on the up & up.
• t agee January 28, 2011 at 4:28 pm

  Another attention seeker.
• Clayton Collier January 28, 2011 at 4:28 pm

  Its About time! Hate to have it this way but the Mets need a new face in ownership. Even thought it is only up to 25%, it is a start. Greatful for ’86, but guys, its time to step down.
• Pete January 28, 2011 at 4:34 pm

  Why don’t the Idiot Wilpons ask Nelson Doubleday for a loan?
  • The Coop January 28, 2011 at 5:16 pm

    He drank away his profits, LOL
  • METS62FAN January 29, 2011 at 11:55 am

    Pete, don’t look now; but they hate each other.
• Alex Esposito January 28, 2011 at 5:08 pm

  I have an excellent idea. Everyone on this site puts in all their money, and Mets Merized Online will become a minority owner.
  • MetsMan86 January 28, 2011 at 11:24 pm

    YES! I GOT $100 ON IT!
  • METS62FAN January 29, 2011 at 11:57 am

    That’s a worst investment than the one that my mother got conned into by a radio campaign to send in a dollar to keep the Dodgers in Brooklyn!
• happy little mets fans January 28, 2011 at 5:32 pm

  SAVE THE WILPONS!