Now that the magical fountain of cash has dried up, they’re slashing payroll. Not so much because they’re cheap… but because they don’t have nearly the bankroll that they thought they were working with.

When the Wilpons structured all those deals and arranged payments for Citi Field, I think they thought they were much better off than they are.

You’re right, though… the payrolls were up there in the early 2000s, too — paying for such top-tier talent as Mo Vaughn, Jeromy Burnitz and Jeff D’Amico

Pulling for straws again but fall short because your Pom Poms got in the way I see!

Where do those bums play again?

All are small market teams!
None have another team in the area to split attendance with!

And Las vegas REALLY wants to bring a baseball team there!
They even have the Stadium site all picked out right accross from the M Hotel!
And the LVCA has promised to finance any stadium build once a pro sports team signs on to go there!

MLB will not have the grounds to stop a new owner from moving the team if they buy it!
especially not if the purchase is soon and while the team has issues paying bills!

Unless the Wilpons sell the stadium WITH the team there is no reason to keep them there and have to pay rent on top of the team purchase!

When an NY team is good, cities in markets without a team right now wouldn’t be able to sniff the MLB profit margin. There’s more $ for any owner to make with a good team in NY than there is in any other city in the country.

The above mentioned Las Vegas… Vegas is 40th among TV Markets. If you took 10% of the NY media market, that is what Las Vegas gives you. West Palm Beach is a bigger media market than Las Vegas…

And just as an FYI, The Texas Rangers play in the 5th largest media market in the entire country, calling them small market is not exactly factual.

and attendance was still what, 2.4mill? not exactly small market level.

Especially if our attendance doesn’t pick up to above small market team levels!
And thats not going to happen if we trade away every guy who hits above .270 for kids in the minor leagues!

Probably more around the time Wilpon took over and bought out Doubleday would be a better guess.

When you break down the money owed on loans against team assets that are due in the next couple of years and the drop in attendance is what will sink Wilpon.

I’m not a big Adam Rubin fan, but he did a good two part story on Wilpon and the Money problems he’s facing.

http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/7495352/new-york-mets-financial-calamity-threatens-engulf-mets

http://espn.go.com/new-york/mlb/story/_/id/7495353/new-york-mets-wilpons-clear-many-hurdles-retain-control

No, this is a lousy article, and far from a good one.

I’ve been saying it here for a few weeks now, so I agree with the premise of this piece.

It looks painfully clear that MLB and the Wilpon’s will do everything and anything to keep the Mets in that family. In order for the Mets to be ripped away from the Wilpon’s it seems things have to get WORSE than they are now… and frankly, as a fan, I’m not interested in that.

If as a fan I am told the Wilpon’s have a plan in place and the debt is going to be eliminated, and they will continue owning the team… then I have no choice but to hope for the best for them. What else can I do Rob? Complain every day as they continue to own the Mets? It’s not going to change ownership…

If you are being honest, the Wilpon’s greatest falt as owners was their involvement in baseball decisions, NOT their lack of spending. There are plenty of mlb fans out there who would love their owners to spend as much as the Wilpon’s did when Minaya was here.

So for me, if I can’t get rid of the wilpon’s then I will root for them, hope they turn it around so that the work being done now is not wasted and they can invest more $ into the team (not just through free agency) but with that hopefully they learn their place in all of this is writing checks, not deciding who gets them.

I’m willing to take the gamble. The Wilpons aren’t in good shape. I hope that enough fans boycott Citi and it drives them out…. I’ll be a fan regardless. I’ll always be a fan. I’m just not going to pay $30 to park in the Citi lot + tickets + concessions + beer so that I can watch a little league team composed of low-priced scraps and low-risk/high-reward players (Chris Young CAN be great….if his shoulder doesn’t fall off after 4 starts!)

Give me something worth rooting for and I’ll be out there several times each season rooting them on. Until that time, SNY + my couch will work just fine.

Lost all credibility at this point in the article:

“They have spent the most money in the National League the past few seasons. That and that alone is the sign of a good owner. They will do what’s necessary to win.”

They are in way over their head and are putting a horrible product on the field. I cannot wait until they are gone ….

Will that be good or bad? Hard to predict, at least IMO.

- we all know the Wilpons aren’t going to spend any money on this team until they’re out of debt, at least breaking even. If that later rather than sooner, could be several years of what we appear to be looking at in 2012.

- double edge sword in that many Met fans appear set to boycott until the Wilpons sell. Boycott means low revenues. Low revenues means less money spent on the team. If it’s not low enough to finally edge them to sell…….see the point above.

- If they do decide to sell, or are forced to, this post makes several good points. We have no idea how long it will take. We have no idea if a new owner will spend money out of his pocket or will infuse some of his money up front.

The Wilpons could very well maintain ownership through this whole thing…. but I think we’ll see several years of slashed payrolls with a garbage team on the field while they get their finances straight. I’d rather wait 15+ months for a new ownership group who doesn’t have this black cloud hovering over them…. an ownership group who realizes that letting Reyes go isn’t smart. An ownership group who won’t trade David Wright simply to save $15M. With the Wilpons at the helm, I think the Mets have several long, painful years ahead. A team in a New York market shouldn’t ever have to cut ties with a superstar shortstop over monetary concerns — balky hamstrings be damned.

I’m all for new owners.