Category: Management

Mets Select David Einhorn as Minority Owner

MINNEAPOLIS, MN - MAY 26: Bud Selig, commissio...
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The Mets honed in on the hedge fund guys right from the start as a particular sector of people that have enough disposable cash to make an impact on the Mets organization. David Einhorn is making a $200 million investment in the Mets as a minority owner with, apparently, no say in running the team. He’s satisfied to leave the daily operations to “The Schmuck” and his offspring.

There are several takes on this story that have been delved into all over the Internet. But the angle that I’m most interested in is that Einhorn is another one of Bud Selig’s cronies that has been placed within the Mets organization.

It’s a well known fact that Fred “The Schmuck” Wilpon and Selig are close. But over the last year Selig has effectively placed Sandy Alderson as the team’s GM and now Einhorn as the minority owner. Einhorn was born in Jersey but moved to Milwaukee as a child and has been there ever since. He even grew up as a neighbor of Selig’s.

You can hear the full conference call that Einhorn had with reporters below. But it’ll probably leave you dissatisfied. He really doesn’t say much since the deal hasn’t been consummated. Maybe it’s better to have Selig running the Mets now? The Schmuck certainly hasn’t been winning championships in the last 25 years. So maybe it’s time that we give Selig a chance to turn the Mets into winners again.

David Einhorn conference call

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Mets Early 2011 – Next Few Weeks Could Impact Team For Years

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 08: Manager Terry Collin...
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The Mets Are Teasing Us Again?

The Mets are now 22-24. A .478 winning percentage which leaves them about 4.5 – 5.5 games out of the wild card. At this rate the Mets will end up going 77-85. They will need to reverse this record to compete for a wild card. Maybe? So even after this weekends Subway Series we just have to find between 5 & 7 wins. Somewhere. It’s do-able but who will be doing it is the even bigger question.

Some Tough Decisions for Sandy Alderson.

If your team is only 5 games out of the wild card coming into the trading deadline what do you do? Your taking a big risk by holding onto free agents to be Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes. Trading Beltran and Reyes now may be the most logical thing to do although your telling the fan base your giving up on the year.

The loss of Reyes will be taken hard by the fans but we’ve never won with these players anyway. Now may be the time to unload them when their value is high. I wouldn’t want to be in Sandy’s shoes. Although, if it was me, I would make the tough decision to trade Reyes. I would really need to be overwhelmed with the package though, but if I could rebuild the starting pitching staff now…

My feeling is, Sandy Alderson, the former Marine, will pull the trigger on a trade for Reyes regardless of what the fans think. Reyes will never be more valuable than he is now. He brings energy to the club, is fun to watch and helps fill the seats but so does winning. I think we’ll forget Reyes pretty quickly if the Mets make a playoff run without him. Continue reading “Mets Early 2011 – Next Few Weeks Could Impact Team For Years”

Fred Wilpon Trashes Mets in Interview

NEW YORK - OCTOBER 29: Fred Wilpon, president...
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Mets owner Fred Wilpon decided to do an extensive interview with Jeffrey Toobin on New Yorker magazine to rehabilitate his image. Obviously, he’s been under fire financially and painted as a crook by the Madoff trustee. That may or may not be true. I don’t know.

What better way to clear your good name than doing an extensive profile with a respected magazine journalist? Well, sometimes it’s better to just keep your mouth shut if you don’t have anything good to say. This just appears to be another example of the bumbling Mets owner being disconnected from reality. Or maybe living in his own reality that nobody else ever gets to visit.

The profile is about Wilpon’s rise from rags to riches. Frankly, it’s a pretty boring story. If you go directly to page 7, you’ll see that it isn’t so boring when it comes to his feelings about some prominent Mets players. David Wright isn’t a superstar. Jose Reyes won’t get Carl Crawford money in free agency. Wilpon was a schmuck for signing Carlos Beltran to the contract they agreed on and isn’t the player he used to be. And Ike Davis is a good hitter on “a shitty team”. Continue reading “Fred Wilpon Trashes Mets in Interview”

Mets Bullpen Problem: More than Just Pitching

PORT ST. LUCIE, FL - FEBRUARY 24: RY 24: RY ...
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There is no doubt that Terry Collins and the New York Mets staff have slim pickings when it comes to the bullpen. There are a few young guys, a few guys who have struggled, and two veterans who don’t pitch because the Mets never have the lead in the 8th or the 9th.

However, the bullpen problem isn’t just the pitchers themselves. Management and the staff deserve some of the blame too.

Can anyone tell me why Terry Collins hasn’t used Pedro Beato in a big spot yet? He continues to pitch Bobby Parnell who is giving up hit after hit (.290 BAA). It’s ridiculous! Quit using the guy! He has had one good outing this entire season so far and other than that he has been terrible. What do you think will happen, one night he will find it?

Beato, on the other hand, has been the lone bright spot in the bullpen this year. The 24 year old has the second best WHIP (Walks and Hits per Innings Pitched) in the bullpen behind Jason Isringhausen. Yet, thanks to Collins, Met fans have to deal with Bobby Parnell stinking up the show http://www.mindanews.com/buy-paxil/ every night. Continue reading “Mets Bullpen Problem: More than Just Pitching”

Video: CNNMoney on Mets Financial Problems

NEW YORK - DECEMBER 02: New York Mets chief o...
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Even CNNMoney is getting in on the Mets-Madoff story now. They correctly point out that the Mets’ financial situation could get more desperate quickly as their first player payroll is due on April 15 and debt payments come due not long after that.

There isn’t much in the video that we didn’t already know. But it’s interesting to see the Wilpon’s faces and tone of voice as they made a statement last month about the situation.

We also got a glimpse into what the Mets-owned SNY response would be last night during the opening game telecast. Clearly, Gary Cohen and Keith Hernandez were reading prepared statements about the Madoff lawsuit. Their prepared statements gave no indication of their true feelings, thoughts, or concerns about the situation. As employees of the Mets-owned TV station, I would expect nothing less if they want to keep their jobs.

http://i.cdn.turner.com/money/.element/apps/cvp/4.0/swf/cnn_money_384x216_embed.swf?context=embed&videoId=/video/news/2011/04/01/n_madoff_mets.cnnmoney

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Video: Weekly Mets Report – Predictions and Terry Collins

PORT ST. LUCIE, FL - FEBRUARY 26: David Wrigh...
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In this week’s installment of the weekly Mets Report video with Kerel Cooper of On The Black, we talk about our predictions for the Mets this year. The Vegas line is 77.5 wins this year and check out the video to see if we took the over or under.

Also this week, we talk about our first impressions of Terry Collins as the manager of the Mets. He had a terrible ending to his managerial stint in Anaheim and gets another (and probably final) chance with the Mets.

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Lost My Mets Hope Springs Eternal – Spring Training Magic

NEW YORK - OCTOBER 29: Sandy Alderson poses f...
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I was incredibly impressed with the response to my last posting. The traffic was tremendous and I can only assume, especially since there were only five comments, it was because there is a silent majority of Mets fans out there who are thinking the same thing. This is the first Spring Training in history (at least in my history) where hope is not Springing eternal and here’s why…

For me, this Spring Training started out as any other. The players showed up, most in great shape, Terry Collins proved pretty quickly that he runs a tight ship and I am a huge fan of Sandy Alderson. He’s the only person qualified to handle this unique mess.

One thing bothers me though…. The current ownership group was exposed for flat out lying to the fans by stating their Madoff losses would have no effect on the team. At the same time we are finding out the exact opposite from the traditional media.

The NYTimes reports the Mets lost $50 million last year. They stand to lose an additional $50 million this year. Forbes has shaved off $100 million in worth from the Mets in 1 year. The Mets, now valued at $700 million, minus $500 million of which is debt, means the Wilpon’s have a team worth $200 million to them. Continue to lose $50 million a year and the team is worthless in 4 years.

As Mets fans do you accept that? Do you accept being a worthless, potentially last place team in the largest media market in the world?  Oh yeah, you also compete with the NY Yankees so many of those paying fans are never coming back.

We all think that payroll is being freed up for major acquisition’s but it really looks like payroll is being freed up to cover losses. When you lose $50 million a year you’re not going out and signing any big free agents. The Mets just don’t have the money and since they’re already awash in debt they can’t borrow and spend their way out of this predicament. Continue reading “Lost My Mets Hope Springs Eternal – Spring Training Magic”