Category: Latest News

Forbes 2012 MLB Team Valuations

Mets Logo
Mets Logo (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

This year Forbes has the Mets down 4% to $719 million in value, just behind the Phillies at $723 million. The Mets and the Rays are the only teams to lose value since last year, mostly due to the Mets massive operating loss of $40.8 million. Only three teams had operating losses (Phillies and Angels were the others) and neither were anywhere close to the Mets loss.

The Mets are now MLB’s sixth most valuable franchise far behind the Yankees in the top spot valued at over a billion dollars MORE than the Mets. It’s incredible how much more valuable the Yankees, Red Sox, and Dodgers are than the Mets. All are listed at or over $1 billion.

It’s likely going to take years for the Mets to gain value back and it’ll have to be done on the field. Most experts (and sane people everywhere) are predicting the Mets will finish at or near the bottom of the NL East this season. Based on the current roster, I agree with that opinion.

The Wilpon/Katz ownership group may have settled the Madoff lawsuit and put that financial problem behind them. But the value of their team is sinking and likely won’t increase this year unless there are some miraculous occurances on the field. Maybe the Jets can loan Tim Tebow to the Mets until the NFL season starts.

Mets Owners Lose Summary Judgement in Madoff Case

English: Bernard Madoff's mugshot
Image via Wikipedia

The Mets owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz were dealt a huge blow today in a New York court. The judge in the Madoff case against Wilpon and Katz agreed with the Madoff trustee and issued a partial summary judgement against the Mets owners. The judgement is for up to $83 million with the exact amount to be determined in the near future.

A trial will begin on March 19th if there isn’t a settlement before then. The trial will be over an additional $303 million that the trustee is going after based on his contention that the Mets owners willfully ignored information indicating that Madoff was running a shady operation.

There’s been a lot of speculation about whether Wilpon and Katz will be able to withstand this judgement and trial to hold onto ownership of the Mets. They’ve been cutting spending on the team drastically in an attempt to align spending with revenue in the last two years. Some might speculate that they’re reducing spending to stockpile cash in case of a negative outcome of the trial. Well, that first negative outcome happened today.

It’ll be interesting to see if there’s a settlement in the next couple of weeks or if this case goes to trial. Either way, I think Wilpon and Katz are on the run and trying to keep ownership of the Mets in any way possible. But it might not be enough. And that would probably be a good thing for fans at this point.

Mets Ike Davis and Valley Fever

PORT ST. LUCIE, FL - FEBRUARY 24: Ike Davis #...
Image by Getty Images via @daylife

There have been a lot of reports from Port St. Lucie since yesterday about Ike Davis having Valley Fever. It’s the same condition that held Conor Jackson to playing in only 30 games with the D-Backs in 2009. Although it’s not known if Davis definitely has Valley Fever, he has some of the symptoms and had an abnormal lung x-ray about 10 days ago that led the Mets to send Davis to see a specialist.

The Mets seem to be backtracking on their previous announcement that Davis was ready for spring training without restrictions. They issued another statement yesterday to the media:

Ike Davis underwent a routine physical exam after his arrival in PSL. The exam included an abnormal chest X-ray. Following additional tests here and in NYC, pulmonary and infectious disease specialists have concluded that Ike likely has Valley Fever, which is expected to resolve itself over time. Ike is not contagious, is not taking any medication for his condition and does not currently exhibit any of the outward symptoms associated with Valley Fever. However, Ike has been instructed to avoid extreme fatigue. No additional tests or examinations are pending, but Ike will have a follow up exam when the team returns to NYC in early April. Continue reading “Mets Ike Davis and Valley Fever”

2012 Mets Spring Training Fred Wilpon Press Conference

PORT ST. LUCIE, FL - FEBRUARY 17: Owner Fred W...
Image by Getty Images via @daylife

Mets owner Fred Wilpon gave his annual state of the team press conference on the first day of full squad workouts today. It was more of the same spin that we’ve heard in recent years from Fred about the team’s woeful financial situation. Although he did attempt to deflect the reason for the team’s $52 million payroll reduction to Sandy Alderson’s philosophy. That was so laughable that he later admitted that Alderson had a set payroll that he had to work within.

The highlights of the press conference were:

  • The Wilpons don’t intend to give up control of the team, if possible
  • The team has sold 7 shares of ownership although all but one were bought by entities with connections to the team already
  • He admitted that the Madoff lawsuit was having an effect on team finances contrary to his prior statements on the topic
  • He’s excited about the group of young players on the team

There isn’t much new there that we didn’t already know. Wilpon has been in near seclusion as the team has sunk deeper into the financial abyss. He typically leaves Alderson or his son, Jeff, to deal with the tough questions from the media. So today was a rare opportunity to hear the state of affairs directly from the horses mouth.

Mets Players get Underdog Shirts

The Mets arrived at Port St. Lucie today to some silly Underdog t-shirts that Jeff Wilpon had made. Apparently, it’s a misguided attempt to motivate the players with an “us against the world” mentality. It’s extremely childish for a guy that considers himself an “executive”.

Here’s a pic of the t-shirts. What do you think? Would that make you motivated?

Mets Announce Gary Carter Uniform Patch

Gary Carter
Gary Carter (Photo credit: AxsDeny)

The Mets sent out a picture on Twitter  of the patch they’ll be wearing this season in memory of  Hall of Fame catcher Gary Carter who passed away last week. It’s the second patch the Mets uniforms will have this season. The 2012 uniform will also have a patch celebrating 50 years of the Mets franchise. Of course, much of the team’s marketing this season appears to revolve around the anniversary.

Clearly, the Mets are doing the right thing by honoring Carter. I haven’t talked to anyone that disagrees with that. He was a huge part of one of the Mets most memorable teams in 1986.

The Mets occasionally appear out of touch with Mets fans but on Gary Carter they seem to be doing all the right things. And you have to give them credit for that. I’m the first one to write about the Mets when they’re oblivious to the fans or team history. So I want to make sure that I note that they’ve done the right thing by recognizing the significance that Carter played in the history of the Mets.

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/Mets/status/173545514753736704″%5D

Mets Mourn Gary Carter

Gary Carter
Gary Carter (Photo credit: AxsDeny)

In December 1984 I remember being shocked that the Mets could trade for a player as great as Gary Carter. The Expos got Hubie Brooks, Herm Winningham, Mike Fitzgerald, and Floyd Youmans in return. But Carter was great! I remember wondering why the Expos would trade a player of Carter’s caliber. He was a seven time All-Star in 10 seasons with the Expos. It still surprises me to this day.

In his 15 Major League seasons he made $13.3 million. He’d make more than that in ONE season if he was playing now.

The 2003 Hall of Fame inductee and 1986 World Series champion passed away today at age 57 from brain cancer.

Sadly, many media outlets had obituaries ready to publish today. Carter was in tough shape recently so it shouldn’t come as a surprise. But writing an obituary before some dies seems so disturbing to me.

I wanted to link to a few that I thought were worth reading:

Here’s some audio of Darryl Strawberry with Mike Francesa on WFAN today.

You won’t be forgotten Kid.

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