Category: Latest News

Mets 2012 Single Game Tickets on Sale March 5

English: Citi Field with Shea Stadium's Home R...
Image via Wikipedia

The Mets announced that single game tickets will go on sale March 5th and 10:00am. You can buy tix at the box office, Mets.com, and by calling (718) 507-TIXX.

I don’t think you need to rush out to get tix this year. There’s likely to be plenty of empty seats at Citi Field considering the sad roster that the Mets have put together. Let’s face it, on paper this is a last place team. Very few fans are rushing out to buy tix for this team.

But the Mets are bringing back Banner Day on May 27th. And the Yankees series at the end of June is always an event no matter how bad the Mets might be this year.

Related articles

Mets Alderson Takes on Jose Reyes on Twitter

Sandy Alderson was at it again yesterday on Twitter. This time the target of his comedy stylings was Jose Reyes and the MLB Network.

[blackbirdpie url=”https://twitter.com/#!/MetsGM/status/168505233637507072″%5D

So far he’s gone after the Wilpons financial situation and the chop shops across the street from Citi Field. I wish he’d gone after Reyes in free agency as well as he is on Twitter.

Mets GM Sandy Alderson on Twitter

Sandy Alderson
Image via Wikipedia

Follow Mets General Manager Sandy Alderson on Twitter. He just started a new account yesterday and has two tweets about his drive to Port St. Lucie. And he gained nearly 10,000 followers in the first day that he joined.

The big news is that he’s cracking jokes about needing gas money for the drive to PSL. I’m not sure that jokes about needing funds is what the Mets would like to see from him with the Madoff trial scheduled to begin next month.

Alderson is a smart guy. I would guess that he’ll stay away from comments like that in the future and stick to tweets that are more closely aligned with what the organization would like to see him publicizing.

Mets Hall of Fame To Add John Franco

English: John Franco
Image via Wikipedia

I know this post is a little late since the Mets announced that they’ll add John Franco to the Hall of Fame three days ago. But I wanted to make sure that I noted this event because Franco joined the Mets in 1990 so, presumably, there won’t be any more Mets from the ’86 team joining the Hall of Fame. But the importance is that Franco played 14 years with the team and closed for most of them. He could be shaky as a closer but he usually got the job done until he moved to set up relief in 2000.

Here’s the press release from the team:

January 26, 2012 – The New York Mets today announced that John Franco, the club’s all-time leader in saves and games pitched, will be inducted into the Mets Hall of Fame during the Mets Hall of Fame Induction ceremony presented by Citi Sunday, June 3 prior to the 1:10 p.m. game against the St. Louis Cardinals.

Franco saved 276 games for the Mets over his 14-year career (1990-2004) with the team, the second-longest in franchise history behind Ed Kranepool’s 18 years of service. The four-time All-Star compiled 424 saves during his career, the fourth-most in major league history and the most by any lefthanded reliever.

“It’s a tremendous honor to be elected to the Mets Hall of Fame,” said Franco, who is currently in his fourth year as a Club Ambassador with the Mets. “I would like to thank Fred Wilpon, Saul Katz, Jeff Wilpon, the Hall of Fame Committee, all of my managers and coaches and of course my teammates. My entire family is looking forward to June 3.” Continue reading “Mets Hall of Fame To Add John Franco”

Citi Field Debt Downgraded to Negative

English: New York Mets inaugural season patch ...
Image via Wikipedia

Yesterday Standard and Poor’s Ratings Services downgraded the nearly $700 million in debt against Citi Field to negative. That means that they’re reducing the debt to below investment grade. Forbes details the financial assault that the Mets are facing. The financial prospects for the Mets and Wilpon appear to be getting more dire by the day.

Without Jose Reyes on the roster the team is poised for even lower attendance than the 2011 season. The Mets have also floated the possibility that  Johan Santana may not be healthy and ready for opening day after not throwing a pitch in 2011. Other than David Wright, who is in the final year of his contract (plus a team option for 2013), there isn’t much of a reason to go out the park in 2012.

It’s clear that the rest of the teams in the division have made roster improvements while the Mets have essentially failed to enter the free agent market. For the second offseason in a row, Sandy Alderson was handcuffed by the team’s financial situation. His only contribution to re-making the roster has been to shuffle some players in and out of the bullpen and the bench. The Mets GM job has to be one of the worst in baseball right now.

Mets Avoid Default on Citi Field Bond Payment

English: Citi Field at Night
Image via Wikipedia

A report by Forbes details the Mets bridge loan from Bank of America and how it was used to pay the debt payment on bonds that financed Citi Field. I wrote about the bridge loan on Monday and the story for the Mets gets worse as more details emerge. The Mets partially funded Citi Field with $547 million of tax-exempt bonds. A payment was due last month for $43.8 million and the Mets didn’t have the money to pay.

The holding company for the bonds, Ambac Assurance Company, had promised to pay the debt payments if the Mets defaulted. But Ambac went belly up in 2010 and filed for bankruptcy. So the Mets defaulting on the debt payment would have left the bond holders with nothing to show for their investment in the team.

The Mets still have payments coming due of $32 million in each of 2013 and 2014. So there’s still a chance they could default. But the Mets are planning to use the $40 million bridge loan to tide them over until they can sell pieces of the team to “small” investors in hopes of raising $200 million.

It’s a sad state of affairs for the Mets. Hopefully, it won’t end in bankruptcy court like the Dodgers and Rangers did recently. In the meantime, we’re the ones left holding the bag with a team that doesn’t appear to have a chance of a winning record in 2012.

Mets Borrow Another $40 Million

SUN VALLEY, ID - JULY 06: 06: New York Mets ...
Image by Getty Images via @daylife

The New York Times is reporting that the Mets borrowed another $40 million on top of the existing debt against the team. The Mets already borrowed $25 million from Major League Baseball last year and haven’t been able to repay MLB despite the reported due date being last June. Bank of America issued this latest loan and it was approved by MLB and the lenders that already hold a majority of the debt against the Mets.

The Mets spokesman did acknowledge the loan and described it as a bridge loan. Presumably, the bridge references the Mets attempt to sell small pieces of the team to investors after the deal with David Einhorn fell apart this summer. The Mets appear to be struggling to maintain liquidity. There were reports in the past month that Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz had to put $38 million of their own into the team recently to keep it afloat.

This latest loan and appearance of financial desperation will lead to further calls from Mets fans for the Wilpons to sell the team. Recent poor performances and reducing the payroll instead of investing in the on-field product is leading fans to, rightfully, lose faith in the financial ability of the Wilpons to field a winning team at any point in the near future.