Category: Spring Training

Mets Receive $25 Million Bailout From MLB

The modern MLB logo was first used in 1969.
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The New York Times revealed the existence of a $25 million loan from MLB to the Mets last November. Under pressure from a $1 billion lawsuit by the trustee for the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme, the Wilpons reached out to their old friend, MLB Commissioner Bud Selig, for a line of funding to keep the Mets operating for a short time.

The loan was so secret that Selig didn’t even tell the other owners that he was providing a bailout to the team one of the highest payrolls in the league and one of the priciest front offices as well. Selig finally told baseball’s executive committee in January about the existence of the loan. A Times reporter asked Fred Wilpon yesterday if he received financial assistance from MLB. Wilpon said he didn’t want to talk about team finances and dashed away quickly. When Wilpon was told that the Times found out about the secret loan, the team issued a brief statement to the media:

We said in October that we expected to have a short-term liquidity issue. To address this, we did receive a loan from Major League Baseball in November. Beyond that, we will not discuss the matter any further.

Last year MLB provided about $40 million in assistance to the Texas Rangers. That was because the owner and team were in bankruptcy. The loan that the Mets received isn’t far off in dollar value and is very telling about the state of the Mets finances compared to where the Rangers were last year.

The issue that concerns me is that the Wilpons haven’t been forthright, whatsoever, with the fans and the media about the real situation. Last year the Wilpons said the lawsuit didn’t have any financial impact on the operations of the Mets. It has. Last month the Wilpons admitted that they’re trying to find a minority investor in the team but there was no issue with operations. Last week the Wilpons arrived in Port St. Lucie and reiterated that the Mets had no financing problems.

The owners haven’t been forthcoming with the fans about the real situation with the team’s finances. Going forward, we have to take everything they reveal about the finances with a grain of salt. They’re being careful not to lie about it, but they’re certainly not talking about the true nature of the problem that this caused for the team.

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Video: Mets Spring Training, K-Rod, Beltran, Castillo

Lastings Milledge steals second base and the b...
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Kerel Cooper of On The Black and I got together for another weekly video to talk about the state of the Mets as the team begins their first full squad workouts. The hot topics of the week are Luis Castillo reporting on time but not early, Carlos Beltran in center field, and K-Rod showing up and apologizing again for assaulting someone at Citi Field last year.

The good news is that we don’t have to talk about the Bernie Madoff lawsuit this week!

http://blip.tv/play/guougqXYHwI%2Em4v

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Video: Mets Spring Training, Oliver Perez, Ticket Plans

PORT ST LUCIE, FL - FEBRUARY 26: Luis Castill...
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Kerel Cooper of On The Black and I are doing a weekly video chat this season talking Mets baseball. This week we discuss the Mets arriving in PSL, the potential of Oliver Perez and Luis Castillo to make the roster, the new partial season ticket packs, and the Phillies.

It’s a great time of year with the Mets starting up camp in Florida. But the news hasn’t been good for the Mets between the Madoff mess and the roster dilemna they’ll face with Perez and Castillo.

Check out the video below and let me know in the comments if there are any issues that we should address this week.

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Mets 2011 Spring Training Dates

The news finally came out about the Mets dates for reporting to spring training in Port St. Lucie.

  • Feb. 15 – Pitchers and catchers report
  • Feb. 17 – First workout
  • Feb. 19 – Position players report
  • Feb. 21 – First full squad workout
  • Feb. 26 – First game against Atlanta

I made the trip to PSL last year and I’m thinking about it again. Although I have to admit that the Mets lack of offseason activity has reduced my motivation to make the trek to spring training again. It’s tough to get excited about the same team coming back again that won 79 games last year.

Are you making the trip to PSL for spring training this year? Comment below.

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Back From Mets Spring Training 2010

I got back late last night from my trip to Florida for 2010 spring training. Although I was lucky enough to get great weather during my stay in Port St. Lucie, I came away with some questions about the team that I saw. It’s tough to get a real gauge on a team in spring training, but the more I watched the Mets the more I had concerns. I’ll write more about that later.

As I wrote the other day, I met up with some great people in PSL, real hardcore Mets fans. I even spent some time on Wednesday with a couple of Marlins fans and we had a good discussion about the state of the Mets, Marlins, and the division in general.

One guy that stood out that I met was Kenny Kirsch. He’s getting a business going for parody t-shirts called HowBoutThoseMets.com. The shirts are great and I always like to support a hard working guy that getting something started and turning a good idea into reality on his own. Check him out and buy one if you can.

If you haven’t been to spring training in St. Lucie, it’s a must for every Mets fan. The accessibility to players is something you just won’t get during the regular season. You can watch their morning workouts right in front of you, not to mention the games in tiny Digital Domain Park. Mark it on your calendar for next year if you haven’t been there yet.

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Mets 2010 Roster Taking Shape- Six More Cuts

ST. LOUIS, MO - APRIL 23: Relief pitcher Bobby...
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After last night’s game against the Rays (losing 4-2) the Mets made six more cuts. That takes the current roster down to 27 players. Cut from the team last night were pitchers Nelson Figueroa, Kiko Calero, Bobby Parnell, and Elmer Dessens. Also cut were infielder Russ Adams and outfielder/first baseman Chris Carter.

Both Figueroa and Carter were somewhat surprising. They both seemed to be on the very edge of making the team. Relief pitcher Raul Valdes is still on the roster but will probably be cut by tomorrow’s 3pm deadline to get down to 25 players.

Carter appears to have lost the battle for the last spot on the roster to Frank Catalanotto. Omir Santos is still on the roster but will probably be cut by tomorrow as well.

I’m sure there are some really unhappy players right now. Figueroa made no bones about his desire to make the team, speaking openly to the press about it. And I assume Carter is unhappy after having a really good spring.

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