Tag: Fred Wilpon

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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Cubs 11 – Mets 1 May 24, 2011

PORT ST. LUCIE, FL - FEBRUARY 24: Jon Niese #...
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The Mets were destroyed in ugly fashion by the Cubs tonight after dealing with owner Fred Wilpon’s nasty comments about several players. The team had a meeting in the locker room before the game to clear the air but it certainly didn’t work judging by the outcome of this game.

The Mets had three errors in the game and allowed 5 unearned runs. The lack of concentration in the field was almost comical. There were several misplays that weren’t called errors either. It was just ugly all the way around.

Jon Niese wasn’t sharp and didn’t get any help from the defense. He threw 86 pitches through 5 innings and allowed 2 earned runs on 7 hits and 1 walk.

The Mets did have 9 hits and 1 walk in the game but left 8 runners on base. Jose Reyes, Ronny Paulino, and Ruben Tejada had 2 hits apiece but there wasn’t much else happening offensively.

Box score

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”

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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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”

Do the 2011 Mets have Any Shot At all of Making the Playoffs?

PORT ST. LUCIE, FL - FEBRUARY 17: Owner Fred W...
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Let’s see… Johan Santana may be out for the year, Carlos Beltran is one slide away form blowing out both knees, Jose Reyes is one hard run from blowing out a hammy, and Krod is one fight away from prison. We have a rookie catcher, two pitchers coming back from Tommy John surgery, Mike Pelfrey’s Psychiatrist passed away so the yips may be back, the franchise 3rd baseman has yet to step up and be a leader, an ongoing hole at 2nd base and the team can’t/won’t be spending any money anytime soon. Did I miss something?

And let’s not forget the team is owned by the Three Stooges of Real Estate investing (Katz, Wilpon, Wilpon Jr.) who admit knowing nothing about investing and obviously even less about running a baseball franchise. I fully expect MLB to have to step in and take over the day to day operations of the team while it’s owners go through bankruptcy. You think it’s hard to take down a middle eastern dictator? Wait till you see the fight the Wilpons put up to keep the Mets. It’s gonna get ugly!

Don’t expect any help from the free agent market either. No free agent hitter in their right mind would want to play at cavernous Citi Field even if we had the money to spend. Pitcher’s looking to prolong their careers may consider Citi Field but are you, the fans, really going to spend your hard earned money to watch a bunch of retreads prolong their careers? Hit up Stubhub starting in June for $1 seats that season ticket holders will be trying to get rid of.

So with opening day upon us I proclaim the Mets will finish dead last and the current owners will be fighting well into 2012 to try and hold onto this team. I see little hope for this year and certainly see no hope for 2012 if the Wilpons are still the owners.

Although I am seeing a lot of positives coming from the current management team of Collins and Alderson, there are still an awful lot of flaws on this team and something current management can’t control… What happens in the owners box.

So do the Mets have a shot at the Playoffs this year? Do you really have to ask that question? Really?!?
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Mets Owners File to Dismiss Madoff Lawsuit

Bernard Madoff's mugshot
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Although Fred and Jeff Wilpon and Saul Katz are wealthy, they don’t know very much about investing their money or how it’s handled. At least that’s their story in a legal filing attempting to dismiss the Madoff trustee lawsuit against them for more than $1 billion.

The defendants have consistently stated that the trustee’s lawsuit is a work of fiction. But reading through the legal filing from the Mets owners tonight, I’d have to say that their side of the story doesn’t come across well.

I find it hard to believe that the Wilpons and Katz aren’t sophisticated investors and that’s the argument that they’re making. Anyone that controls billions of dollars makes it their business to be a sophisticated investor. Casting themselves as bumbling fools that happened to make more money than most people see in their lives is ridiculous.

The Mets owners need to get serious about settling this case. This stunt of a dismissal motion is nothing more than a PR tactic being used to try to fight the lawsuit through the media. If they don’t get serious about settling the case and solidifying their ownership position with the Mets, it’s going to continue to hurt the team in multiple ways. Notably, the players will have to continue to answer questions day after day about the team’s finances instead of the game on the field.

This “uncertainty” is going to continue as long as the owners continue to make statements like the following from Saul Katz:

“I don’t do well in the markets, the stock market,” Katz said. “I’m not good at it, it’s not my business. I don’t have an active account anywhere.”

Fred Wilpon was asked in a deposition if he knew how Madoff was able to make money investing:

“I’m not an investment person…so I wouldn’t have any kind of expertise.”

If this is the strategy that the Wilpons and Katz plan to employ, they’re in bigger trouble with this lawsuit than I thought they were. Playing dumb is never a good defense and for people that built an empire in New York it’s a really bad idea.

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