We talked about it on the show last week, how things started to fall apart between Sterling Equites, the current ownership group of the Mets run by Fred and Jeff Wilpon, and Steve Cohen. Just a quick refresher. A deal was signed, in principal, that Cohen was going to buy the Mets for $2.6 Billion and over the next five years, gain control of the team, owning 80% of the club. Well, it fell through, mostly because Cohen tried to re-write the deal as he went along. In doing so, it soured the Mets ownership group from wanting to sell him the team, and the deal was said to be finished and off the table earlier this week.
Here's where it gets really screwy. Jeff Wilpon released a statement Monday, a very vauge one at that, regarding the failed sale of the team. Wilpon went on to say, "We would like to share more information on why the proposed transaction has ended however, due to confidentiality and non-disclosure agreements, we are unable to do so at this time."
I'm sorry, but how the hell could you not have a comment at this time? I know its a business move and your trying to keep quite about it, but come on the fans aren't stupid. You guys as owners of the team say you want to win, but you don't make much of any effort to show that you want to win. Think about this for a moment. Since the Wilpons took sole ownership of the team in 2002, the Mets have had three playoff appearances. 2006, 2015 and 2016. 2015 was the World Series year and should have been something that the team could have capitalized on and yet you failed to do so.
The team has shown no interest in going out on the market and signing players. They have done good in developing guys in past years, no doubt about that. Wright, Reyes, deGrom, Alonso, Syndergaard, all home grown guys (even though Thor was picked up in a trade, he started his big league career in New York so I consider that a home grown guy). But since the 2006 season, they haven't really gone out and made splashes in the market. They tried that earlier this century by signing older marquee stars and it blew up on them, they were bad signings. Now, when they have a chance to go out on the market and make a splash with young, talented guys that are out there to either sign or trade for, they refuse to do it.
To make this whole thing even weirder, the Wilpons are still looking for a buyer for the team. I'm sorry, but with the way things just went down with the Cohen debacle, I'm not really sure who the hell is going to want to take a chance on buying this baseball club. It has nothing to do with the product itself, its more so dealing with the Wilpons and getting the right offer on the table. You saw what just went down with Cohen, you figure it out. I see this as the Wilpons wanting to sell, but still wanting control in the team. Nobody is going to want to buy with that staring them in the face. If this is to work, the Wilpons have to be willing to give up full control to whoever takes over as owner.
This is coming from a Mets fan who is tired of seeing average and underacheving baseball and his favorite team being run like a circus!
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