Centerfield

https://www.espn.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/80341/mets-faring-ok-in-new-tv-landscapehttps://www.espn.com/blog/new-york/mets/post/_/id/80341/mets-faring-ok-in-new-tv-landscape this article from 2014 says the Mets receive $52 million per year from SNY versus Phillies receive $100 million/year and Dodgers $340 million for their local rights. Cross-ownership muddles up all of this but one thing seems clear - Fred & Jeff are dreaming if they think they can sell the team for full price without opening up the local rights deal. They want to sell you the house, keep the keys and charge you rent. I remember seeing an article a few years ago that had the Mets in the middle of the pack in terms of television revenue. The Yankees, and the two LA teams, were predictably, at the top. I searched but couldn't find it. It's pretty clear that even though they are selling the team itself, they want to keep reaping the benefits by signing themselves a sweetheart deal, and then artificially keeping the Mets' revenues depressed for the life of it. All while lining their pockets.

It doesn't make any sense. The only guess I have is: 1. Wilpon and Cohen agree on their 5 year deal. 2. Wilpon or Cohen, or both, thinking they have the leverage, start changing the terms. 3. It ends poorly. Cohen leaks to the press, Wilpons run to Manfred. It ends with the Cohen being blacklisted and daring the Wilpons to find a higher bidder. 4. The Katz family finally wakes up and tells Jeff to stop fucking up their money. They tell Fred and Jeff to lose the five year control period, and go find a higher bidder, but if they can't, to go crawling back to Cohen. Cohen sits and waits and hopes that no deeper pocket shows up. 5. If someone bids a dollar over $2.6 billion, the Wilpons "win". If not, they have to go back to Cohen, tail between their legs. I think there's no chance the Wilpons would do this, so they will throw in SNY, or Syracuse, or whatever it takes to have that reported number be higher than the Cohen price tag.

No restrictions on the team sale says Bloomberg. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-09/new-york-mets-are-for-sale-again-the-price-may-have-just-soaredhttps://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-02-09/new-york-mets-are-for-sale-again-the-price-may-have-just-soared Which begs the question, if they were willing to cede control, why did the Cohen deal fall through?

I don't remember Donnie Hart. I thought this thread was about Donnie Moore.

From the latest Post article, it seems like both sides were changing the goalposts at the last minute. https://nypost.com/2020/02/07/steve-cohen-could-be-blocked-from-buying-another-mlb-team-after-mets-mess/https://nypost.com/2020/02/07/steve-cohen-could-be-blocked-from-buying-another-mlb-team-after-mets-mess/ Cohen, it finally dawning on him that giving control of your $2.6 billion investment to Jeff Wilpon might not be such a smart idea, and Jeff Wilpon wanting sole control, more pay, and an ongoing role in the organization.

That $2.6 billion sitting there on the table is hard to walk away from. Big part of me thinks that the rest of the family members who think they would have a nice slice of that $2.6 billion are right now screaming, "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MIND?" and are coming up with some kind of scenario where Jeff can save some face -- Run the Cyclones and Syracuse as a hobby! -- and they get their cash. Who is protecting Jeff? Gotta be Fred right? No way his in-laws or the brother who hates him would let him get away with all this. Let's hope that once the old man is gone life will be very different for Jeffy.

I've thought this through. Shitting is acting like a real owner, ponying up for a top tier payroll, then stepping aside and letting the smart baseball people run the show. I guess you have to hire those people first. Getting off the pot is selling. And the Mets are the pot (toilet) and they play in Flushing. This metaphor works so well.

The whole arrangement was stupid. Either you work for ESPN, or work for the Mets. How could anyone think it's ok to work for a ballclub, and a member of the media intended to cover that ballclub.

What a crazy few days. If I had to guess: 1. Either the Wilpons changed something in the deal (like Jeff staying in power for more than 5 years), or Steve Cohen, who never really intended to give five years of control, started demanding some input during the 5 year window. 2. A frustrated Steve Cohen leaked something to the media for leverage, knowing that the Wilpons had to sell. 3. The whole world lashes out at the Wilpons. 4. Wilpons get pissed. Tattle on Cohen to Rob Manfred. 5. Manfred comes to their defense. Through his minions, sends a message that they are mad at Cohen and he can kiss any chance of owning any team goodbye. We don't know if Cohen actually did anything wrong, or if he just make the Wilpons mad, which is a huge offense in Manfred's eyes. 6. Cohen withdraws. 7. Wilpons withdraw, but know that if they don't control the damage, the fanbase is going to go out of control. They reiterate that they're selling and have already engaged the big fancy investment firm, so you know they're serious. Now we wait and see. If Cohen overplayed his hand, there will be another buyer and he/she will give the Wilpons the $$$ and terms they want. If the Wilpons overplayed their hand, they'll lose on one or another, either the $$$ or the control. Or even both. I'm not sure what we know at this point. The Cohen deal seems dead, but if one of them caves, I guess it could be revived. The Wilpons say they're selling, but can we even believe that? The whole "sell the team" storyline has helped distract from a super-shitty winter. A real cynical view is that this whole sale is just cover, and that the Wilpons are hoping that the games start, the team wins early, and everyone forgives and forgets. One thing I have learned, is that I will never, ever celebrate again until they are gone. Locked, sealed, key thrown away, gone.

Wow. Jeff wants to be an executive even after the 5 years. That is a deal breaker. If that's what they're asking, this deal is dead. Every other deal as well. What is up with the rest of the Wilpon family. How do you let one tool ruin everything for you? I Give Up Day 2020

The chess match continues. Cohen uses the media to leak that the Wilpons have acted in bad faith. Wilpons, knowing they will never will in any court of public opinion, counter by reminding Cohen that they have the "Commissioner" squarely in their pocket.

The poor guy. https://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/i5NMxq0APaj8/v1/1000x-1.jpghttps://assets.bwbx.io/images/users/iqjWHBFdfxIU/i5NMxq0APaj8/v1/1000x-1.jpg>

Does Nils still have a job? Poor guy must have been panicking when only one Pete cover made the final four.

There are so many conflicting reports going around it's hard to figure out what's going on. But it's not hard to imagine that Cohen brought the Wilpons to this point, implying that he'd be ok with giving up control during the five years, then using the media to strong-arm his way into more input during that window. If the things that have been written about him are true, then this kind of move is right up his alley. Imagine that in the end, the Wilpons get screwed by an evil, ruthless, take-no-prisoners hedge fund guy. And we're all rooting for him. Life is crazy.

=41Forever post_id=31162 time=1580995250 user_id=69] I'm not an expert in these things. But I have to think no one walks away from $2.6 billion when it's on the table. Now factor in the family issues, and you have even more pressure to sell. I can also see Cohen saying he's not sliding $2.6 billion across the table unless he has control. If the Honda salesman told me I can start payments on my CRV but not drive it for five months, I'd balk. I can also see someone in Cohen's camp leaking to the media that the sale has slowed as an additional way to put pressure on the Wilpons. I can also see MLB, advertisers, networks, agents, Nike and everyone else getting making money on baseball realizing that baseball is stronger when there is a good team in New York, and that's pressure to sell, too. This is one step in the process.

Imagine writing that many words about Pete Rose and leaving out the part about statutory rape.

I loved Olerud during his time with the Mets. I made a sign for him (one of the few I've made in my life) way back when. It was something like "Go Olerud! The Quiet Riot!" I remember thinking it was super clever and I would get on TV and the name would take off. It didn't.

This is not, in any way, good. But unless everyone was dead wrong, it seems the Wilpons have no choice but to sell, either to Cohen or someone else. I wonder if this is Steve Cohen flexing his muscle to get more control over the team. It's not likely someone would outbid him.

It's amazing how efficiently BG runs this contest each year, and how stupidly our country runs our elections.

Maja doesn't seem thrilled with Ulrika.

Also on hand was a polar bear, because Nils, in the promotions department, was certain that the winning cover would feature Mets rookie sensation Pete Alonso. The expenses incurred in capturing and taming a live polar bear are a large part of the reason for the reduction in the travel budget. Omg. Dying. Brilliant.

Guardians of the Galaxy was so much fun. Loved every minute of it. I was thinking to jump right into Volume 2, but I think I'll leave it and give myself something to look forward to. I'm going to try the original IronMan and try to keep somewhat of a chronological order.

Johnny Lunchbucket wrote: OK.... Arenado for Cespedes and Smith Now this, I can get behind.

Edgy MD wrote: One advantage that trading for a phat contract has over signing someone to one, is that you're only exposed to risk of catastrophe (David Wright's broken spine, for instance) for three or so years, vs. as opposed to seven or so. There are seven years left on the Arenado extension.

For real? This is crazy to me. No one is denying how good Arenado is. 5.7 bWAR last season. Terrific player. But he's also making $35M a year for the next 7 years, with a full no-trade and an opt out after 2021. It's not just an expensive contract, it's also one-sided. McNeil is not as good (5.0 bWAR). But he's dirt cheap and team-controlled all throughout his prime. Arenado and McNeil's contract situations are polar opposites. Even if you're just looking at 2020, it doesn't make sense. The question isn't whether Nolan Arenado is better than Jeff McNeil. The question is whether Nolan Arenado is better than Jeff McNeil and $35 million. (enough to buy, say, Anthony Rendon and his 6.3 bWAR). If the Mets had $35M to spend (and they don't so this is all a moot point) the dumbest thing they can do with it would be to trade McNeil for Arenado and give yourself a net bWAR of 0.7. The smart thing to do would have been to keep Rendon and sign McNeil and net yourself 6.3 bWAR. And now that Rendon and almost all other free agents are off the table, the smart thing to do with this $35M is to put it into your pocket and save it for the trade deadline, or even next year.