Out of every grey cloud, am I right people?!

I'd have to think a Mets fan would find this a happy idea.

From Erin Arvedlund's lips to God's ears...


Except with our luck, the only viable buyer would be the Dolans.

I'm guessing they're dancin' in the streets on Roosevelt Avenue this afternoon...

A consortium led by Isiah Thomas is expected to have the inside track.

The only really redeeming feature of the Wilpons if you're a Met fan is their ability to open the checkbook and since that has been conspicuously missing since Madoff, they won't be missed. At all.

WE WANT CU-BAN!(clap! clap! clapclapclap!)
WE WANT CU-BAN!(clap! clap! clapclapclap!)
WE WANT CU-BAN!(clap! clap! clapclapclap!)

Except with our luck, the only viable buyer would be the Dolans.

How hilarious/sad would that be? If that happens, Met fans can probably look forward to a surprise hire of Joe Morgan as President/GM.

Well the health insurance industry is rolling in cash. Blue Cross Field?

It depends. What I fear is that the frickin' Dolans buy it. I mean, there's incompetent and then there's INCOMPETENT.

I plan on winning MegaMillions tonight, so prepare yourselves for the BTF ownership group.

Lassus, count me in!

I too plan on winning MegaMillions tonight, so prepare yourself for the BTF ownership under my guidance. That would be way too fun.

I would welcome this as much as anybody, but she doesn't have any idea how much money the Wilpons have. She may have a good idea of what they lost, but beyond that she has no inside knowledge.

WE WANT CU-BAN!(clap! clap! clapclapclap!)

There's a better chance Tony the Tiger and Yogi Bear get together to buy the Mets than this.

Also, her book on Madoff stinks. Much too soon to be able to write anything interesting on that cluster-####.

Crud, now you're making me unhappy that I blew a few bucks on tickets. If I had known you folks were already going to win...

I'd like to see Hank Steinbrenner break publically with his brother and then front an investment group to buy the Mets amidst public avowals of revenge. It's not what I wanted, Hal! It's not what I wanted!

I'm smart! I'm not dumb like they say! I can do things, Hal! I'm your big brother!

(note: Hank is in fact older, by 12 years)

One of the more irritating parts of the lottery is that it doesn't offer the opportunity to buy any major league baseball team. $325MM or so is $203MM cash, after taxes more like $120MM.

Of course, it does leave plenty for me to buy a independent minor league franchise...

Hank do this! Hank do that! Hank, go run some Mickey Mouse nightclub!

The Newark Megdallers!

(note: Hank is in fact older, by 12 years)

Really? wow, I no idea they were that far apart. Interesting.

One of the more irritating parts of the lottery is that it doesn't offer the opportunity to buy any major league baseball team. $325MM or so is $203MM cash, after taxes more like $120MM.

But, for that $120 million you could sit behind home plate at Yankee Stadium for, jeeze, 3 or 4 seasons, I imagine.

This has to be considered good news, obviously. Not for the short-term, though. This offseason will be painful.

Cuban would be interesting...

There's a better chance Tony the Tiger and Yogi Bear get together to buy the Mets than this.

Yeah, I know...but LordyLord would he have some fun in the NY market...

I would welcome this as much as anybody, but she doesn't have any idea how much money the Wilpons have. She may have a good idea of what they lost, but beyond that she has no inside knowledge.

Yeah, it's all speculation. There's a lot of factors and possibilities to consider.

1) How is their real estate business doing, both now and in terms of its short-term prospects? If they have decent cash-flow there, it creates a lot less pressure on them when it comes to the Mets. That's true even if the appraised value of their properties has sunk significantly, which I'm sure it has. But if they are about to lose a lot of leases and are anticipating losing revenue (either because of departures or having to renegotiate new contracts at lower prices), that is a huge problem. The last thing they want to be forced to do is sell properties at bargain-basement prices right now . . . . so the Mets and/or SNY might be their best option if they have to sell something.

2) Would it be possible to bring in a minority investor to capitalize, rather than sell the team? A one-third share of the Mets and/or SNY would be worth a lot of money, and would presumably give them some breathing room. If their long-term outlook is rosy enough, but they simply have to get through the short-term debacle somehow, they might be willing to swallow their pride and return to the old arrangement (remember the old Wilpon/Doubleday days?) as a way not to lose the Mets entirely. Of course, it wouldn't be with Nelson Doubleday himself . . . .

3) How much external pressure are the Wilpons under? What are their bankers and possibly other creditors telling them? What is Fred Wilpon's health like? How would revenues be affected if, instead of selling, they simply cut payroll so they can increase profitability?

4) What would the team actually bring in the current climate? I mean, hey, I have a few hundred million lying around somewhere, but I'm not sure I can find it right away, and even if I could, that's not going to be enough to make the "happily ever after" the Wilpons are looking for here.

So I think it's quite plausible that the conditions are such that a sale could happen. But it's completely speculative.

You're nothing to me now, Hank.
You're not a friend, you're not a brother.
I don't want to see in the hotels or the casinos.
I don't want to know you or what you do.
When you come see our mother, I want to know 24 hours in advance, so I won't be here.

(Nothing happens to him while my mother is alive.)

So I think it's quite plausible that the conditions are such that a sale could happen. But it's completely speculative.

Agree. But just because it's probably not going to happen doesn't mean we can't have some fun with it in the meantime.

So with that in mind, my money's on Donald Trump to take command.

DB

(Nothing happens to him while my mother is alive.)

And when she dies Hal will sign David Wright and trade him to Philly.

But just because it's probably not going to happen doesn't mean we can't have some fun with it in the meantime.

You obviously didn't get the memo that fun in connection with the 2009 New York Mets has been outlawed. Violations of this edict will be reported to the Commissioner and leaked to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

Sell the team to Charles Wang so Mets fans can continue to have inept owners.

According to the rumors I've heard, which are far from inside information but is gossip from circles with better sourcing than the papers, Wilpon is in deep doo-doo and will have to sell. Given that the Dolans have been circling the Yankees ever since George took ill and the synergies enjoyed by the Dolans if they purchase a NY MLB team, I think the odds of the Mets being sold to the Dolans is quite high...if I were a betting man, I'd say even money.

I plan on winning MegaMillions tonight, so prepare yourselves for the BTF ownership group.

I hereby make this solemn vow to all my BTF brothers and sisters:

If I win the MegaMillions tonight, I, RMc, will purchase the Metropolitan Baseball Club of New York.*

(*Assuming there's money left over after I buy a swimming pool of sharks with laser beams on their heads. Frickin' laser beams...!)

Given that the Dolans have been circling the Yankees ever since George took ill and the synergies enjoyed by the Dolans if they purchase a NY MLB team, I think the odds of the Mets being sold to the Dolans is quite high

What a disaster that would be. I have grown to care not at all about the Knicks under their special brand of mismanagement, unprofessionalism, and chaos. If the Wilpons do sell, I can only hope that their one last gift to the fans of the team is to sell to an owner other than the Dolans.

I have grown to care not at all about the Knicks under their special brand of mismanagement, unprofessionalism, and chaos.

To be fair, the Dolans are excellent, if idiosyncratic, businessmen. Larry Dolan (Charles's brother) has done a splendid job with the Indians. A Dolan purchase of the Mets would only be problematic if the Mets met the same fate as the Knicks: a plaything for black-sheep Jimmy Dolan to let him "learn management skills" and basically, pass the time.

I think Hank might buy the Mets...and move them to Portland.

Best news I've heard all year. I'm hoping for Mark Cuban.

Like Sam, I used to be a passionate Knicks fan, but I haven't watched even two minutes of a game they've played in the 2000s. In fact, the Dolans, ably assisted by Scott Layden and Isiah Thomas, haven't just destroyed my love of the team but of the entire sport, as I haven't been able to switch my allegiance to another franchise. I weep at the thought of the Dolans buying the Mets, and while I won't go so far as to say I'll be done with them after 40 years of fandom, it wouldn't shock me if that's how it plays out.

Also, her book on Madoff stinks. Much too soon to be able to write anything interesting on that cluster-####.

Have you actually read the book? I know the author's prediction is probably overly bold. But her book on Madoff is good and features a lot of solid reporting. (Disclosure: The author is a friend of mine.) If one wants to wait until 2012 for a book on Madoff there may be that option, but for the crop of current books I think this one is excellent.

Best news I've heard all year. I'm hoping for Mark Cuban.

Why do you guys want Cuban so bad? Have you seen some of the dysfunction he had with Nelson? If Nelson hadn't brought in Nowitzki, the Mavericks would have been a nothing team during Cuban's reign. He's the most overrated owner in sports. You're better off with some non-descript billionaire who will let his baseball people run the ship.

You're better off with some non-descript billionaire who will let his baseball people run the ship.

I'll take that too. I just want an owner who's willing to spend at the levels of the Yankees and Red Sox.

Given the year they've had, maybe the Gates Foundation would be willing to care for the Mets.

A Dolan purchase of the Mets would only be problematic if the Mets met the same fate as the Knicks: a plaything for black-sheep Jimmy Dolan to let him "learn management skills" and basically, pass the time.

Ah, Jimmy Dolan. The man who drove off Marv Friggin' Albert is not exactly the figure whom I would expect to satisfy Mets' fans desire to see the team do a better job than the Wilpons have done honoring the team's history.

But hey, the Dolans and Cablevision have had their knock-down, drag out fights with Fred Wilpon, too, so that makes me think they would do what they could to at least try to find an alternative buyer before turning in desperation there.

But hey, the Dolans and Cablevision have had their knock-down, drag out fights with Fred Wilpon, too, so that makes me think they would do what they could to at least try to find an alternative buyer before turning in desperation there.

The Dolans won't be allowed to by the team, they were the high bidder for the Sawx and Selig wouldn't let them have it, no way no how. Look at the Dolans' role in the NHL's overall financial situation (mess)- there is no way a majority of MLB owners would let them join the "club".

"The anonymous ownership group of "BTF Lassus" took another hit today in the Mets' postgame presser.

'Listen, don't talk to me about these idiots, I'm only working with what I have been given by the IMBECILES who run this freakin' circus. I only have so much power here, and if I want to take this team into the next year, I'm going to have to put Aaron in, even in blowouts. As far as Benny goes, as you may have noticed, the GM hasn't even given me a single other outfielder to replace him with. What the hell do you want me to do, put Haeger out there? Jesus Christ, I mean...'

Manager Chris Dial then punched the wall seven times and departed with what appeared to be compound fractures, screaming 'Get me the GM, I want to talk to Sam!'"

Look at the Dolans' role in the NHL's overall financial situation (mess)

What are you talking about? There's no mess - Gary Bettman has publicly stated that everything is wonderful in the NHL, and there's no reason at all to expect that half a dozen teams could go under over the next year. Surely you wouldn't call Gary Bettman a useless lying tool, would you?

Look at the Dolans' role in the NHL's overall financial situation (mess)- there is no way a majority of MLB owners would let them join the "club".

Don't be so sure. If the Wilpons are really in big trouble, and threatening to bring a cornerstone, big market franchise like the Mets down with them, then MLB and the other owners might not be in a position to be picky about a buyer. Protecting a current member of the club -- one who has been awfully loyal to Seligula, by the way -- and assuring him a soft landing in his time of trouble may just be a higher priority. If Fred can assure The Brethren that he has looked high and low for a suitable buyer, and that the Dolans are the only ones with deep enough pockets (so that the sale price doesn't depress the value of their franchises, mind you), then they just might hold their noses and let 'em in.

Manager Chris Dial then punched the wall seven times and departed with what appeared to be compound fractures, screaming 'Get me the GM, I want to talk to Sam!'"

Later, according to unnamed sources close to the GM, he refused to speak to Dial, but instead asked Assistant GM Adam Rubin to handle the situation.

Let the Wilpons sell the Mets so Fred can purchase the franchise he's really interested in...the Brooklyn Cyclones.

Manager Chris Dial then punched the wall seven times and departed with what appeared to be compound fractures, screaming 'Get me the GM, I want to talk to Sam!'"

I hope nobody suggests that the manager's intense use of HGH and nandrolone enhanced his ability to scream angrily and punch walls. There's simply no evidence to suggest that.

But, for that $120 million you could sit behind home plate at Yankee Stadium for, jeeze, 3 or 4 seasons, I imagine.

Or if you were particularly civic-minded, you could pay down about 40 minutes worth of national debt.

More good news: Surgery an option for Reyes.

More good news: Surgery an option for Reyes.

Do the Mets have enough money left to pay the doctor?

Do the Mets have enough money left to pay the doctor?

Sorry, no. It will be a death panel for Reyes.

I'll take that too. I just want an owner who's willing to spend at the levels of the Yankees and Red Sox.

You do realize the Mets' opening day payroll was $13M higher than that of the Red Sox, right? I know it's fun to hate on the Red Sox, because lord knows we have some obnoxious fans on board, but they are not "the other Yankees" or "Evil Empire II", at least when it comes to payroll. It's simply not true.

You do realize the Mets' opening day payroll was $13M higher than that of the Red Sox, right? I know it's fun to hate on the Red Sox, because lord knows we have some obnoxious fans on board, but they are not "the other Yankees" or "Evil Empire II", at least when it comes to payroll. It's simply not true.

It's undeniable- the Wilpons, especially pre-Madoff, were not cheap. It makes things worse, really, contemplating how bad things can get if they do stop spending money.

It's undeniable- the Wilpons, especially pre-Madoff, were not cheap. It makes things worse, really, contemplating how bad things can get if they do stop spending money.

An interesting question. How much worse can cheap and clueless be than just clueless?

It's undeniable- the Wilpons, especially pre-Madoff, were not cheap. It makes things worse, really, contemplating how bad things can get if they do stop spending money.

Yeah, don't get me wrong, the Wilpons are far from my idea of great ownership.

An interesting question. How much worse can cheap and clueless be than just clueless?

The Blue Jays will let you know after the 2010 season.

Sorry, no. It will be a death panel for Reyes.

Composition:

Wallace Matthews, Paul LoDuca, and Kazuo Matsui, with a special guest appearance by Jimmy Rollins

[57]No, they aren't cheap. Just ignorant.

Yes, they have (and have had) the highest payroll in the NL, but a lot of that stems from either stupidass contracts (Castillo, Ollie, Alou) or just plain silly ones (Julio Franco, Marlon, Easley, Cora).

[61] Hanley Ramirez presiding.

Jim Balsillie is going to buy the Mets and move them to Hamilton.

A few comments:

1) I've heard the book is excellent. Arvedlund is an excellent choice its author, since she looked into Madoff and questioned his returns almost ten years ago; it's not like she's a Janie-come-lately or anything.

2) I have heard that Wilpon is in a lot of trouble as well. It wouldn't surprise me at all if she's telling the truth (or at least making a well-educated guess).

In this article, Fred addresses the speculation. He:

1) Denies that the losses he and Sterling Equities suffered to Madoff were as high as $700M ... but refuses to disclose how high they were.

2) Denies that the team will be sold, because they are an "emotional asset" for him and the family.

3) Is backed up by DuPuy, who says essentially that the Mets' financial statements show that it is business as usual for the franchise. Of course, those statements show only the team's revenues and expenses, not the Wilpons' underlying financial situation.

As the article notes, because the team is privately held, nothing they say publicly can be verified. Only what happens this post-season will tell the tale.

1) Denies that the losses he and Sterling Equities suffered to Madoff were as high as $700M ... but refuses to disclose how high they were.

If you say "oh no it's not $700M" and then refuse to give a number, the best bet is it's approx. $690M.

Reporter: Did you lose $700 million in the Madoff Ponzi Scheme?
Wilpon: Absolutely not!

Reporter: Did you lose $699 million?
Wilpon: No comment!

It's in Wilpon's best interest to say everything is hunky dory, if only because admitting he's in financial trouble would drive down the sale price.

If Fred can assure The Brethren that he has looked high and low for a suitable buyer, and that the Dolans are the only ones with deep enough pockets (so that the sale price doesn't depress the value of their franchises, mind you), then they just might hold their noses and let 'em in.

When did the Dolans become the last rich people in America? Truly major sports franchises, like a New York baseball team, don't come on the market very often. If the Wilpons did put the Mets up for sale, there would be enough other bidders that neither the Wilpons nor MLB would not to settle for the Dolans. I also have to assume that the Wilpons would be loathe to sell to the Dolans because they hate them, because as far as I can tell, every single human being in the NY Metropolitan area either hates the Dolans, or don't know who they are.

The Mariners ownership proved in 2008 that a payroll around 100 million does not assure that you will field a winning team. Actual brains are required as well.