The Mets and the WilponsOver the years I've been a critic of the Wilpon family's mishandling of the Mets. For that reason, I feel compelled for offer a defense of the Wilpons now.
First, Fred Wilpon's quotes in the latest issue of New Yorker were fine with me. The media outrage is just meant for sensationalist purposes, nothing more.
Second, the allegations against Wilpon and his business partners relating to the Madoff scandal are baseless. Wilpon is indeed a victim of an overzealous trustee, whose law firm stands to make hundreds of millions of dollars in legal fees.
Yet while I sympathize with the Wilpons, it is now time for them to sell the Mets - and not just a minority interest in the team.
Ownership of a major league baseball team is for the very rich. I am a Mets fan and would also like to own the team, but I cannot afford to. Nor can the Wilpons. While they are still wealthy by most standards, the Wilpons are dealing with very serious financial issues that have virtually eliminated their liquidity, as a result of which they cannot add payroll to make the Mets competitive.
The only solution for the Wilpons and for the Mets is new ownership.
posted on 5/24/2011
