Via: MetsBlog.com
Pre-requisites to be a Mets blogger
Feb 3, 2011 By Leave a Comment
To be a Mets blogger you obviously have to have a lot of passion for the Mets. But who knew over the last 2 years it’d be required of you to be Pre-Med and have a degree in finance?
Madoff lawsuit to be unsealed
Feb 3, 2011 By 1 Comment
It’s being reported that the lawyers for the Wilpons have issued a motion today saying they “agree the complaint should be unsealed immediately.”
This means that we should get a good idea exactly what is going on very soon, ESPN-NY even reporting possibly tomorrow.
A spokesman for Judge Burton Lifland of the U.S. Bankruptcy Court Southern District of Manhattan said the contents of the lawsuit could be released Friday. A hearing on the Mets objection had been scheduled for Feb. 9.
Stay tuned Mets fans, this could get very interesting in the next few days. This could lift a large burden off the Mets fans, or it could be just the train wreck everyone has been worried about.
NYT: Madoff involvement in Mets finances “pervasive”
Feb 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment
As people continue to dig this thing just keeps getting uglier. One thing we know for absolute certainty is that the Wilpons can not be believed at all, having already been caught in several non-truths. As the New York Times reports today, Bernie Madoffs involvement with the Mets finances was “pervasive.” This isn’t some snarky blogger ranting away, it’s the New York Times, and their prognosis does not paint a happy picture.
When the Mets negotiated their larger contracts with star players — complex deals with signing bonuses and performance incentives — they sometimes adopted the strategy of placing deferred money owed the players with Mr. Madoff’s investment firm. They would have to pay the player, but the owners of the club would be able to make money for themselves in the meantime. There never seemed to be much doubt about that,
Wow. It seems that Madoff was part of the Mets business plan. They basically said “Ok we have to play PlayerX 50 million over the next 10 years, lets give that cash to Ole’Bernie and let him do his ‘magic’ and he’ll return us $75 million and we will make money on that players salary, LOL, ROFLMAO, this high finance is easy peasy!”
If one name doesn’t jump out at you right now I am shocked. Does Bobby Bonilla ring any bells? A year ago we were all laughing about how Bobby Bo was back on the Mets salary books. Having deferred a large part of his salary, choosing to instead be paid $1.1 million yearly installments over the next 25 years. People had good fun with this, until people poppedu p with some dazzling numbers and showed that it wasn’t a bad move by the Wilpons and it actually made them money. I am starting to wonder if that is still true. Seems to me this is the exact type of thing that they apparently used Madoff Magic for. Taking that $30 million they would owe Bonilla and giving it to Madoff. Since they were basically guaranteed 15% returns, at the end of the 25 years the Mets would have virtually at least tripled that initial principle, in essence using a “loan” from Bonilla to make profits.
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Wilpons: Ponzi scheme escape artists
Jan 31, 2011 By 2 Comments
Like always when you start to dig around the Mets, things start to stink. An interesting article in the New York Times today outlines that the Madoff Ponzi Scheme may not have been the first illegal investing scheme that the Wilpons escaped with a profit.
Their survival of the previous scheme was so concerning that they settled out of court with the victims of the Samuel Israel III Bayou ponzi scheme.
But for the owners, Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz, it is not the first time they have had their names and personal fortunes roughed up in a Ponzi scheme. An investment firm started by the two men had to pay back nearly $13 million two years ago when a hedge fund run by the scion of a wealthy New Orleans family collapsed in what was then regarded as one of Wall Street’s more brazen frauds.
It seems the common thread in the two scandals is the fact that it’s felt the Wilpons at the least should have known something wasn’t right. It sure seems that they did considering they were able to withdraw their money just in time before the funds collapsed.
According to two lawyers involved in the case against the Mets, the trustee, Irving H. Picard, argued in a lawsuit filed in December that the history of Wilpon and Katz’s dealings with Madoff meant they knew or should have known it might be a scheme, and that, as a result, other victims were entitled to hundreds of millions of dollars above and beyond what Sterling Stamos might have made as profits. “Some of the legal principles adopted in Bayou are the same ones that the trustee is applying,” said Richard Kirby, the lead lawyer for the creditors committee in the Bayou case.
At the very least this is NOT looking good for the Wilpon family. Even if they are not criminally liable for any of their actions, it sure seems as though this trustee is after large sums of money from them. All the money aside this has already been a huge embarrassment for the family name and from the looks of it continue to get worse.
The Wilpons and Madoff had business dealings going back and forth for a long time. Madoffs wife was invested in several ventures by Wilpon owned companies. This tangle of investments will make it very hard to settle and is the reason many think the Madoff trustee could be targeting up to a billion dollars in a lawsuit directed at the Wilpons.
Let’s just hope that in this case the old saying of “where there is smoke there is fire” proves to be false.
Best reactions to Wilpons seeking partners
Jan 28, 2011 By Leave a Comment
A couple of the best Twitter reactions in the minutes following the Wilpons announcement that they would be seeking a “limited partner” to fill their cash coffers.
Our personal favorite goes to Mike Vacarro (@MikeVacc)
The Madoff Money Trail
Jan 28, 2011 By 1 Comment
I am not trying to pretend I understand what the hell went on between the Wilpons and the Maddoffs, or between Bernie and anyone for that matter. Just that since the announcement that the Wilpons are selling a portion of the team there has been a lot of confusion as to how the Wilpons lost money and more precisely how much.
There are tons of different reports out there even before all this “limited partner” stuff came about today. I will simply work with the most popular figures as an attempt to demonstrate the most likely scenario. Again I have no idea how accurate any of this is, and in fact I assume it’s all wrong. This is just how I understand it as happening. Feel free to correct me via the comments.
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Reaction: Wilpons selling share of Mets
Jan 28, 2011 By 1 Comment
The Mets just released a Press Release stating that they are exploring the idea of taking on a “strategic partner.”
Of course people are going nuts over this either elated thinking the Wilpons will soon be gone, or crushed thinking the sky is falling and the Mets will start cutting payroll.
My initial reaction to this is that this can’t be good. An ownership group that has many times stated that the Mets are the status icon for the Wilpons family can not be happy about selling any piece of it.
It tells me two things for certain:
- The Wilpons are hurting. They took a bigger hit through the Maddoff fiasco and are now bracing for more in the suite by the trustee of the Maddoff victims.
- The Mets aren’t making enough money. No surprise when you consider the new stadium and all it’s financing plus the horrible stink around the Mets on the field and in the empty seats.
This could end up being good for the Mets franchise. It could bring in some deep pockets, but not only that, it will give the Wilpons someone to answer to. No longer could it be run as a family toy.
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BA: Mets Prospect Rankings
Jan 27, 2011 By 2 Comments
Adam Rubin over at ESPN-NY posted a list published in Baseball America. No real big surprises, it falls out about how I would have expected it. Always interesting to see where F-Mart winds up on these lists. Such a shame the kid is made of glass.
Keep in mind obviously that Ike Davis and Josh Thole aren’t on this list, now playing everyday at first and behind the plate respectively.
1-Jenrry Mejia, RHP
2-Wilmer Flores, SS
3-Cesar Puello, OF
4-Matt Harvey, RHP
5-Kirk Nieuwenhuis, OF
6-Reese Havens, 2B
7-Lucas Duda, OF/1B
8-Fernando Martinez, OF
9-Aderlin Rodriguez, 3B
10-Brad Holt, RHP
11-Juan Urbina, LHP
12-Robert Carson, LHP
13-Jeurys Familia, RHP
14-Darrell Ceciliani, OF
15-Cory Vaughn, OF
16-Dillon Gee, RHP
17-Erik Goeddel, RHP
18-Steve Matz, LHP
19-Zach Lutz, 3B
20-Robbie Shields, SS
21-Brad Emaus, 2B/3B
22-Mark Cohoon, LHP
23-Matt den Dekker, OF
24-Armando Rodriguez, RHP
25-Jordany Valdespin, 2B/SS
26-Jefry Marte, 3B
27-Kyle Allen, RHP
28-Manny Alvarez, RHP
29-Blake Forsythe, C
30-Pedro Beato, RHP
31-Jim Fuller, LHP
Ike Davis on making room for Pujols
Jan 20, 2011 By Leave a Comment
Wont happen. Never. No way. Now that that’s understood this quote about Ike Davis brings the funnies. It shows why I really like Ike and think he has a good head on his shoulders.
