Oy vey. Here we go again!
The New York Times is reporting that in November Major League Baseball lent the Mets/Wilpons a sum of $25 million (the Daily News is reporting $20M, I don’t see much of a difference though). Word is that the Wilpons and the Mets had low liquidity (liquidity means how much cash the team have access to in the short-term) and needed the loan in order to function properly. Supposedly it will be paid off within a few months by the Wilpons.
This further highlights the financial distress of the team and specifically the Wilpons as they’re about to embark on a major lawsuit. The last time the MLB lent out this kind of cash to a team was the Rangers, only a year ago. They were in the midst of bankruptcy and the team now has new ownership. However, I won’t go into more detail, as you can all read the article yourselves.
D’oh.
41 comments
Prismo
2/25/2011-6:25pm at 6:25 pm (UTC -4)
It never ends. It never ends. It never ends. It never ends. It never ends. It never ends. It never ends. It never ends. It never ends. It never ends. It never ends. It never ends. It never ends. It never ends. It never ends. It never ends. It never ends. It never ends. It never ends. It never ends. It never ends. It never ends. It never ends. It never ends. It never ends. It never ends.
*hurl*
kingman 26
2/25/2011-6:27pm at 6:27 pm (UTC -4)
Hmmmm, I would say that it never ends.
Prismo
2/25/2011-6:28pm at 6:28 pm (UTC -4)
Wise words as always Kingman.
Are people still saying the Mets/Wilpons don’t have financial issues? lol…
kingman 26
2/25/2011-7:58pm at 7:58 pm (UTC -4)
Thank you wise young ‘un
Bryan
2/25/2011-6:28pm at 6:28 pm (UTC -4)
Great choice of picture, btw.
Prismo
2/25/2011-6:40pm at 6:40 pm (UTC -4)
Thanks Bryan! I think even Homer could make better business decisions than the Wilpons.
Mr North Jersey
2/25/2011-6:29pm at 6:29 pm (UTC -4)
Good post but in my opinion the bigger story will be if they can’t pay it back.
Prismo
2/25/2011-6:32pm at 6:32 pm (UTC -4)
If the organization was run correctly there’s no need for it to be borrowed in the first place. The Mets are in one of the top baseball markets and from all accounts SNY is making a ton of money. The Wilpons should be swimming in money from the Mets (obviously not from their other assets), but instead the team’s in debt and needs to borrow money.
This says SO much.
Mr North Jersey
2/25/2011-6:35pm at 6:35 pm (UTC -4)
I agree but if they pay it back it really doesn’t mean much in my opinion.
Prismo
2/25/2011-6:38pm at 6:38 pm (UTC -4)
I understand NJ, but I just think overall this says how poorly the organization has been run for years. We need change!
Mr North Jersey
2/25/2011-6:44pm at 6:44 pm (UTC -4)
Again I agree with what your saying overall. Now as far as me advocating we need change I won’t go that far but I have no problem with you feeling change is needed.
Prismo
2/25/2011-6:43pm at 6:43 pm (UTC -4)
Also, just to stress how STUPID the Wilpons are, take a look at the team’s statement.
“We said in October that we expected to have a short-term liquidity issue. To address this, we did receive a loan from Major League Baseball in November. Beyond that, we will not discuss the matter any further.”
A short-term liquidity issue? All liquidity is short-term, that’s the freaking meaning of the word. If you don’t even know what liquidity is, how can you keep it under control?
kingman 26
2/25/2011-7:58pm at 7:58 pm (UTC -4)
I think they are not stupid; they are pathologically dishonest.
Now how bout them NETS?!?!?!
Mr North Jersey
2/25/2011-8:03pm at 8:03 pm (UTC -4)
I’d have to disagree with that statement at this time.
Now how about those Knicks?
hazmet
2/25/2011-8:07pm at 8:07 pm (UTC -4)
Too bad Billups is on the bench with 2 fouls for the past 10 minutes. grrrr.. Love Billups in the trade, have alway’s had huge admiration for Mr. Big Shot.
saltygary
2/25/2011-7:13pm at 7:13 pm (UTC -4)
DAMMIT. ill try and take the Wilpons side one this for once. They can’t communicate this without harming ticket sales, team moral, and fan interest. This is their business, its private, so they have no obligation to tell us.
Now that I know I am so thankfull I am alone in a airport hotel bar. Serinity now.
saltygary
2/25/2011-7:17pm at 7:17 pm (UTC -4)
I really want different owners. I get the whole devil you know crap but these guys are just a bunch of clowns. Our team should be subjected to a hugh of rich guys with their heads up their patoot’s.
saltygary
2/25/2011-7:18pm at 7:18 pm (UTC -4)
I swear its my phones auto correct and not the beer I swear.
metsfan4decades
2/25/2011-9:25pm at 9:25 pm (UTC -4)
LOL….sure it is, Salty….sure it is.
Hope your plane took off by now….
saltygary
2/25/2011-10:07pm at 10:07 pm (UTC -4)
metsfan4decades
2/25/2011-10:22pm at 10:22 pm (UTC -4)
I hear you. I did about a dozen trips a year for work for over 10 years. I finally said enough…getting too old for the constant delays, canceled flights, bumped seat, lost baggage, crappy hotels, etc.
9/11 was the turning point for me. Flying after that just became a nightmare, especially the two years after that.
Thankfully now, due to a couple of reasons, I haven’t had to travel anywhere for going on 4 years now.
hazmet
2/25/2011-10:35pm at 10:35 pm (UTC -4)
I’ve worked for Parker Hannifin Aerospace and let me tell you nothing spells fun like flying with the guys that design alot of the stuff going into aircraft and make service calls on the aircraft. To be happily flying along, hear a random noise, and the guy next to you saying “oops we just lost cabin pressure and it’s because part xyz did this. He’s going to take it down to altitude blah blah blah and do this that and the other thing.” And then have the pilot do exactly that thing. It sucks knowing, I hate flying. It’s best to be blissfully unaware.
stickguy
2/25/2011-11:03pm at 11:03 pm (UTC -4)
I don’t worry when flying. i consider it being like a met fan.
while I have a vested interested in the outcome, I can’t do anything to control it, so I am just along for the ride!
rustyjr
2/25/2011-7:18pm at 7:18 pm (UTC -4)
To quote my favorite philosipher Homer – D’OH !!!!
hazmet
2/25/2011-8:10pm at 8:10 pm (UTC -4)
So the race is on, which happens first:
a) the Wilpon’s are vindicated, or
b) the payback on this loan is complete
“Everytime I think I’m out, they pull me back in” WTF, WTF, WTF!!!
I’m so disgusted. I’m done, I’ve tried to see there side, tried to get behind them, but just give me Mark Cuban and get it over with.
stickguy
2/25/2011-9:15pm at 9:15 pm (UTC -4)
or C), they get the 25-49% sold for an infusion of cash that they seem to definitely need at this point.
metsfan4decades
2/25/2011-9:28pm at 9:28 pm (UTC -4)
Which is exactly what I think will happen.
Does anyone think the Wilpons are relinquishing control and going down without a fight? I just don’t see it right now, from all I’ve been reading.
What I fear will happen is poor Fred winds up having heart failure over this whole thing and Jeff does something incredibly stupid…..
stickguy
2/25/2011-9:54pm at 9:54 pm (UTC -4)
like I said at the beginning, they may want a 25% sale, but it may not be up to them.
if they only get full sale offers, there cash needs significantly increase, of they get a “godfather” offer, they may end up selling 50%+
stickguy
2/25/2011-9:25pm at 9:25 pm (UTC -4)
just when I thought we were past this for a while, they pull you back in.
I guess though they weren’t lying when they said they need to get some cash.
still entirely possible that the end result of the marketing plan is that the viable offer ends up being a full sale. or maybe they get the minority stake sold finally. who the hell really knows.
not encouraging though if they are going down this path. certainly does mean that the concept of selling shares was not a “just in case, better be prepared” and more of a “crap, we need money, bad”
metsfan4decades
2/25/2011-9:38pm at 9:38 pm (UTC -4)
On a side note, I just got a brandy new Droid as a gift this evening. This…for someone who has virtually never used a cell phone, let alone text message, never mind accessing the internet on a smart phone.
I’ve spent over 4 hours trying to figure out how to get here on it. I literally couldn’t get much past the home screen, let alone the internet. The battery finally died so I’m charging it. And now I’m out here looking for a download of the owners manual so I can get a clue. When did they stop providing manuals with new technology? Damn those trees – lol.
You know it is true that you cannot teach an old dog new tricks……
stickguy
2/25/2011-9:52pm at 9:52 pm (UTC -4)
mine came with a manual. must be a different brand.
One thing with the phones is that some sites, including this one, don’t really work that well. many sites have a mobile version (streamlined) that work much better. MMO I know is like that.
Unless I missed it, RDMB doesn’t have that. I do sometimes access it over the phone, but doing comments is a little awkward.
saltygary
2/25/2011-10:00pm at 10:00 pm (UTC -4)
The prior RDM site had a mobil version that worked well except if replies were 5 deep and then they were truncated and completely fell off the screen.
I switched from a iphone to a droid x a couple months ago and it can be a little difficult to post comments on this site and it’s very hard to review/edit comments or emails before submitting.
metsfan4decades
2/25/2011-10:15pm at 10:15 pm (UTC -4)
Thanks, guys. Appreciate the tips.
As this is my first smartphone – never owning an iphone, I guess I won’t miss what I don’t have, can’t do – basically won’t have a basis of comparison.
I did spend some hours a couple of months ago researching the pros and cons of the Droid vs. Iphone. Basically from what I read, it said if your technology challenged, go with the Iphone. If you’re tech savy, the Droid was better and offered more.
I just found the user manual online, available to download.
My brain hurts….
saltygary
2/25/2011-10:26pm at 10:26 pm (UTC -4)
Just don’t feel like you need to be a power user in a week. Just be patient because there is a lot to these things are like little computers now its pretty amazing. I love my droid, I don’t miss my iphone at all.
TRS86
2/25/2011-10:39pm at 10:39 pm (UTC -4)
Actually it’s a completely different theme for mobile. This theme does not function on a mobile device so it switches to an all black theme (at least on my phone, lol).
stickguy
2/25/2011-9:46pm at 9:46 pm (UTC -4)
actually, if you look at this big picture, Madoff is actually not the problem (in terms of why they have a liquidity issue). team revenue is.
Remember, they got this baby leveraged to the hilt. and I am sure that their budget projections assumed a certainly level of revenue (as in, selling a bunch of tickets and having a lot of asses in the seats of their fancy new stadium).
well, seems that last year, sales were way down, and many of the tickets were never used. so the no shows did not pay for overpaid parking and food and beer. hence, a bit of a cash crisis.
In some ways, it is like buying a house you can only afford if you get lots of OT at work, then things get slow and you lose hours and can’t coverage the mortgage.
Where the madoffs come in? well, that is the emergency savings they would normally have dipped into, that no longer exists!
long way around to say it, but madoff did not cause the liquidity crisis, just the need to borrow money from MLB.
and what this does point out is that all the people that say the mets are in NY so them make enough money to jack up payroll, are wrong!
saltygary
2/25/2011-10:05pm at 10:05 pm (UTC -4)
Didn’t sound like emergency savings at all, they had the business tied into Madoff. Your right in a way it’s not just Madoff, its a combination of things.
Cost of building a new stadium, payroll, lower than projected revenue, Madoff all contributed to the mess. And this is just we know of. I think we know by now, especially after tonights news, there is another skeliton in the closet.
stickguy
2/25/2011-10:10pm at 10:10 pm (UTC -4)
emergency savings was part of the analogy. In their case, that would have been the reasonably liquid assets they could dip into to make up for a cash flow shortage.
it seems that they are effectively like many americans, with nothing in the bank, living paycheck to paycheck and by running up credit card balances. except their job cut back on them!
saltygary
2/25/2011-10:22pm at 10:22 pm (UTC -4)
Decided to buy that 4 bedroom house and were above eating kraft mac n cheese so they charged the sushii. Unfortunately their selfisness is now affecting the fanbase.
Bat to sound selfish myself but as fans we deserve to have this issue resolved by the end of the season.
metsfan4decades
2/25/2011-10:29pm at 10:29 pm (UTC -4)
Just read the article and some others on this.
Seems like every couple of weeks something else leaks out. I’m at the point where I wish it would all just come out, whatever the worst might be. Better waiting for the other shoe to drop.
And correct me if I’m wrong but wasn’t it implied that Selig went ahead and made that load ‘in secret’ and only informed ‘MLB’ last month? That doesn’t sound exactly on the up and up either.
I’m not even sure now that a winning season will save the franchise for the Wilpons. As said over and over, MLB will never let the Mets drown but new owners seems more and more like a very real possibility. I truly don’t know how the Rangers managed to get to the WS in bankruptcy, how/who makes the decisions, etc. but I’m willing to bet whatever it took to keep them afloat until the end of the season and the sale went through, it would probably be worse doing that in NY for the Mets.
stickguy
2/25/2011-11:07pm at 11:07 pm (UTC -4)
just proves that during the grind of a season, the players really don’t pay attention to owner/team stuff. They know the checks are getting covered.
and the real way they made the WS was by having a strong farm, and prospects to spare, so that they could pick up players at the deadline (like Lee) without having to take on salary (since they couldn’t) by overpaying in talent instead.