Wilpon: Mets "bleeding cash" according to SI report

Fred Wilpon likes to divulge himself to the press, doesn't he?

A day after a report in the New Yorker magazine revealed that Wilpon thinks very little about his baseball team, Tom Verducci of Sport Illustrated has revealed new insights in the Wilpon/Bernie Madoff fiasco.

According to Verducci, Wilpon says that the fledging franchise is "bleeding cash" and stands to lose up to $70 million this season alone. The Mets are already up for more than $600 million in debt over operating costs of the franchise, Citi Field and SNY, plus a $1 billion lawsuit from Bernie Madoff trustee Irving Pichard.

Here is an exerpt from Verducci's story: "Though the Mets will have about $64 million in salaries coming off the books after this season (from a $142 million total), they will not put much, if any, of that money back into the major league payroll. The Mets essentially have forfeited the resource advantages of playing in the country's biggest market with a new ballpark and their own regional television network, SNY, which they launched in 2006. Attendance is down 10% from last year, when they were off 1.5 million paid customers from 2008, their final year at Shea Stadium. Coming off two straight losing seasons, and one postseason appearance in the past decade, they were 22--24 at week's end, in fourth place. They are so poorly run that they are paying $22 million to players who no longer play for them."

Read Sports Illustrated story on the Wilpon's!

It is believed that Wilpon could be forced to sell if the losses continue to mount!

In the New York Post this morning, news broke that the Mets could be close to finding a new owner.

The team is close to finalizing a deal with commodities honcho Ray Bartoszek and investor Anthony Lanza, who will pay $200 million for a 49 % minority stake in the franchise. "One of the sticking points, sources said, is whether the bidders will be allowed to purchase a small piece of SportsNet New York," (New York Post).

Bartoszek is believed to be a lifelong Mets fan, however nobody knows what kind of managerial experience the guy has. All we know is that he is a big time investment trader on Wall Street.

Read the story.

The Mets clearly need new ownership -- someone who wants to respect the history and tradition of the Mets name and its players. Wilpon has disgraced this franchise for far too long. It is unknown when, or if this deal with Bartoszek will be finalized. The Post believes it could be announced very soon.