It’s had to believe that two of baseball’s biggest franchises are crippled so bad that they may miss payroll next week.
When the calendar hits May 31, it doesn’t look like Los Angeles Dodgers and the New York Mets will be able to pay their employees, forcing Major League Baseball to step in to write the checks.
This is an embarrassment for baseball, but an even bigger indictment of Commissioner Bud Selig and the way he has managed MLB.
We know about the Dodgers’ woes tied to the divorce of the Frank and Jamie McCourt. The bought the team on credit, mismanaged it horribly and are now involved in one of the messiest divorces in Southern California that could force the team to be sold by the court.
Their issues are rivaled by the moves of Mets owner Fred Wilpon , who invested more than $1 billion in the Bernie Madoff ponzi scheme and now face lawsuits aplenty. Wilpon’s craziness includes agreeing to long-term buyout of long-gone Mets star Bobby Bonilla, who is owed $1.2 million for 25 years instead of a simple $5.9 million parachute.
Even worse, Wilpon needs to raise $200 million fast to cover debt and operating expenses. Yeah, and I need someone to cover the Visa bill. Any takers?
The Mets haven’t received the same treatment from MLB as the Dodgers, who have all but been taken over by the league. All indications are they should be, considering the Mets are walking the same bankruptcy plank as the Dodgers. But Wilpon and the Mets have been given a longer board by Selig, who seems to think the New York franchise will pull out of this soon. Funny how neither have much financial hope.
Whatever ending happens for either franchise, these issues all go back to Selig. It’s good that he’s taken charge in Los Angeles, but he allowed the team to be bought in 2004 without a credit check just because Fox Sports wanted out. And his administration has let the Mets woes go on too long as the Madoff situation has festered for years with Wilpon’s name attached it.
This is the same commissioner doesn’t want NBA owner Mark Cuban as part of its club.
For too long Selig has wanted owners who would let him steer the ship and not rock the boat. But it’s hard to use the wheel when MLB teams in the country’s biggest markets are taking on water. Let’s hope Selig packed enough life preservers for these two franchises before he bails next year.
Until then, which one misses payroll first next week?
Report: New York Mets ‘bleeding cash’ [ESPN]
