Einhorn gets sweet deal in Mets purchase

This is a very strange story, but it really speaks to the desperate situation Mets Primary owner Fred Wilpon is in. Essentially he just gave away 33% of his baseball team for free. Read that again a third of the Mets were given away for what could amount to no money. Wilpon has to survive the short term, much like the situation in Los Angeles; Wilpon is trying to stay above water by any means necessary. That is not a good thing for the Mets, for baseball, or the fans.

So here is the deal Wilpon “sold” 33% of the Mets to David Einhorn. However, when we look at the terms of the deal like Hardbaltalk.com did we see that in three years Einhorn has an option to buy 60% of the team and become its primary owner. The Wilpon Family has the right of first refusal on that option and would then give Einhorn his 200 million back, but he keeps his 33% stake in the team.

This makes me very nervous. I also think MLB needs to take a closer look at this because it cannot afford to have the Mets sink into a situation like what is going on with the New York Knicks or Rangers of the NBA and NHL respectively. They are a proud team with a nice history and MLB needs to insure that aura remains intact.

I see a guy, in Wilpon, at the end of his rope doing whatever he can to stave off execution for one more day. He has already proven he has poor judgment in terms of business partners, and now it looks like he is making just silly moves to keep himself in control for one more day. Maybe it is time for MLB to step in and stop the madness.

Related Links:

• New York Mets news and notes
• Joshua Lobdell.com