Billionaire looking to buy Mets at Fire Sale price.

If you don't include the Cable Network you own that is a money maker along with the team you are selling which loses money, you might be lucky to get 1.6 billion dollars. Maybe the Wilpons will realize to stop being so greedy when they start seeing basically a billion plus dollars go away.

From the NY POST

The latest billionaire bidder for the Mets might actually be more of a bargain shopper.

According to multiple sources familiar with the situation, biotech investor Wayne Rothbaum is still interested in buying the money-losing MLB franchise from the Wilpons, but without the team’s money-making cable network SNY included, Rothbaum would only pony up at an amazin’ discount.

“I think he likes the idea of $1 billion,” one source told The Post. “It’s a round number and the Wilpons are not holding any cards without SNY.”

If Rothbaum is indeed looking at a number as low as $1 billion, that is a bad sign for Fred and Jeff Wilpon, who scuttled a $2.6 billion deal with hedge funder Steve Cohen for their majority share of the Mets without SNY back in February. Since that pact imploded, COVID-19 has upended the global economy and put the MLB season at risk, making it likely that the Wilpons could lose as much as $150 million if the team plays only half a season in the end stages of a virus pandemic.

Recent valuations peg the Mets without SNY at $1.6 billion.

Read more here.

Mets finally make a statement about refunds or credit towards games not paid.(It's not a refund oh wait, It could be if you read all the way to the bottom of the email.)

I don't know... I for one am glad even more so that I got rid of my 1/2 season plan. At least they are trying to give a 20 percent bonus credit that I am sure will have a ton of restrictions on it when it goes into effect.

Pulled this up from the bottom of the email. You can get a refund it seems but they put this all the way down at the end.

Additional Information

Fans with paid individual or group tickets for impacted games looking to utilize credit for 2021 regular season home games can begin applying their credit when 2021 tickets go on-sale. A 2021 ticket on-sale date will be communicated at a later date.

Fans seeking a refund instead of a credit for tickets to impacted games originally scheduled from March 26 through the end of April can submit an online request via their My Mets Tickets account beginning on Thursday, May 7 at 10 a.m. All ticket refunds will result in the forfeiture of bonus credit and priority ticket access.

Those who have purchased tickets from any other party, besides the Mets, should contact that party directly to determine their policies.

Bonus credit and priority ticket access does not apply to certain ineligible accounts.

Ticket policies are subject to revision, and should circumstances or policies change further, the Mets will provide further information at that time.

We recognize that our fans have questions. However, given the unprecedented nature and fluidity of what is taking place, we appreciate your patience as we work through the many aspects and details of this continually evolving situation.

When updated official information becomes available, the Mets will communicate it to their fans promptly and through a variety of channels, including our website at mets.com and mets.com/2020updates.

We thank you for your understanding as we collectively navigate through this challenging time, and we wish good health and safety to all the members of our extended Mets Family.

Impacted Games

At this time, the following 2020 Mets regular season home games are considered impacted and the below ticket information addresses these games:

• Thursday March 26, 2020: Washington Nationals @ 1:10 p.m.
• Saturday March 28, 2020: Washington Nationals @ 4:05 p.m.
• Sunday March 29, 2020: Washington Nationals @ 1:10 p.m.
• Monday March 30, 2020: Philadelphia Phillies @ 7:10 p.m.
• Tuesday March 31, 2020: Philadelphia Phillies @ 7:10 p.m.
• Wednesday April 1, 2020: Philadelphia Phillies @ 1:10 p.m.
• Monday April 13, 2020: Atlanta Braves @ 7:10 p.m.
• Tuesday April 14, 2020: Atlanta Braves @ 7:10 p.m.
• Wednesday April 15, 2020: Atlanta Braves @ 7:10 p.m.
• Thursday April 16, 2020: Atlanta Braves @ 7:10 p.m.
• Friday April 17, 2020: Milwaukee Brewers @ 7:10 p.m.
• Saturday April 18, 2020: Milwaukee Brewers @ 7:10 p.m.
• Sunday April 19, 2020: Milwaukee Brewers @ 7:09 p.m.
• Tuesday April 21, 2020: Miami Marlins @ 7:10 p.m.
• Wednesday April 22, 2020: Miami Marlins @ 7:10 p.m.
• Thursday April 23, 2020: Miami Marlins @ 7:10 p.m.

Mets Season Ticket Holders (including Partial Plan Holders)

Mets Season Ticket Holders (including Partial Plan Holders) with tickets for impacted games originally scheduled from March 26 through the end of April will receive credit for all payments made towards these games in their 2020 Season Ticket package. Credit is valid towards the following:

• 2021 Season Ticket package
• Group and individual tickets to 2020 and 2021 ticketed regular season home games at Citi Field, subject to availability (Blackout dates may apply)
• 2020 and 2021 regular season Prepaid Parking at Citi Field
• 2020 and 2021 Concessions at Citi Field (Restrictions may apply)

Additionally, all season ticket accounts will receive bonus credit equal to 20% of their 2020 season ticket payments for impacted games with a maximum bonus credit of $15,000 per account. Bonus credit is valid for the following:

• Upgrade 2021 Season Ticket package or location
• Group and individual tickets to 2020 and 2021 ticketed regular season home games at Citi Field, subject to availability (Blackout dates may apply)
• 2020 and 2021 regular season Prepaid Parking at Citi Field
• 2020 and 2021 Concessions at Citi Field (Restrictions may apply)

Bonus credit has no cash value and expires at the conclusion of the 2021 regular season.

Information on how to access and utilize bonus credit will be communicated to all Season Ticket Holders at a later date.

2020 Group Ticket Purchasers

Group ticket purchasers for any impacted games originally scheduled from March 26 through the end of April will receive credit for all payments made towards these games. Credit is valid towards the following:

• Tickets to 2020 or 2021 ticketed regular season home games at Citi Field, subject to availability (Blackout dates may apply)

Group purchasers with tickets to Opening Day originally scheduled for Thursday, March 26 at Citi Field will receive priority access to group tickets for the first ticketed 2020 regular season home game at Citi Field or 2021 Opening Day at Citi Field, subject to availability.

Additionally, group purchasers will receive bonus credit equal to 10% of their payment(s) for impacted games with a maximum bonus credit of $15,000 per account. Bonus credit is valid towards the following:

• Tickets to 2020 or 2021 ticketed regular season home games at Citi Field, subject to availability (Blackout dates may apply)

Bonus credit has no cash value and expires at the conclusion of the 2021 regular season.

2020 Individual Game Tickets purchased via mets.com or 718-507-TIXX

Fans with paid individual game tickets purchased via mets.com or 718-507-TIXX for any impacted games originally scheduled from March 26 through the end of April will receive credit for all payments made towards these games. Credit is valid towards the following:

• Tickets to 2020 or 2021 ticketed regular season home games at Citi Field, subject to availability (Blackout dates may apply)

Fans with paid individual game tickets to Opening Day originally scheduled for Thursday, March 26 at Citi Field will receive priority access to individual tickets for the first ticketed 2020 regular season home game at Citi Field or 2021 Opening Day at Citi Field, subject to availability.

Additionally, individual game ticket purchasers will receive bonus credit equal to 10% of their payment(s) for impacted games with a maximum bonus credit of $15,000 per account. Bonus credit is valid for the following:

• Tickets to 2020 or 2021 ticketed regular season home games at Citi Field, subject to availability (Blackout dates may apply)

Bonus credit has no cash value and expires at the conclusion of the 2021 regular season.

Credit can be consumed via fans’ My Mets Tickets account beginning on Thursday, May 7, 2020 at 10 a.m.

2020 Individual Game Tickets purchased at the Citi Field Box Office

Fans with paid individual games tickets purchased at the Citi Field Box Office for any impacted games originally scheduled from March 26 through the end of April can exchange those tickets at the Citi Field Box Office towards any 2020 or 2021 ticketed regular season home game at Citi Field, subject to availability (Blackout dates may apply), once normal business hours resume.

For exchanges, a 10% bonus credit can be utilized at the time of exchange only, subject to availability (Blackout dates may apply).

Bonus credit has no cash value and expires at the conclusion of the 2021 regular season.

2020 Complimentary Ticket Holders

Fans with complimentary tickets, claimed via a Ticket Voucher Redemption Program, for any impacted games originally scheduled from March 26 through the end of April will be credited with a Ticket Voucher that can be used for eligible 2020 or 2021 ticketed regular season home games at Citi Field, subject to availability (Blackout dates will apply).

Fans with unused vouchers should retain their voucher codes and can utilize them for eligible 2020 or 2021 ticketed regular season home games, subject to availability (Blackout dates will apply).

Voucher redemption for remaining eligible 2020 regular season home games can be done via fans’ My Mets Ticketsaccount beginning on Thursday, May 7 at 10 a.m. Voucher redemption for eligible 2021 regular season home games will be announced at a later date.

All other complimentary tickets and those marked “NO RAINCHECK” have no value and are not eligible for credit or exchange.

Additional Information

Fans with paid individual or group tickets for impacted games looking to utilize credit for 2021 regular season home games can begin applying their credit when 2021 tickets go on-sale. A 2021 ticket on-sale date will be communicated at a later date.

Fans seeking a refund instead of a credit for tickets to impacted games originally scheduled from March 26 through the end of April can submit an online request via their My Mets Tickets account beginning on Thursday, May 7 at 10 a.m. All ticket refunds will result in the forfeiture of bonus credit and priority ticket access.

Those who have purchased tickets from any other party, besides the Mets, should contact that party directly to determine their policies.

Bonus credit and priority ticket access does not apply to certain ineligible accounts.

Ticket policies are subject to revision, and should circumstances or policies change further, the Mets will provide further information at that time.

You can keep up i guess here

A "non statement" statement from the Mets about ticket policies.

Statement from the Mets: “We are still evaluating and working through our ticket policy details and will reveal as soon as they are complete.”

— Mike Puma (@NYPost_Mets) April 29, 2020

I bet they just roll it over to next season.

Todd Hundley at @QBConvention 2018

Figured I would just put up some old videos.

ICYMI: Ed Kranepool Panel from @QBConvention 2019

Figured you might be missing some baseball and I would put some videos out from past QBCs

Is Major League Baseball going to offer refunds soon?

Fans are starting to wonder when or if they are going to get their money back from baseball games that haven't been played this season. It's funny how this new policy below that popped up after the lawsuit materialized. It also is going to be a riot when folks are offered credits to 2021 and not cash back from the teams.

From Yahoo,

MLB ticket holders wondering what’s to become of their tickets to games canceled because of the coronavirus pandemic could soon have an answer.

Refunds may be on the way.

Yahoo Sports’ Hannah Keyser confirmed on Tuesday that MLB is giving teams the green light to start rolling out their own individual ticket refund policies. It’s expected that teams will start releasing those in the next few days.

Canceled instead of postponed

The news confirms a report from the Wall Street Journal that an earlier policy classifying missed games as postponed is shifting. Now those games will be considered canceled, freeing up teams to issue refunds. How refunds are handled will be up to individual teams.

Keyser also confirmed a report from the San Francisco Chronicle’s Susan Slusser that some teams have already been quietly issuing refunds to fans claiming financial hardship during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Policy arrives after lawsuit

The news arrives a week after fans in California filed a class-action lawsuitdemanding refunds from MLB, its 30 teams and ticket brokers StubHub, Ticketmaster, Live Nation and Last Minutes Transactions.

Read more here.

From ESPN

Major League Baseball is allowing teams to offer refunds to fans for games currently not being played because of the coronavirus pandemic. Previously, games were considered postponed, instead of canceled, allowing teams to hold on to revenue generated from ticket sales.

But with little chance of MLB playing 162 games this season, the league has decided to allow for refunds. MLB is not requiring refunds, and each team will set its own policy, with many likely offering a credit for 2021 as an option. Teams can announce their new policies beginning Wednesday.

Read more here.

Where does Major League Baseball go from here?

Funny enough Shannon Shark over at Metspolice.com had the same thoughts as I did about this 2020 "realignment". Anyone else feel like the American and National leagues are going to be gone next season? There is a good possibility that there is just the MLB with different divisions and not leagues.  Universal DH? That's going to be the norm. New playoff system seems to be coming in too. I don't think that's going to go away either.

From Metspolice.com

3.  THE CASE FOR RIPPING IT ALL UP ANYWAY

I have written about this several times, and I will re-post below.  Baseball divides up quite  nicely into 25 year eras, and we just closed out 1995-2019.  Time for The Modern Age.  Radical Realignment, Universal DH, and I still say they should look at 7 inning games as the record book was destroyed by The Steroid Age anyway.

5000 B.C. – 1918.   The Prehistoric Age.    We had guys in knickerbockers and a 9 game World Series and the Federal League and Big Ed Walsh won 40 games.  This has nothing to do with anything related to the sport you watch.

1918-1945.  The Diamond Age.   The Sultan of Swat destroyed Home Run Baker’s record by hitting 29 in 1918 and 54 the next year.  White guys played white guys and traveled by train and played day games.   Lots of good things happened in 8 team leagues.

1946-1968.  The Golden Age.  This is the baseball everyone waxes poetic about.  Everyone is back from the war.   Baseball lets black players play.  Subway Series and Willie, Mickey and the Duke, Joltin Joe and West Coast teams and Ted Williams and Roger Maris and all that.  We can argue about 154 vs 162 some other time.

1969-1994.  The Silver Age.   This is the baseball I grew up with.  Guys won 300 games and struck out 300 batters.  You won MVPs by hitting .300 with 30 HRs.  Leagues played by different rules but since they only played each other in the World Series it was almost OK.

Then everything breaks.

1995-2020.  The Bronze Age.   To borrow from Bob Costas, all the great hitters of all time decided to play all at the same time.  Wild Cards and Interleague and some suspect workouts led to all kinds of crazy statistics that have nothing to do with the Golden and Silver Ages which are more alike than the Golden Age is to the Prehistoric Age.  So let’s Put It In The Books and enjoy these 25 years as their own thing and appreciate the great numbers put up by Bonds, Sosa, McGwire, Clemens and even Rafael Palmeiro.

And now on to the future.  We will drag baseball into the 21st Century of short attention spans and more competition and kids who don’t care about the game.

2020-2100.  The Modern Age.   Radical realignment.  Universal DH.  New rules.  16 Team Playoffs.

This is what I think baseball is up to with this plan they floated.  They will use 2020 to wear you down, and by 2021 you will be OK with all the change.

The Baseball you knew is gone forever.  Killed by Coronavirus in March 2020.  Welcome to The New Baseball.

Read more here.

That's it. Time to get used to the new normal as everyone is saying. This seemingly includes baseball.

Miss Shea Stadium/Citi Field? Get some prints.

My buddy Justin Berl is an amazing sports photographer and a really good dude. I am sure you have seen his stuff on websites and in magazines. You probably even have seen it on Sports Cards. He has some amazing prints up for sale on his site. Shea, Citi Field and some other cool things. These will make a good gift for someone who is missing going to the ballpark right now. You won’t regret buying something from him.

Click here to head to his site.

My buddy is selling a pair of red Shea Stadium seats.

My buddy has had these seats for a few years now and is looking to move them. He is looking for $799 for the pair. They include the brackets to make them stand.

Interested? Email me at mediagoon@gmail.com and I'll put you in touch with him.

@metspolice has some funny insights on AROD and the billionaire who might be his partner.

This is from metspolice.com. I usually wouldn't grab most of his post but this has to be read and you guys shouldn't miss this.

Aside from that this is never gonna happen (did you know A-Rod was suspended from baseball for a year?  Kids, do not take PEDs unless you want to own a $2 billion asset some day.   What kind of message will THAT be?)

Anyway, Forbes says this guy is part of the fantasy land ownership group.
(Richard) Tsai, 62, has a net worth of $2.9 billion and is a citizen of Taiwan. He and his brother, Daniel, run Fubon Financial Holdings, which has interests in banking, insurance and securities. The company trades on the Taiwan stock exchange and has a market value of $13.5 billion. The brothers are also investors in Taiwan Mobile, a mobile phone service provider, and Momo.com, a home shopping and e-commerce business. (via Forbes.)

The good news is I googled ” Fubon Financial Holdings” and nothing horrible popped up on page 1 of the results.  I wonder why they would want to get involved with a guy who was suspended from baseball?  Why don’t they just buy the team without him?

Chris Tsai was named chairman of family-backed Fubon Sports & Entertainment, rising from his previous role as president. Chris, 33, is the son of Fubon Financial Holding Chairman and CEO Richard Tsai.  (via different Forbes article.)
Oh goodie.  You’re gonna get rid of the billionaire’s son and replace him with….a billionaire’s wunderkind 33 year old son and A-Rod.    LOL.
Wait, it gets even better.   Via Wikipedia…

Born in Greenwich, Connecticut to billionaire financier and fund manager Gerald Tsai, and model and actress Marlyn C. Tsai, Tsai attended Brunswick School in Greenwich, Connecticut and graduated in 1993. 

Read more here.

😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂😂

So the Mets would be sold to AROD and what could possibly be the Taiwanese Version of the Wilpons. Wait. Maybe Jeff is going to try to get adopted by the Tsais. Are we in the Twilight Zone or what?

$2500 for a Tim Tebow Game Used Cap?

I wouldn't even pay for $250 for this

This game-used cap was worn and personally hand-signed by Tim Tebow during Spring Training of the 2018 MiLB season with the inscription "GAME USED." It was obtained under the auspices of the Major League Baseball Authentication Program and can be verified by its numbered hologram at MLB.com. It also comes with a hologram from Fanatics Authentic and a certificate of authenticity. To ensure authenticity, the hologram can be reviewed online. This process helps to ensure that the product purchased is authentic and eliminates any possibility of duplication or fraud.

New York Mets Women's Groupie II Wedge Shoes- Groupie? Really?

I decided to dive down Mets Shop on the inter webs. Groupie Shoe is the name? Really? Wow.

'

Details

• Product ID: 1314198
• 4” Heel height
• Officially licensed MLB product
• Quality embroidery
• Synthetic velvet upper & wedge
• Textured rubber sole
• Imported
• Brand: Cuce

Help The7line raise money for City Harvest and Long Island Cares.

Darren Meenan is a good friend of mine. He is always trying to give back to folks, whether it is sponsoring a little league team, raising money to help people dealing with a natural disaster, having fund raising events for people who need it and now with the NY Strong shirt and helping raise money for the Doctors, Nurses and other staff at Good Samaritan Hospitals dealing with this pandemic. When we go on away games and even at some home games, folks try to start a "Thank You Darren" chant that he tried to stop. If you guys really want to do something to "Thank" Darren, help him raise funds to help others.  And I mean this only if you can spare some money in this trying time.

NEW YORK STRONG T-SHIRT

5.0 star rating1 Review

$ 32.00

PLEASE HELP NEW YORKERS IN NEED! Over $30k raised so far!

Like much of the world, New Yorkers are going through a battle right now, and the war against Covid-19 has put life as we knew it to a halt. There is no way to tell when this fight will end, or when the new "normal" will begin. One thing is for sure though, New Yorkers are strong, New Yorkers are tough, and New Yorkers have each others backs when their neighbors are up against the ropes. 

100% OF THE NET PROCEEDS FROM THIS T-SHIRT SALE WILL BE DONATED TO CITY HARVEST, LONG ISLAND CARES, AND OTHER SIMILAR ORGANIZATIONS IN NEW YORK. 

You can buy the NY STRONG Shirt here.

Why is the Mets Organization attracting these potential owners?

I am not a fan of Mushnick but I am glad that I am not the only one that isn't too happy with the names popping up to be possible future owners of the Mets.

From the NY POST

Needing to off-load expenses, the Mets then tuned to hedge fund/hedgehog operator Steve Cohen, whose firm in 2013 paid a record $1.8 billion fine for insider — crooked, dishonest, illegal — trading.
I often wonder how that played out. “Marge, I’ll have the egg salad on whole wheat toast, a side of onion rings and a Diet Coke. Oh, and when you get back, have the hedge fund cut a check to the government for $1.8 billion.”
 

Or did Cohen’s operation pay the fine out of the petty cash drawer?

But these aren’t merely days of diminished standards but of flipped standards. Who cares who next owns the Mets as long as they’re new guys. And so simplistic fans and media celebrated the anticipated coming of Steve Cohen, the head of a Wall Street firm nailed for insider-trading, as the potential new owner for whom they’d long been dreaming. But the Cohen deal, as if he were going to play backup to pikers, went kaput, and now the latest to cause media and fans a rush of blood to the head is the entry one of the most notorious cheats and liars — and beneficiary of the two — in sports history, Alex Rodriguez. He’d like to buy at least a chunk of the Mets. Hooray!

        Can neither MLB nor the Wilpons find any honest candidates?

Read More here.

JLO/A-Rod doing their own thing during the stay at home/quarantine(whatever you want to call it)

From the NY Post

While the rest of us shelter in place, with all this newly free time to worry about how to pay bills or rent or where the next meal’s coming from, A-Rod and J.Lo — two world-class athletes who surely have a Peloton between them, not to mention personalized workouts designed by personal trainers — just had to have a public Miami gym open for them in early April, after Florida’s governor had issued a statewide stay-at-home order.

“The gym is not open,” read a sign posted to the gym’s door. The photograph Page Six ran? J.Lo and A-Rod opening that door on their way out.

Not since the Varsity Blues scandal have we been so bracingly reminded that there really are one set of rules for the 1 percent and another for everybody else. At least that scandal saw jail time for its offenders. Why aren’t J-Rod facing, at the very least, fines for so brazenly violating these rules?

Six days after their shameless gym excursion, the couple posted a video to Facebook.

“Hey everyone — we want you to please stay home to stop the spread of COVID-19,” says Jenny from the Block, wearing her best expression of knitted-brow faux-concern. “You know, we’re staying home to protect those on the front lines — the doctors, the nurses and technicians that are working so hard to save lives at our hospitals.”

Read more here.

It's cool to see the 25 plus 1 rule still applies to A-Rod. Now it is 328.199998 million plus 2. I don't get everyone who wants these two to be part owners of the Mets. We all don't like the Wilpons as owners, I get it. I just am very wary of who the ownership will be next. The two of them are not the superheroes swooping in to save the franchise. If you folks are cool with this that's fine with me. I just don't want to hear Sell the Team down the road when it comes to them or any other potential owners.

MiLB says it is not contracting.- Updated

Despite reports from NBC SPORTS,  MiLB says it doesn't have any agreements on contracting teams. Do we believe them?

*************UPDATE*************

Update- First 500 preorders get a signed poster. Have questions for the Co-Writer of Big Sexy: In His Own Words?-

I am talking to my buddy later on this week about the book he co-wrote with Bartolo and I want to know if any of you folks have questions about the book. Reach out to me on twitter on twitter @mediagoon or email me at mediagoon@gmail.com. Book is on presale now and it drops on May 13th.

Update: 

Click here for the link

From picking coffee in the Dominican Republic to reaching Icon Status as a Major League pitcher in America, here is the story of baseball's most colorful player told in his own words.

Bartolo Colón- also known as Big Sexy- is a baseball icon and one of the most beloved players
to ever play the game. In a career spanning 21 years, Colón has won the Cy Young Award and won more games than any other Latin American born pitcher. But more importantly, Big Sexy has captures the hearts of the fans of the game as well as the stars he has played against. Colón plays the game the way it was meant to be. In Big Sexy:In His Own Words, Bartolo Colón opens up as never before. The result is a touching and deeply personal story of a truly unique baseball life.

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

Bartolo Colón is a Cy Young Award-winning and four time All-Star baseball pitcher. He olds the record for the most career wins by a pitcher from Latin America and the Dominican Republic. He was the oldest active MLB player in the 2018 season. Michael Stahl is a full time freelance writer whose stories have appeared in publications such as Rolling Stone, Vice, Huffington Post, and elsewhere.