News broke yesterday about Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez retaining JPMorgan Chase to help raise money to purchase the Mets. My first exposure to this was a Facebook friend linking the MetsBlog story and stating that if this happened he would no longer be a fan. Now, it should be stated for the record that this “friend” is not someone I’ve ever met in real life and we don’t regularly comment on each other’s posts. He’s a nice guy. But he’s completely off base here.
Squeaky clean multi-millionaires and billionaires are harder to find than good toilet paper these days. Let’s not pretend that Steve Cohen didn’t come with baggage. And what about the Wilpons? It’s hard to believe anyone would prefer the Wilpons to a group fronted by Rodriguez/Lopez.
But it’s pretty clear that Rodriguez/Lopez would need a whole lot of financial support to be able to buy the Mets. Can Chase help them put together a group of 10 or more people to make that happen? It’s not impossible but it’s not something that’s going to be done in the next few days. It will be interesting to see if any momentum gathers here or if this is just a story because there are no games going on.
I’d like to see this happen. A-Rod grew up a Mets fan, so it would be nice if the potential new owner of the ballclub had rooting ties to the team. Obviously he would just be the big baseball name attached to a larger group, but I think anything that helps bring closure to the Wilpons attempted selling of the team is a good thing.
I was truly enthused about the Cohen deal. I thought that it was a great fit. I’m sort of “eh” about a Lopez/Rodriquez ownership but anything is better than the Wilpons.
Financial trader guilty of insider trading. Pays mega-fine and stays out of prison.
A-Rod. Career cheater. Loathsome attitude about being a life-long cheater. Will bring what qualities to the team? Hey Pete…I gotta great doctor who wants to talk with you. Pretty sure he can get you to 80HR. We’re meeting in the shed behind my garage. See ya soon…
Seinfeld…Maher…stand up and form a group and rescue us.
Great idea with Seinfeld and Maher. Throw in Kevin James too.
I really dont like Jlo or Arod. That being said, the Wilpons are terrible owners. It depends how much cash they bring to the table to invest in the team. Who knows, maybe Arods first maneuver is to fire Van Wagenen.
As someone that toasted ARod and JLo as our next owner two years ago, I am happy. Not that I would mind Cohen, in fact, I’d like to see those two form a team because I see ARod as a very smart guy, who obviously knows baseball. The ARod and Jeter competition would be amazing! ARod doesn’t like Jeter and the feeling is mutual. But this time, ARod will have the advantage of a ravenous fan base and Jeter will still need to trim costs.
I’m surprised with all the uncertainty that anyone is ready to drop down their money to overspend on a sports team. It would have to be a buyer’s price.
My dream would be a celebrity-led ownership coalition – Seinfeld, Maher, James, et al. But A-Rod and J-Lo would suffice. He knows the game and loves the game. We need owners who make the team and fans their priority – not neighborhood real estate, investment portfolios and childhood memories of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Plus J-Lo is a lot easier on the eyes than Fred, Jeff or Saul.