Of the Mets’ lack of urgency in signing newly crowned Cy Young Award winner R.A. Dickey to a long-term extension, ESPN.com’s Buster Olney argues, “They exist in the biggest market in the world. They aren’t the Miami Marlins. They’re not the Tampa Bay Rays. They should be able to take some risks, especially after next season, when Johan Santana’s contract is set to expire,” adding, “if their current financial circumstances prevent the Wilpon family from giving a well-earned extension to their breakout star and fan favorite, they should just unload the team to somebody who will operate it like the big-market club that it is.” And if you’re waiting for MLB commissioner Bud Selig to lean on the Wilpons to agree to such a sale, don’t hold your breath, as the following item from Newsday’s David Lennon explains.
Selig remains confident that Fred Wilpon’s ownership group has the money to field a competitive team regardless of how little is being used to improve the Mets, one of baseball’s premier franchises in the sport’s biggest market.
“They said they do and I think they do,” Selig said shortly after the MLB owners’ meetings concluded at the O’Hare Hyatt. “It just depends. It’s interesting how you rebuild or how you do things. Spending money doesn’t guarantee anybody anything. I want to be very careful here.
“As far as the Mets are concerned, I know they’re very comfortable where they are and they’re very optimistic. I’ll take them at their word.”
Both Fred Wilpon and COO Jeff Wilpon attended the owners’ meetings. Fred declined to take questions from reporters before leaving Wednesday night and Jeff has made it an unofficial policy to not provide updates on the team’s financial state.