It was reported earlier in the week that Bud Selig force Fred and Jeff Wilpon to hire Sandy Alderson to turn around the stale baseball operations. In talking with people around baseball, for as good a man Omar Minaya was, he was vastly over his head in running a baseball team. The scary part is there is reason to believe the Wilpon’s, specifically Fred, had no desire to remove him from the baseball operations. Their loyalty to Minaya should be no surprise, considering they continued to do business with Bernie Madoff, despite reports there were tons of warning signs over the last decade. Even scarier, is a report in today’s Wall Street Journal that Madoff funds were a critical part of Sterling Equities ability to “cover significant team expenses, including payroll, its minor league Brooklyn franchise, and stadium operations.” A source went on to say that the Wilpon’s withdrew from their Madoff fund to address cash shortages, for example, a lag in ticket sales.

I still believe no one truly knows the details of the Wilpon’s personal finances. I do agree they are fighting Picard because a settlement would likely lead to a sale of the team. The Wilpon’s are coming across more minor league by the day, so perhaps a minority ownership in the franchise is more their speed. Regardless of the situation, this is where strong leadership from the commissioner’s office is essential.

Bud Selig didn’t endear himself to many on how he handled the Montreal Expos financial crisis. He turned them into the MLB version of the Washington Generals, and allowed the rich teams to carve up their roster like a Thanksgiving turkey. Perhaps he learned from that because I thought he handled the Texas situation far better. Instead of allowing that franchise to flounder during bankruptcy proceedings, he allowed them to compete due to the fact they had a solid nucleus of players in place. Although you could argue how fair it was for the league to allow Texas to acquire Cliff Lee while on MLB welfare, they were a good team without Lee, and Selig did the right thing by not denying Texas fans a memorable season because of the failures of Tom Hicks. He needs to do this with the New York Mets if it comes down to it.

Right now, the Mets have issues, but there is a decent nucleus of players. Their top 1-6 in the lineup is just about as good as any National League team. Their bullpen has promise, and the starting pitching, although lacking an ace, is not the worst group in franchise history. Look at the starting five from the ’99 Wild Card team and tell me how different Dickey, Niese, Pelfrey, Young, and Capuano are?

It would be patently unfair for the longtime fans of the New York Mets sit back and watch their team die due to the boneheaded business decisions of the Wilpon’s. Selig can’t force the Wilpon’s to sell the team, although if they can’t meet payroll I think that would change. Just like the banks stopped infusing equity into cash strapped American’s, wealthy individuals are not about to become an angel loan to the Wilpon’s for a minority stake.

The Mets are not just at stake here. You have the Cyclones who are a major attraction in Coney Island. Spend a summer evening at MCU Park and you might see some of the most loyal and passionate fans in all of baseball. Selig can’t allow New York, the baseball capital in many ways, to become the neighborhood house in short sell. He needs to use the model employed by Texas, and allow the Mets to keep their assets. A fire sale in New York would be demoralizing and set the franchise back a decade, even more.

I am not a fan of Bud Selig’s leadership over the years. However, recent precedent has been positive on how he handled a similar team financial crisis. There is even more at stake here with the Mets. He needs to step in at the first hint there are issues with the solvency of the baseball operations. He can’t allow this team to choke and die because of Wilpon stubbornness. If they can’t afford to finance the baseball operation, it’s time to move on. Whether that could happen legally is a whole different story. With that said, baseball seems to play by its own rules and if Selig could “convince” the Wilpon’s to move on from the Mets, just like he “convinced” them to hire Alderson, it might be better for all the stakeholders involved.

Mike Silva is a freelance writer and radio host since March of 2007. This website is his own personal "digest" of New York Baseball He's also hosts NYBD Radio on Blog Talk Radio and 1240 AM WGBB. Check out his sports media commentary at www.sportsmediawatchdog.com. Check out his official website, www.mikesilvamedia.com

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Tags: Brooklyn Cyclones, Bud Selig, Fred Wilpon, Jeff Wilpon, New York Mets, Sandy Alderson