Yesterday, the owners of the Mets, Fred and Jeff Wilpon, announced that they intended to sell part of the team, in order to offset a lawsuit brought upon their company because of their dealings with Bernie Madoff. By seeking to sell off 20-25 percent of the ball club, the Wilpons tacitly admitted how shaky things are financially for the Mets, who they said they want "to have the necessary resources to fully compete and win." And now we have our first serious bidder: Long Islander Martin Silver, liquor distributor and owner of the Georgi Vodka brand.
Silver told the News that he's only interested in buying into the team if he gets some say in the day-to-day operations. "We are trying to get some negotiations started. The Mets are restricted because of the finances of the Wilpons. They can't get more established players and make the playoffs again with the money they have now," he said. Silver has long had his eye on the team; he approached the Wilpons back in 2008, after the Madoff scandal first broke. We know Silver from his Georgi Vodka bikini-butt ads which caused quite a stir, and were ultimately pulled. Considering that and some of his other past publicity stunts, we can't wait to see what he has in mind for the Mets.
