The WALL STREET JOURNAL's Brian Costa notes as the Mets “slog through another summer of disappointment, their precise financial state remains something of a mystery.” It is “unclear to what extent the team will be able to increase its payroll next winter, if at all, after a $50 million slash from 2011 to 2012.” The Mets “opened the season with a payroll of around $93 million, down from $143 million at the start of 2011.” GM Sandy Alderson said that he "isn't sure how much money he’ll have to invest in talent this winter.” He said, “I haven’t had any conversations with ownership about it” (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 8/15).
PALATIAL ESTATE: In Detroit, Vince Ellis noted in addition to the $13-15M remodeling job underway at the Palace of Auburn Hills, “orders for new season-ticket packages recently surpassed last season’s numbers.” Palace Sports & Entertainment President & CEO Dennis Mannion said that things are “on the upswing despite the Pistons’ run of four straight losing seasons” (DETROIT FREE PRESS, 8/12).
NAME THAT TEAM: BASEBALL AMERICA’s Josh Leventhal noted the Triple-A Int’l League Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Yankees, who are “set to debut a new ballpark next season after spending all of 2012 on the road, announced late last week that a new team identity will be coming to town as well.” The team will remain Scranton/Wilkes-Barre, but “sought fan input on potential new nicknames and received over 2,700 submissions before narrowing that list down to six” (BASEBALLAMERICA.com, 8/14).
