Mets Owner Fred Wilpon Thursday said that he "intends to hold on to the team despite the financial troubles plaguing the franchise," according to Anthony Rieber of NEWSDAY. Wilpon at the MLB owners' meetings said, "How can anybody deny it's been a challenging time? But I came from nothing, so I meet the challenges. And so does ... our whole family and the Met organization. We're meeting the challenges and I think that we'll be fine." MLB Commissioner Bud Selig "reiterated support for Wilpon Thursday." He said, "They are making progress and that's a good sign. He's been a great owner, loves his team. He's everything you'd want in a local owner. He's had some economic problems not caused by himself and I have a lot of faith in him that he's working his way through that." Wilpon "declined to speak in detail about the Mets' finances" or the $386M lawsuit brought by the trustee for victims of the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme. A source said that the team "anticipates closing on a sale of at least four minority shares within a few weeks." In response to those who say he should sell the team, Wilpon said, "I understand it's a by-product (of losing). If we were winning, they wouldn't be saying that. They'd be saying how brilliant the organization is run." He added, "I think that we have to get the fans back at the stadium. That's a necessity, that's a lifeblood. To do that, we have to have a good team. ... Our fans really deserve some good play on the field and I'm very hopeful" (NEWSDAY, 1/13).
