Jeff Wilpon (l) in a statement said that the team won't publicly discuss potential salesGETTY IMAGES
Mets COO Jeff Wilpon is "keeping his mouth shut when it comes to any inquiry" involving the team's potential sale, according to Deesha Thosar of the N.Y. DAILY NEWS. After the team reported to St. Lucie, Fla., yesterday for Spring Training, the Mets "gave reporters and other media a full tour" of the renovated Clover Park, which the team spent $57M on this past year. The "walk-through of the significant changes and upgrades" was led by Jeff Wilpon and Control Person & CEO Fred Wilpon. Perhaps "sensing that reporters may have other questions," such as about billionaire Steve Cohen's failed bid to buy the team, Jeff Wilpon "released a statement about two minutes before the tour." Wilpon in the statement said, "We need to focus on the future and not in the past and that's what we intend to do. ... We'll be moving forward to find a new transaction. We will not be giving details or updates on the timeline or process until we are prepared to make a public announcement." Thosar writes while keeping details of the next potential owner "concealed until documents are signed is logical, it's a disservice to the fan base that is clamoring for honest information from the mouth of the owners" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/11).
NO ONE TO BAT FOR THEM: In N.Y., Joel Sherman writes the Wilpons "should be wondering why when ownership negotiations broke down," people with "no history lined up on Cohen's side to believe the worst about the Wilpons, especially Jeff." If an "auction to sell the team goes well or a deal with Cohen could ever be resurrected then this might be the last year of Wilpon ownership and they will be the ones heading toward the door." Maybe "too much bad has happened in their reign to spritz cologne on and make their exit any different from those who have worked for them, which is to say unsatisfying" (N.Y. POST, 2/11).
SHOWING OFF THE NEW DIGS: Mets officials said that the Clover Park renovations will be "completed by the Grapefruit League home opener on Feb. 22." The DAILY NEWS' Thosar notes a Mets minor-league complex also is "located at the site," though the Florida State League Single-A St. Lucie Mets "will not use the new clubhouse as a reminder of the status they're working to earn." The inside of the new complex "looks nothing like the old First Data Field corridors." A new "weight room, locker rooms for the front office and coaches and new medical facilities highlight some of the indoor upgrades." Fans soon will be "able to use a brand new entrance with gates and enormous steps leading up to a view of the field from behind home plate," while "protective netting stretches from each foul pole." An open deck was "built into left field and new seats were still being installed" in the ballpark yesterday (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 2/11).
