Lopez being the control person would remove doubt over whether Rodriguez would get approvalGETTY IMAGES
Jennifer Lopez and Alex Rodriguez as part of their pitch to purchase the Mets said that Lopez, not Rodriguez, "would be the control person for the team, which would make her the first Latina woman to be in such a position in MLB," according to Joel Sherman of the N.Y. POST. That would also "remove the question of whether the polarizing Rodriguez could get ownership approval." Lopez and Rodriguez also said that their bid was "either similar or better" than the $2.35B bid by Steve Cohen, adding that they "would guarantee a World Series win within a decade or donate $100 million to New York charities and that the intention was to raise the payroll to the $225 million range." Still, sources said that there were "no hangups in Cohen’s purchase and that the slowness in finalizing the deal owed to the complication of language, mainly for tax reasons." But sources added that the "potential hiccup could come" if Cohen "can’t get the necessary 23 out of 30 owner votes to gain official control, considering that his company paid a $1.8 billion insider trading fine and is currently tied up in sexual discrimination litigation." For now, the Rodriguez/Lopez group is "staying alive as, at minimum, a just-in-case alternative should current Mets ownership need to pivot" (N.Y. POST, 9/9).
WHO'S CALLING THE SHOTS? WFAN-AM’s Boomer Esiason said of Cohen, “He’s going to be okay. He’s got the money. The Wilpons have every right to sell the team to whoever they want to … and they need to do it before the end of the year because of tax reasons.” Esiason said with Lopez and Rodriguez, “I have no idea exactly how much money they have or how much real money they have, or who’s actually really calling the shots here. At least with Steve Cohen, I know who’s calling the shots" (“Boomer & Gio,” CBSSN, 9/8).