Meet the Mets

There are some cracks starting to show in the Wilpons' armor. With the possibility of paying Madoff victims close to $1 billion, the family has announced a willingness to bring on partners for a minority stake in the Mets. While this has inspired some good jokes and has led to some thoughts on the eventual end of the Wilpon dynasty, Patrick Flood posts on what the likely ramifications will actually be.

In the meantime, we get to hear about the random people who are interested in buying what the Wilpons are offering. Martin Luther King III is heading up a group including Ed Kranepool and Don Clendenon, Jr. which will probably be the emotional favorite to land the stake. On the other side, is a guy who surrounds himself with attractive ladies in tank tops and who sells vodka. Another potential buyer is Mike Repole, the founder of Vitaminwater.

In terms of actual baseball news, it's pretty thin. The Mets have made an offer to Rodrigo Lopez and have invited Kai Gronauer and Kirk Nieuwenhuis to Spring Training (wow, those names are tough to spell).

With RA Dickey's new contract signed, the Mets have just Angel Pagan remaining among the arbitration eligibles.

Around MLB

Apparently, Brian Cashman isn't the only Yankee executive who has become unhinged. This latest one, however, is at least channeling the spirit of George Steinbrenner.

Long tenured MLB reliever Russ Springer announced his retirement yesterday. 

Jim Edmonds hasn't announced his retirement yet, but the speculation around baseball is that he will soon. Is he HOF bound?

The Red Sox inserted a neat little clause into Carl Crawford's contract, banning any team that may acquire him from trading him to the Yankees.

Troy Glaus thinks that MLB will learn how much it needs Troy Glaus after a season without Troy Glaus.

And, finally, theworst World Series winning teams of all time.