Team Picard vs. Team Wilpon Applesauce: Sterling and Picard Each File A Motion, Mets Sign Former Top Prospect With Unpronouncable Name

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There are some updates regarding the Wilpon/Madoff court case. Irving Picard filed a motion that asks the judge to force the Wilpons to fork over the $83 million in fictitious profits that they received from Madoff in the last two years. This money would be handed over to Picard before the March 19th jury trial in order to start handing it out to net losers. This comes a day after the Wilpons filed a motion to have the case thrown out of court, saying that Picard could not come up with any dirt on the embattled owners. In other news regarding this case, the Times has a piece talking about the expert witnesses on each side of the case.

Adam Rubin published part two of his story on the Wilpons' finances yesterday. The financial information included isn't really all that groundbreaking, as I think we've known the numbers for awhile now, but he does have some interviews with lawyers and such and he breaks down the court filings really well.

The Mets announced the signing of former top prospect Matt Tuiasosopo (pronounced Too-ee-ah-so-so-po) to a minor league deal on Friday. Looks like he's just an organizational depth signing, as he did not get a major league spring training invite. He'll probably head to Buffalo when the season breaks. Speaking of the Herd, they announced their spring training schedule yesterday.

I know that the denizens of Amazin' Avenue are (thankfully) very pro-Carlos Beltran, so here's a question: if Carlos were to get into the Hall of Fame at some point in the future (and it's looking like he's got a real chance, especially if he has a few more strong seasons and wins a ring, as unfair as that might be), who's hat does he wear when he goes in? Certainly an interesting question, as he played in both KC and New York for seven years. However, his offensive numbers lean in favor of the Mets, so perhaps Carlos being enshrined in blue and orange has a better chance than people think.

Around the Majors

It looks like there's hope for 2012 after all, Mets fans. Bud Selig said that he thinks the much talked about second wild card spot will be implemented this season, not next season as had been talked about before. Hey, you never know, right? Oh, that's right--we're snakebitten, baby!

Former Mets righty John Maine has signed a minor league deal with the Red Sox for 2012. Considering the rumors last year that he may retire, it's nice to see that he's going to give it another shot. I always liked John, even if he was a habitual liar.

The Phillies agreed to terms with Hunter Pence on a one year deal to avoid arbitration. The outfielder gets a hefty $10.4 million with incentives, setting him up nicely for a big (over)payday when he hits free agency after 2013 (Yup, he's still got another expensive year of arbitration). Meanwhile, the Phillies agreed to a minor league deal with light hitting outfielder Juan Pierre, further burying prospect Domonic Brown on the depth chart. I have no idea why they continue to ignore Brown in this way but I'm not going to complain. If the Phillies have decided they want to destroy one of the few young, near major league ready offensive assets they have in their system, I will certainly not stand in their way.

Twins first baseman Justin Morneau has started baseball activities. It's incredible how that concussion a few years ago seemed to completely derail his career, though the other injuries have obviously played a large part.

Finally, the Dodgers cut a bunch of bidders out of the running to buy the team on Friday. While there is no official word, some of the remaining bidders supposedly include hedge fund manager Steve Cohen, who'd been rumored to have interest in the Mets, the group that includes Joe Torre and the group that includes former NBA star Magic Johnson. Again, while not official, word is that Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban did not make the cut.