In a report to ESPN New York, Ian Begley caught up with brash Mavericks owner Mark Cuban to take his pulse on the Mets' financial woes.
"On the Mets, I'm not gonna chase it, I'm not gonna call out [to them]. If they want to contact me, if they have an interest and they think I'd be a good owner, I'd take their call and I'd be more than happy to discuss it," Cuban said Wednesday night before the Knicks-Mavericks game. "But I'm done chasing and bidding on baseball teams."
All right, that makes sense. Cuban is a busy man and he was already burned once when he submitted a bid to buy the Cubs in 2008 but was left out of the final bidding process. But what if Fred Wilpon reached out to Cuban?
"If they think there's a good fit and if they think I'd be a reasonable buyer I'd be happy to [listen]. I get contacted by franchises all the time, or representatives of franchises, in all the major leagues," Cuban said. "I've just come to the conclusion that if I'm going to write a huge check, I'd rather have my ass kissed than have to chase."
I'll spare you my false outrage because I find it hard to blame Cuban for his come-and-get-it attitude. If you want my quarter-billion dollar bailout—or more!— it makes little sense for me to knock on your door and beg you to take my money. But let's say Freddy came over to my house with his pockets turned outward and a sad look on his face? Would Cuban even be interested in buying the Mets?
"It's all hypothetical. I don't know. I don't know enough of the details. I certainly haven't looked at their books or anything," Cuban said. "But it's a great franchise in a great market. So I'm sure there's going to be a whole lot of interest. But I'm not going to, whether it's here or the Dodgers for that matter, I'm not going to put myself in a bidding situation. I did that twice and learned my lesson."
I'll take that as a strong "maybe".