Marty’s musings: the Mets ownership saga, and MiLB in trouble

Welcome to ‘Marty’s Musings’, my weekly column of numbers summarizing the happenings in the baseball world. I am your guide for taking an analytic look at the news and notes throughout the game, and highlighting this week’s key pitching matchups.

With each passing day the MLB season seems to be slipping away amidst the health crisis. This week ARod and JLo emerge as the faces of a potential new Mets ownership group, the Red Sox get a slap-on-the-wrist, and MiLB agrees on a major shakeup at the behest of MLB.

News & Notes

1 - Second round pick the Red Sox will lose as a penalty to the sign-stealing scandal. Additionally, J.T. Watkins, Boston’s video operator is banned through the 2020 playoffs and is not eligible to return to that specific position. Manager Alex Cora did not receive any additional punishment beyond his 2020 suspension which came down as part of the Astros investigation.

30 - Teams being sued by fans, in addition to MLB, and various ticket brokers, who are not refunding ticket sales for the 2020 season. MLB is treating games as ‘postponements’ rather than ‘cancellations’, which is tying up large amounts of peoples’ money for games that it’s becoming more-and-more clear will not be played as scheduled, and very well may not be played at all.

40 - MiLB teams on the chopping-block. Baseball America’s JJ Cooper has been following the story all-along, but the bottom line is that MLB is likely to get the reduction in tams that it wanted, and the current COVID situation is putting MiLB teams in a really difficult spot to counter.

2.6 - Billion dollar failed deal the Mets had with investor Steve Cohen last year. The Wilpons reportedly still want to sell the team, and Alex Rodriguez and Jennifer Lopez appear to be the faces of a new potential ownership group. The Wilpons reportedly want to hang on to SNY, which makes a sale that much more challenging.

92 - Year old Vin Scully took a fall in his home last week and ended up in the hospital. The long-long-time Dodger play-by-play man is said to be resting comfortably, will hopefully be home this week, and is handling the situation with quintessential Scully humor.

??? - Days until Opening Day.