Everyone knows that the Wilpons have little business sense. Everything about Bernie Madoff’s schemes screamed scam, but people want the quick buck so desperately that, if a friend comes and tells you that it’s legitimate, you’ll likely trust them with your money. Whether it was willful ignorance or not, the Wilpons were taken in by their friend, scammed, and left them holding the bag on some massive debt.

Given the fact that the Wilpons could not make a sound financial decision concerning Bernie Madoff, is it really a surprise that they are having financial difficulties with their baseball team? This is New York City. While many love the Yankees, you’ll find just as many who love the Mets. It’s not that hard to have your team be prosperous in such a city, yet, the Wilpons have managed to do so.

The worst part of it is that they cannot seem to bring themselves to the realization that they are inept at running the New York Mets and that it is time to sell the team. Even in the face of financial ruin, they cling to the team, dragging the franchise and the team base down with them. If they hold on to the team, even for a couple of more year, the destruction they cause will take decades to rebuild, even in a city such as New York.

The Wilpons relied on the Madoff phantom profits for years, leveraging the Mets by using those profits as collateral on loans. Just a few years ago, the Mets were valued at over a billion dollars. Today, it rests at a $750 million liability. If the Mets were a company, they would be bankrupt and, at the very least, the Wilpons would be ousted as incompetent CEOs. Instead, they are able to continue to take out loans from MLB that they can’t possibly afford to repay.

A severely restricted payroll for 2012 means that a decent product will likely not be on the field on opening day, nor will the farm system be restocked. Most of the players on the team are of AAAA quality. These players should be in AAA preparing for the major leagues or being called up in cases of injuries. They are not qualified, yet here they are. No one should expect any kind of results in 2012.

Until the Wilpons agree to outright sell the team, nothing is going to change. They cannot put up minority stakes in the team and expect that anyone is going to blindly accept their terms. Smart businessmen don’t work that way. Sadly, this will be the third year in a row that I will not pay for MLB Extra Innings. It’s a hefty amount to pay to watch your team lose every single night.

That $25 million is due to be paid back completely to Major League Baseball in the Spring and it doesn’t look like it’s going to happen.

The team’s financial issues were evident once again during last week’s winter meetings in Dallas, when general manager Sandy Alderson said the Mets had lost $70 million (he would not, however, specify if that number applied to 2011). Alderson later explained that much of those losses resulted from a decline in ticket sales.

The Mets drew 2.4 million fans to Citi Field in 2011, down from 2.6 million the year before and 3.2 million in 2009. In 2008, the team attracted four million in the final season at Shea Stadium.

Yes, there was a decline in ticket sales because no one wants to see a last place team in the biggest baseball city in America.

The most prudent thing to do for the Wilpons is to admit they’re broke, that Bernie Madoff, despite being a friend, ripped them off royally, and then announce they’re selling the team. It’s not going to happen though. They’ll end up mortgaging everything and make a shambles out of the team. We can only hope they come to their senses before the team folds.

The NY Daily News has compiled a list of notable moments in the career of Beltran in New York. The most memorable being a called third strike in the 2006 NLCS game.

Oct. 19, 2006: Beltran strikes out looking at Adam Wainwright curveball with the bases loaded to end heartbreaking Game 7 of the NLCS. Despite hitting three homers and driving in four runs in series vs. Cardinals, Beltran is labeled as goat of series.

I don’t think most Mets fans ever forgave him for that. It’s not entirely fair as far as I’m concerned. People make mistakes. Lots of other Mets players made mistakes in that series, but that’s the single instance that people remember. I wish I had Beltran’s stats to judge him on instead of the list the Daily News made.

The Mets get pitching prospect Zach Wheeler in the deal. From what I’ve read, he’s supposed to be good. He’s not in the majors and I have no way to watch him, so it’s hard to judge if this is a good deal or not until we can actually see what Wheeler is capable of.

In the end, it was a deal that needed to be done. The Mets had to trade Beltran. By keeping him, they would have lost more money and more prospects. Mets GM Sandy Alderson stuck to his guns, demanding a top prospect instead of just cash for Beltran and got what he wanted. Despite his injuries, I always felt Beltran tried to give his best. It’s just that his best way to help the Mets now is by being traded to the Giants.

Signed to a three-year, $37 million contract before the 2009 season, Rodriguez pitched well for the Mets – but his deal contained a $17.5 million option for next season that would vest if he finished 55 games this year, which he was on pace to do. That option would have been crippling to next year’s payroll, and the Mets’ chances of re-signing free-agent-to-be Jose Reyes.

I’m not really sure how I feel about this trade at the moment. Judging by the fan poll on The Daily News‘ site, most folks are torn over the decision as well. It seems like a huge white flag that the Mets are ready to give up on this season, yet we all know that they cannot afford his option at the end of the season. If K-Rod is gone, look for others to be traded as well.

This may be a sign that The Mets would rather have Jose Reyes stay than having a top closer. The Mets could still trade Reyes, but it seems more unlikely now. The fact is, this was a money move. The Mets simply cannot afford K-Rod’s option and continue to build the team. I guess we’ll all have to see what happens next.

Although Rodriguez has a clause blocking trades to 10 undisclosed teams, a source close to him said that he will consider any potential deal that is presented to him. Rodriguez is also open to waiving the vesting option in the event an acquiring team wants to negotiate a multi-year extension, the source said.

“Instead of signing someone like (Jonathan) Papelbon or (Heath) Bell this winter for three or four years, a team could pick up that option and have K-Rod for a year and a half,” the executive said. “That could be very tempting, and the Mets might actually get a prospect back in that case.”

Said another NL executive: “It is still a high annual salary, but he is pitching like an elite closer, and he would be off the books after next year.”

Rodriguez has helped this argument by pitching well this season, and behaving off the field. If the perception of him last season was of a declining pitcher with alarming behavior, he has reversed that view with on-field dominance and off-field penitence. The turnaround could help him land on a contending team this summer.

One can only speculate as to whether he wants out of the current NY Mets circus or if the Mets want him gone after the incident last year where he punched his future father-in-law. Considering the Mets’ history of defending players even when they are in the wrong, one wonders what the exact cause is to make this story public. Is K-Rod being shopped or is K-Rod looking to get out of town?

As a Met fan, I can’t disagree if K-Rod wants out of town. He’s a top 5 closer on a team that is going nowhere. Fred Wilpon threw players under the bus last week in his interview with Sports Illustrated. He’s also said the $68 million that will come off the books at the end of the season is not going to be used next season. With that in mind, why would one of the top closers in the game want to stay?

The fact is that the Mets cannot afford players like Carlos Beltran and Jose Reyes. They are asking for far too much money for their worth. Yes, they are great on the field when they are not injured. Given the fact that both players spend considerable time on the DL, are they really worth keeping when you can trade them this season and get some good prospects back in trade? The key to the Mets’ future is when these guys are traded and for how much. For now, it looks like everyone wants to jump ship in New York and I can hardly blame them.

In one of his last outings as a Met, Perez said a few things that leads people to conclude that he just doesn’t care or just doesn’t get it.

“People can say a lot of stuff,” Perez said. “I did everything I can. It’s one of those days. You’re going to have really bad days. I know I don’t want to have a really bad day, but I think it’s one of those days. I just have to come here tomorrow and try to get better.”

The problem is, Perez has been saying this same thing for several years in one form or another. You never know what you’re going to get when he gets on the mound. It’s usually something awful. That’s why he was put in the bullpen last year and hardly used. Every day is a bad day for Ollie. He’s not going to get any better.

In seven Grapefruit League outings — two as a starter — Perez has posted an 8.38 ERA with six strikeouts, eight walks and 13 hits in 9 2/3 innings (numbers strikingly similar to those produced in the Mexican Winter League). His fastball velocity on Saturday never climbed higher than 87 mph, also typical of his recent work.

With such performances in Spring Training and winter ball, Perez should never have been a candidate for a spot on the rotation. The Mets had to face facts. They had to cut Perez and eat the $12 million. You can’t put a guy like this into the rotation. With thirty starts a year, the team would not have been able to pick him up every single game. Keeping Perez and putting him in the rotation would have meant at least twenty losses for the Mets. That’s a hard pill to ask players to swallow when they’d like to win.

Yes, I’m happy both players were cut. No, the Mets aren’t going to win the World Series this year. They probably won’t even make the playoffs, but when you’re trying to cut players who are mediocre and useless, sometimes you have to eat the contracts of your predecessors and move on. The Mets need to rebuild. Now is as good a time as any to replenish the farm system and start building a solid team.

I would love for this to happen if only to hear of the screaming matches between the Wilpons and Bobby V.

Play it here.