Kuzul

It’s impossible to judge Miguel Cabrera. During a news conference yesterday, last season’s runner-up for the AL MVP award expressed regret and was apologetic for his actions that led to an arrest for suspicion of drunken driving and resisting arrest without violence nine days ago.

Cabrera, 27, will undergo treatment set up by doctors administrated by management and its players union.

Last season, Cabrera batted .328 with 38 home runs and 126 RBI, all team highs. Despite the treatment, it’s business as usual for Cabrera, who was on the field for team workouts today.

While Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski and Rob Manfield, the MLB‘s executive vice president of labor relations, did use words like “alcoholism” and “addiction” to describe Cabrera’s problem, Cabrera himself did not use those words.

And while this is not the first run-in with the law that Cabrera has had as a result of alcohol, it is the first time anyone has questioned the effect it could have on his on-the-field performance. In all honesty, it’s hard to question a guy who appeared in four straight All-Star games from 2004 to 2007 and again in 2010.

Cabrera has finished in the top 10 in every Triple Crown category every season since 2005.

It’s safe to say that whatever issues he might have off the field, Cabrera has remained unaffected on the field. That could be where the biggest problem started—no one was talking about it.

In October 2009, Dombrowski had to retrieve Cabrera from a jail cell. Since then, Cabrera has slugged his way past his alcohol problems and into the headlines for all the right reasons.

This time, Cabrera can’t homer his way past these issues. It’s too easy to say that as long as his on-the-field performance remains unaffected, then any addiction facing Cabrera remains secondary. I admit, even I have made statements to that affect.

But we can’t forget that Cabrera is a man, and a man with serious problems at that. It’s interesting to note that BaseballReference.com uses Mickey Mantle as a comparison to Cabrera’s performance through his current age.

Obsessed to a fault about his own mortality, Mantle partied and drank his way through his career. Late in life, finally realizing that he had lived well past the point he thought he’d reach, Mantle was finally able to recognize his addiction to alcohol.

“If I’d known I was gonna live this long, I’d have taken a lot better care of myself,” Mantle said.

The years of drinking would take its toll on his liver. After his liver was so badly damaged by alcohol-induced cirrhosis and Hepatitis-C, Mantle needed a transplant, which he received in June of 1995.

Recognizing his status as a role model to millions of people, not just baseball fans, Mantle pleaded, “This is a role model. Don’t be like me.”

He died of liver cancer on August 13, 1995 and he remains one of the most talented, and tragic figures in baseball history.

No one wants that for Cabrera. I’m sure Cabrera doesn’t want that for himself.

All the awards and all the home runs cannot hide the addiction Cabrera must overcome. It’s no easy task and it won’t happen overnight. He first has to admit that he has a problem, and take steps to find the factors in his life which are contributing to his alcoholism.

His on-field performance can no longer be the only thing people talk about. Every time Cabrera strikes out, leaves men on base or goes through a slump of any length, people will be quick to blame his addiction.

That might be a bit unwarranted, but until he shows he’s ready to be healthy and leave the alcohol behind him, Cabrera won’t be able to slug his way past it.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

The injury to Adam Wainwright’s elbow will officially require Tommy John surgery, ending his season and severely damaging the Cardinals’ chances at an NL Central division title.

Now that their season is over before it even began, the Cardinals are going to trade Chris Carpenter, their only remaining ace, and probably try to find a buyer for Albert Pujols, who is set to become a free agent at the end of the season.

They’ll probably sell the team, and baseball in St. Louis will be over.

“Big Mac Land” will become “The Whopper-ville” and pitching coach Dave Duncan will take a job with the U.S. military, developing soldiers who can literally throw their bullets at enemies.

I’m kidding, of course. None of those things are going to happen.

The St. Louis Cardinals still have a pretty darn good baseball team heading into the 2011 season.

Not having Wainwright hurts, but it doesn’t signal the end of the season and there’s no reason to pack it in.

Here are five reasons the Cardinals can still contend in the NL Central in 2011.

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There isn’t a lot to look forward to when it comes to the New York Mets in 2011. There are more questions than answers surrounding this team right now, and with the lawsuit stemming from the Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme hanging over their heads, fan morale is at an all-time low.

Well cheer up Mets fans! It’s Spring Training, and with it comes a clean slate. Will the Mets win the World Series this season? Probably not. Can they win the World Series? Sure they can; any team can. That’s why it’s a clean slate.

So let’s take a look at 10 bold predictions for the upcoming 2011 season and the New York Mets.

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The St. Louis Cardinals and first baseman Albert Pujols will let today’s noon deadline pass, ending contract negotiations between the two sides and sending Pujols into free agency.

Pujols is entering the final season of the seven-year, $100 million contract he signed with the Cardinals in 2004. The greatest player in the game gave his team a discount then; he’s not going to be so generous this time.

And so it seems Pujols is about the become the most sought after free agent of 2012, maybe even in baseball history.

And despite what will happen during the regular season, how many games the Philadelphia Phillies “Phab Four” win, how many home runs Adrian Gonzalez hits, or even who wins the World Series, all anyone will be talking about is where Prince Albert will sign when it’s all over.

Last season, Pujols hit .312 with 42 home runs and 118 RBIs. He’s been the face of the Cardinals franchise for the last 10 seasons—the whole of his career.

Albert Pujols is to the Cardinals what Derek Jeter is to the New York Yankees.

But that was until noon today. Now he’s set to become the face of another team; wear  another team’s colors; carry another team into the postseason.

If you’re a Cardinals fan, this could be the worst day of your life. Well, maybe it’s not that dramatic, but it certainly feels that way for the first day at least. However, if you’re looking for someone to blame for the collapse of the contract negotiations, there really isn’t any one or any thing.

Pujols gave the Cardinals the hometown discount six years ago, he doesn’t have to do it again. Any list of the “most underpaid players in baseball” should have Pujols listed as No. 1.

Pujols is reportedly seeking a 10-year, $300 million contract. It’s no secret that he’s using Alex Rodriguez’s record-setting 10-year, $275 million contract he signed with the Yankees in 2007 as a benchmark for his new deal.

If you’re a Yankee-hater and a Pujols fan, you’re probably blaming the Yankees for the Cardinals’ current situation. Don’t do that. In the end, you’re worth what someone is willing to pay for you.

Is Jayson Werth worth $125 million? Probably not, but his paychecks say otherwise. Pujols has been the most dominant and impressive player in baseball for the past decade, and he deserves to be paid accordingly.

Since 2001, Pujols has hit just 16 fewer home runs and driven in just six less runs than Rodriguez, yet he’s made $155.3 million LESS. The man needs to get paid.

He’s not LeBron James, bolting from his long-time team to form a super-team somewhere else. Well, until we know where Pujols will sign, I suppose that could happen. But unless he signs with the Boston Red Sox or the Yankees, you really can’t make the comparison.

The Cardinals have known this day was coming. They knew having the best player in the game would mean you’d have to pay him eventually. Reportedly, the rift between the two sides isn’t number of years, it’s annual salary. The contract offered by the Cardinals would have put Pujols in the top 10 in annual salary, but not the top 5.

The Cardinals expect Pujols to be outside the top 5 in terms of salary? That’s not going to happen and it’s not because Pujols is greedy.

If you ask Cardinals manager Tony La Russa why they weren’t able to re-sign Pujols, he’ll tell you it’s because the MLB Player’s Union was pressuring Pujols to take the most money, which isn’t coming from St. Louis. La Russa called the pressure “an anvil thrown on Pujols’ back.” That’s ridiculous.

First of all, yes, Pujols should try to get as much as he can while he still can—any one of us would in his position—but no one tells Albert Pujols what to do. To think Pujols got a phone call from the Players Union, telling him to leave St. Louis for greener pastures is crazy.

Pujols is going to be a free agent, that much we know. Where he’ll sign, we can only speculate for now. Pujols has said he will not negotiate again during the season because he doesn’t want to be distracted and he’ll veto any trade. So for now, Pujols remains a St. Louis Cardinal, a part of the team he’s said he wants to play for for the rest of his career.

I guess we’ll find out if that’s true or not.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

When the New York Yankees signed pitcher CC Sabathia to a seven-year, $161 million contract, they included opt-out clauses in each of the first three years of the deal. Why? Because Sabathia wasn’t sure he wanted to pitch in New York, so to lure the hefty left-hander into pinstripes, the Yankees gave him an out.

Yesterday, when asked whether he would opt out and become a free agent at the end of the upcoming season, Sabathia said, “I have no idea. [The opt-out clause] is still in my contract. Anything is possible.”

Let’s get one thing straight: If Sabathia has another great season for the Yankees, he’s going to opt out. How do we know this? Because he’s not an idiot.

In two seasons in New York, Sabathia is 40-15 with a 3.27 ERA. He finished third in the AL MVP voting last season. Let’s be honest: considering the state of the Yankees’ starting rotation, the Yankees need CC more than he needs them.

So if Sabathia puts together another great season, he’ll either opt out of his his current contract and become a free agent, or use that possibility as leverage against the Yankees to add some more years and more dollars to his contract.

Sabathia isn’t going to announce his decision during the playoffs, a la Alex Rodriguez, but he is going to opt out.

That said, if Sabathia becomes a free agent, the New York Mets have got to get on the phone and sign this guy. There are a million reasons why they should and almost no reasons why they shouldn’t.

Sabathia is a workhorse, something the Mets probably wouldn’t know what to do with if they had him. Sabathia has thrown a minimum of 230 innings in each of the last four seasons.

He’s pitched through five trips into the postseason, granted to the tune of a 4.66 ERA, but he’d still be one of only two Mets’ starters with postseason experience—the other being Johan Santana, of course.

Sabathia will turn 31 in July, so he’s still well in his prime, making a long-term deal about as low-risk as they come.

And let’s be honest: the Mets need to make a splash. The 2012 free-agent pool is thin on starting pitching, the Mets’ biggest need, and bringing in Sabathia would give the Mets an immediate boost, not to mention they will have stolen the No. 1 starter of their cross-town rival.

When you start talking dollars, that’s where things get a little difficult. Most recently, the Philadelphia Phillies signed ace Cliff Lee to a five-year, $120 million contract, far less than Sabathia’s current deal. Lee will make just $11 million this season, but then it jumps to $21.5 million in 2012 and $25 million from 2013-2015.

If Lee is making $25 million at the age of 35, Sabathia certainly deserves as much at 32.

The Mets will have $55 to $60 million coming off the books after this season. They’ll need to make a decision regarded shortstop Jose Reyes, but that could come during the season so we may have a clearer picture of the Mets’ finances if they re-sign Reyes.

The other question is just how much of that available money will be reinvested in the team. Until the Piccard lawsuit is settled, we wont know what affect it will have on the team’s operations. General Manager Sandy Alderson has also said that the Mets payroll is “significantly” higher than he’d like.

Right now, the Mets’ payroll will be between $145 to $150 million. So what’s the number they’d like to have—$125 million? $130 million?

Sabathia has another five years and $115 million left on his contract. Could the Mets afford to make that seven years and $180 million?

Johan Santana will make $22.5 million in 2011, $24 million in 2012 and $25.5 million in 2013. Combined with Sabathia’s potential salary, and that’s a lot of payroll committed to two players, something Alderson may not be in favor of.

But the Mets are more in need of a big move than almost every other team in baseball. Their fanbase is opting more and more to stay home instead of going to the games, they’re looking at hundreds of millions being sent back to the victims of Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, and every day that Luis Castillo and Oliver Perez remain on the roster, the team loses credibility.

And what would energize the fanbase more than adding a pitcher like CC Sabathia, especially when you take him from the Yankees, leaving their rotation in ruins?

If Sabathia hits free agency, the Mets have to try to sign him. It’s a no-brainer, guaranteed beneficial move. It gives the Mets one of the best one-two punches in baseball, with Sabathia and Santana at the top of their rotation, and a hugely popular New York baseball player to energize the fanbase.

Sabathia has reportedly dropped 25 pounds to start this season; he’s going to have a great year once again. That means he’s going to opt-out of his contract and he’s going to want more money and more years.

The Mets have to give it to him.

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After the Boston Red Sox acquired Adrian Gonzalez from the San Diego Padres for prospects, anyone who does projections for the upcoming season has been salivating at the thought of what Gonzalez will do at Fenway Park.

Gonzalez has spent the last five seasons in the very pitcher-friendly PETCO Park, so a change to a much smaller park should give Gonzalez a big boost to his numbers this season.

He’s still recovering from offseason shoulder surgery and he has yet to begin swinging a bat, despite having already arrived at Spring Training. Gonzalez was expected to be handling a bat on March 1, but he claims he’s ahead of schedule.

So with all the projections for Gonzalez in 2011 being thrown around, I thought I’d throw one out there, more like a question really.

Can Adrian Gonzalez collect 100 extra-base hits?

In five seasons in the very spacious PETCO Park, Gonzalez averaged 32 home runs and 99 RBI each season. His average number of extra-base hits was 69.

So can a move to Fenway Park make 100 extra-base hits a realistic possibility for Gonzalez?

Last season, Gonzalez batted .298 with 31 home runs and 101 RBI. He collected 44 XBH, including 33 doubles, 12 at PETCO.

He sent 17 of his 33 doubles, more than half, and 13 of his home runs to the opposite field. Overall, 65 of his 176 hits (36.9 percent) went to left field.

So it’s safe to assume that once Gonzalez sets his eyes on the Green Monster, he’s going to look to bounce balls off of it all season long. Gonzalez had an estimated nine outs at PETCO last season which would have gone for extra bases or home runs at Fenway Park, according to Michael Hurley of NESN.com.

The most home runs Gonzalez has ever hit in a single season was 40 in 2009, and his highest total for both doubles (43) and triples (3) came in 2007. So that would be 86 extra base hits.

Let’s assume Gonzalez gets at least one triple. Last season he didn’t have any, but in each of the previous five season, he had at least one, so I think it’s a safe assumption.

If Gonzalez can improve his career highs in home runs by just six and doubles by just 10, and he gets that one triple, that’s 100 extra-base hits.

Is a projection of 46 home runs and 53 doubles out of the question for a hitter of Gonzalez’s ability, in a lineup like Boston’s? I don’t think so.

In case you’re curious, Babe Ruth holds the all-time, single season record for extra-base hits with 119 in 1921. The only active player to collect 100 or more extra-base hits in a season is Todd Helton, who actually did it twice—103 in 2000 and 105 in 2001.

So it’s clearly not impossible, though Helton’s feat needs to be kept in perspective for obvious reasons.

Overall, 12 different players have done it.

Will Gonzalez add his name to that list this season? Red Sox fans certainly hope so, and I’m sure Gonzalez himself wouldn’t mind either.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Coming off a career season, New York Yankees second baseman Robinson Cano has hired agent-to-the-stars, Scott Boras, with a big payday in 2014 on his mind. Yes, I know what you’re thinking:

“That’s three years away. We’ll worry about it then.”

Right now, the Yankees’ decision to buy out Cano’s final arbitration years is the bargain of the century. Cano has a team option for 2012 and 2013 for $14 and $15 million respectively.

Last season, Cano batted .319 with 29 home runs and 109 RBI. He set career-highs in almost every offensive category and finished third in MVP voting. According to FanGraphs.com, Cano’s 2010 season was worth over $25 million to the Yankees.

So if Cano can even come close to repeating last season’s performance over the next three years, what kind of payday will Boras net his new client?

There are a lot of factors to consider here, and they all point to a huge contract for Cano. First, if this year’s offseason is any indication as to where baseball is headed, it means lots of years and big money for Cano.

There were more $100 million contracts given out this offseason than any previous year. The Boston Red Sox gave Carl Crawford $142 million over seven years, while the Washington Nationals gave Jayson Werth $126 million over seven years.

Cano will be younger than both Crawford and Werth when the time comes to talk contracts.

Second, the Yankees need to lock up their young talent, amidst a core of aging superstars. Andy Pettitte just officially announced his retirement, turning the fabled “Core Four” into the core three. For all intents and purposes, 2011 appears to be Jorge Posada’s last season in pinstripes, so soon it will be the core two.

Derek Jeter is 36 years old and general manager Brian Cashman has already made it clear he doesn’t see Jeter finishing his current four-year deal at shortstop. Also, if uber-prospect Jesus Montero can show he’s able to handle the every day catching duties, a move to DH for Alex Rodriguez should be discussed.

In a few years, the Yankee infield could have a very unfamiliar look to Yankee fans.

One thing is for sure, the Yankees will always be willing to shell out big bucks to bring in the players they need in order to win. Desperate to make any sort of splash this offseason after missing out on Cliff Lee, the Yankees signed another Scott Boras client, Rafael Soriano, to a three-year, $35 million contract, which contains opt-out clauses in each of the first two years.

While the addition of Soriano gives the Yankees one of the best bullpens in baseball, paying a reliever $11 million to be a set-up man is a bit outlandish. It does, however, show us what Boras can get his clients when he has a team in desperation mode.

Now, we can’t say the Yankees are going to be desperate in 2014, but if Cano keeps putting up the kind of numbers he did last season, there are going to be a lot of teams competing for Cano’s services.

Cano will be in the middle of his prime years when he hits free agency, and the production he gives the Yankees at a premium position is invaluable. If the Yankees start getting 35-40 homers to go along with a high average and excellent defense from Cano, they had better be prepared to pay up.

With youth, ability and now Scott Boras on Cano’s side, what contracts will he have his eyes on looking ahead to his time?

The Yankees gave then 32-year-old Alex Rodriguez 10 years and $275 million, the richest contract in baseball history. The Yankees gave another Boras client, then 29-year-old Mark Teixeira, an eight-year, $180 million contract.

Are those realistic contracts given Cano’s ability? Time is on the Yankees’ side in this case, but they’re going to need a number in mind when it comes to Cano, or Scott Boras is going to get it somewhere else.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

As we’ve all heard by now, the New York Mets, specifically principal owner Fred Wilpon and his son-in-law, Saul Katz, are being sued by Irving H. Picard, the trustee for victims of Bernard Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, which stole as much as $65 billion from investors.

According to reports published by the New York Times, the Mets invested as much as $523 million with Madoff, withdrawing $571 million, a net profit of $48 million.

Picard is trying to recover $300 million in what he calls, fictitious profits, from the Mets.

Lawyers for Fred Wilpon countered that the Mets still had $500 million invested with Madoff when his scheme collapsed, all of which was lost, and that Picard is only focused on accounts which made a profit, while others lost as much as $160 million.

The Mets invested with Madoff over a period of 25 years, and they have stated that a profit of $300 million, whether accurate or not, is not a lot considering the length of investment.

The thing about the lawsuit which makes no sense is the trustee is only focused on those accounts which netted a “profit,” while others took heavy losses or were wiped out entirely when Madoff’s scheme was discovered.

Also, one of the biggest contentions of Picard is the Mets “knew or should have known” what Madoff was doing. First of all, when did the Mets become members of the SEC, charged with enforcing federal securities laws? Second of all, Madoff was able to operate his Ponzi scheme for years without any one knowing, despite serious warnings.

A report by the SEC published in August 2009, says that between 1992 and 2008, the agency received “six substantive complaints that raised significant red flags concerning Madoff’s hedge fund operations that led to questions about whether Madoff was actually engaged in trading.”

But the Mets are at fault for not knowing? And if they did know, why would they invest so much with Madoff and put the team itself in jeopardy?

One reason people point out is the accounts the Mets had invested with Madoff regularly saw profits of 10-13 percent, but that wasn’t anything to do back flips over at that time in the economy.

Another issue the media is focusing on is the Mets had invested deferred payments with Madoff, while the Mets contend that those payments had not been invested with Madoff for several years. Even so, Major League Baseball requires a record of all deferred payments to be surrendered every year in July, a requirement which the Mets have satisfied every year, according to the NY Post.

The Post also reported that it is not uncommon for teams to invest deferred compensation, which would allow them to make money while still making the payments.

Frank Cashen, the former general manager of the Mets, is one such person who had several million of his deferred dollars invested with Madoff by the Mets, yet he says he has always been paid. So what’s the problem?

Almost as soon as Madoff was discovered and arrested in December of 2008, the Mets owners and their partners surrendered over 700,000 documents, including sworn statements, memos and depositions to Picard and his investigators, which the Mets say outline all of their dealings with Madoff, as well as demonstrate they had no knowledge of Madoff’s scheme.

Yesterday, a lawyer for Picard said negotiations between the two sides to resolve the lawsuit have ended. It was reported the Mets were willing to settle the lawsuit as quickly as possible once the amount of money had been determined, yet Piicard and his lawyers are now unwilling to do so, instead opting to end talks and take the matter to court.

It seems Picard has a well-known sports team, in the biggest city in the world, over his knee and he’s trying to wring them for every dollar he can. Picard has the ability to go after any and all ill-gotten gains, as well as additional amounts depending on what his investigation yields concerning the conduct of Madoff investors.

In other words, because Picard believes the Mets knew, or should have known, what Madoff was doing, he’s entitled to recover much more money from them.

David Sheehan, a lawyer for Picard, has asked that the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Manhattan unseal the suit, claiming the Mets have “…taken action to try this case in the press and in the court of public opinion.”

Really? Every report coming from the NY Times has cited “two lawyers familiar with the litigation,” and those two certainly aren’t from the Mets.

The reporting on the Madoff situation has been poor at best. Each report has different numbers and different information. While the Mets were willing to pay to settle this matter quickly, Picard and his lawyers have decided to drag the Mets through the fires as if to make an example out of them.

Much more information will be available once the suit is unsealed on Feb. 9, but right now it seems as though the Mets are the only side willing to play ball in this scenario.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

After 16 seasons, 13 with the New York Yankees, Andy Pettitte has announced his retirement, ending any speculation he’ll pitch in 2011.

Yes, he may still make a come back during the season, and certainly most Yankee fans hope he will, but for now, let’s operate on the assumption that he’s gone for good.

The Yankees finally know Pettitte’s status and they can stop wondering, but that’s about the only affect his announcement should have on the team’s operations.

From the time the season ended, general manager Brian Cashman has had to build his team as if Pettitte would not be a part of it this season. Everyone is asking who the Yankees will add to replace Pettitte, but why are they asking that now?

If the Yankees believed Pettitte had been learning towards retirement this entire time, they should have already found a replacement for him, and if he happened to come back, that would have just been icing on the cake, but it wasn’t necessary for their offseason plans.

There were statements from general manager Brian Cashman more than two weeks ago that Pettitte would not be returning in 2011.

On January 12, Cashman told reporters that Pettitte “is choosing at this stage to not start 2011.” He then clarified his statement, saying he meant to say “pitch” instead of “start,” meaning Pettitte wouldn’t pitch in 2011.

“Andy’s been very communicative [with me] on this issue. Right now, he’s not playing. If he decides to play, it will be for us,” Cashman stated. “He’s a Yankee, from start to finish. I don’t think he’s determined whether he’s officially finished, but is choosing at this stage to not start 2011.”

That was almost three weeks ago. So why is the question of how they’ll replace Pettitte in the starting rotation being asked now? Surely Cashman has been under the impression that he wouldn’t have his prized lefty (no, not Cliff Lee) in the starting rotation this season.

It seems Pettitte made it perfectly clear that he wouldn’t pitch in 2011. He is set to officially announce his retirement today, but Cashman and the Yankees had all the indications they needed three weeks ago.

They should have prepared for this already.

After missing out on Cliff Lee, the Yankees’ starting rotation is questionable at best. After CC Sabathia, they have to worry about the sophomore slump of Phil Hughes and the up-and-down antics of A.J. Burnett. Ivan Nova is expected to fill the No. 4 spot, but the fifth spot is still very much up for grabs.

Cashman has brought in Bartolo Colon and Freddy Garcia to compete for the last spot in the starting rotation, as well as in-house candidate Sergio Mitre. All those additions came before Pettitte’s official announcement, so why do they suddenly need to replace him now?

“He’s not delaying anything, he’s not pushing us back, he’s not hurting us,” Cashman said at a fundraiser on January 26. “He was honest up front from the very beginning. Of course we’d like him to play.”

The questions about how the Yankees would replace Andy Pettitte should have started two months ago, not this week. Cashman knew that, which is why he’s spent the majority of this offseason trying to add starting pitching.

While many Yankees fans love to get on Cashman for not bringing in Lee or Carl Crawford, or not wanting to sign Rafael Soriano, you have to give him a little bit of credit: he built his offseason around the assumption that Pettitte wouldn’t be in the starting rotation come Opening Day.

There were certainly good starting pitching options available earlier in the offseason, such as Brandon Webb, Jeff Francis and Chris Young, but the Yankees have added their fair share of starters to fill out the rotation because Cashman had abandoned his hope a month ago.

If one day this season Andy Pettitte’s face shows up on the big screen at Yankee stadium and Susan Waldman has another nervous breakdown on the radio, Yankees fans everywhere will rejoice.

For now, though, they must come to terms with the fact that the reliable left-hander wont be taking the mound in 2011. Brian Cashman certainly did… a month ago.

Read more MLB news on BleacherReport.com

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the New York Mets, Fred Wilpon, and Chief Operating Officer, Jeff Wilpon, issued the following statement today:

“As Sterling Equities announced in December, we are engaged in discussions to settle a lawsuit brought against us and other Sterling partners and members of our families by the Trustee in the Madoff bankruptcy. We are not permitted to comment on these confidential negotiations while they are ongoing.

However, to address the air of uncertainty created by this lawsuit, and to provide additional assurance that the New York Mets will continue to have the necessary resources to fully compete and win, we are looking at a number of potential options including the addition of one or more strategic partners. To explore this, we have retained Steve Greenberg, a Managing Director at Allen & Company, as our advisor.

Regardless of the outcome of this exploration, Sterling will remain the principal ownership group of the Mets and continue to control and manage the team’s operations. The Mets have been a major part of our families for more than 30 years and that is not going to change.

As we have said before, we are totally committed to having the Mets again become a World Series winner. Our fans and all New Yorkers deserve nothing less.”

The Mets are currently involved in a lawsuit with Irving H. Piccard, the trustee charged with recovering and distributing money to the victims of convicted ponzi schemer, Bernie Madoff. Both the team and the Wilpons themselves were sued.

According to a report published by the New York Times, a Mets fund—titled “Mets Limited Partnership”—invested $522.7 million with Madoff and withdrew $570.5 million over the course of several years, a $47.8 million profit.

In October, Fred Wilpon called Madoff’s actions “a complete betrayal of us.”

So far, the Wilpons have not directly said that the Madoff situation would affect the Mets’ finances. This offseason, the Mets have been unwilling, or unable, to add additional payroll other than scheduled raises for certain players. They have made several low-key additions, but were not players for the bigger free agents, such as Carl Crawford or Cliff Lee.

So what are fans to take from today’s statements?

Well, there were no comments made concerning the lawsuit itself, other than that they were unable to comment, of course. But there are some important parts of the Wilpons’ statement that fans will want to pay attention to.

First, the Mets are seeking the addition of “one or more strategic partners.”

In December, Sterling Equities, the Wilpon-owned real estate company, said:

“Regardless of the outcome of [the lawsuit], we want to emphasize that the New York Mets will have all the necessary financial and operational resources to fully compete and win. That is our commitment to our fans and to New York.”

That may no longer be the case. If the Mets are in need of additional partners to help support the team’s finances, then perhaps the Madoff dealings had a far greater impact on the team than previously reported by the Wilpons.

Steve Greenberg, who the Wilpons have hired as their adviser in their search for “partners,” is the son of baseball Hall of Famer Hank Greenberg.

Allen & Company is widely regarded as the premier investment house in the media and entertainment industry, regularly dealing with guys like Bill Gates, Warren Buffet and Rupert Murdoch.

Only time well tell how this situation will directly affect the team. If the Wilpons are going to continue to insist that it won’t have any negative affects as far as payroll is concerned, then fans need to see that through free agent signings and growth in the farm system.

If the Mets are in need of investors for the team, how will that change the dynamic of current operations and how will it change how the new front office will function?

The Wilpons said they will not look to sell the team, regardless of how the search for partners turns out.

This current situation is just another weight on the backs of Mets fans. Not only is the team itself in question, but now it’s finances aren’t in much better shape. Expectations are already low. It would be a shame for this situation to get more play than the actual team.

Update: On a conference call today, the Wilpons said they are willing to sell a 20-25 percent stake in the team to infuse cash.

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