The Guy Who Wanted To Own The Mets, Like Everyone Else Ever Involved With The Team, Has Quit On The Mets

David Einhorn, the baby-faced assassin who would be extorting the snakebitten Wilpons all the way to the bank, will not be controlling the Mets for a dollar. He will not, in fact, own any part of the Mets.

His deal to purchase the team fell apart today:

Einhorn, president of the investment firm Greenlight Capital, issued a statement saying that the deal changed at the last minute before falling apart.

"I am disappointed to announce that I will not be purchasing an ownership interest in the New York Mets baseball team at this time," he said. "It is clear that it will not be possible for me to consummate the transaction on the terms that the Sterling-Mets organization and I originally agreed to several months ago. The extensive nature of changes that were proposed to me at the last minute has made a successful transaction impossible."

If you'll recall, the terms of Einhorn's proposed deal were such that he would essentially loan the Wilpons $200 million to weather the Bernie Madoff bankruptcy proceedings. In return, he'd receive a sixth of the team, and more if the Wilpons couldn't pay him back in time. But he wouldn't have received any part of the Mets' particularly lucrative cable station, SportsNet New York. That meant he'd be buying a baseball team loaded with debt and strapped for cash. So much for psychic benefits.

For what it's worth, sources "close to the situation" told ESPN that Einhorn was the one changing the deal around at the last moment, realizing that he had the Wilpons over a barrel. Now, evidently, the Wilpons will try to sell lots of minority stakes to friends and family. This seems like a poor plan, since we cannot imagine who would be interested in buying a massive slice of debt only to serve as Jeff Wilpon's yes-man.

But if any of the smaller shares are available for around $1.2 million, the Mets know whom to call.

David Einhorn, Mets part ways [ESPN New York]