by David Skolnik

Created on: May 23, 2010

Did you hear? I just purchased the New York Mets baseball club from the Wilpons? It's an investor's dream. My investment broker advised me to make the deal. Fred Wilpon was looking to get out of the business and live the easy life on his yacht. Oh, he'll keep his eye on Sterling Equities to make sure everything is smooth sailing.

Now his son, Jeff Wilpon, said he would like to stay involved with the team. We worked out a deal where Jeff would serve as the general manager. That news came as a shock to Omar Minaya, but I paid him the balance of his contract. Hell be okay.

I know the fans and the media types have been critical of our team's hitting and pitching depth, so to prove I still want to win this year, I booted Howard Johnson and Dan Warthen and replaced them with Mike Piazza and Tom " The Franchise " Seaver, two team legends who deserve to be back home.

Now I love "HoJo" and it pained me to let him go. When I was making my fortune in the 1980s, "Hojo" was making headlines on the field from '86 through the early 90s. I wanted to keep him in the family in some capacity so I gave him a position as the director of the scouting system.

With Minaya moving on, we were set to let go of Jerry Manuel. He's not stupid. He knew it was coming. I couldn't make the move until I received a commitment from Bobby Valentine. I had to lure him away from ESPN. It was an offer he couldn't refuse.

About the 25-man roster, let's start with the infield. I adore Ike Davis at first base. He's the real deal. At 23, he's proven he can hit and play a daring brand of defense. The over-the-rail catches he made three times were unbelievable.

I like David Wright at third. He's been through some tough times in '09 and parts of this season, but I'll have Mike Piazza work with him to get his compact swing back and take the ball to the opposite field. We'll get him to reduce his strikeout ratio and follow the ball coming out of the pitcher's hand better.

At the end of this season, I plan to shake up the middle of our infield. I've been talking with the owners of the Florida Marlins. Hanley Ramirez is not happy in Florida. There's never anyone at Sun Life Stadium. Conversely, Jose Reyes isn't doing too well for us. So I plan to make that blockbuster deal by the trading deadline.

At second base, I will replace Luis Castillo with Dan Uggla of the Marlins. He's a free agent at the end of the season. He deserves more attention than he's getting. Plus, he's hurt us in the past, so I'd rather

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