I won’t venture a guess on how the Mets’ owners can rationalize losing a deal that would have valued the club at $2.6 billion, a record for a major-league franchise. Generally, I have enough difficulty trying to figure out the team’s baseball decisions, this offseason being no different.



But here’s the crazy part, in the wake of the Mets’ failure to complete their sale of an 80 percent stake in the club to billionaire hedge-fund manager Steve Cohen, and their plan to pursue another buyer. The Mets’ owners, forever derided for their tight budget, are on track to open the season with a payroll of $183.3 million, according to Fangraphs – the highest in club history by approximately $25 million.



Cohen would have been a game-changer, an owner who could have gone head-to-head with the cross-town Yankees for expensive talent, ending the Mets’ annual fretting over decisions high-revenue teams should make without blinking.