Rob Manfred defends the choice of Fred Wilpon to server on the finance committee:

According to Manfred, the committee mostly deals with executive compensation and budget reviews. Issues dealing with possible fraud or inconsistencies in financial statements are handled by a separate group.

“I understand the whole Madoff thing, but – before and since – Fred Wilpon was an extraordinarily successful businessman,” Manfred told reporter Tyler Kepner. “If you really understand which committees do what, I don’t see it as an issue. He understands how the budget process in baseball has worked, and he’s more than qualified to fill that role.”

It just looks bad, especially when you’re the new commissioner. Manfred could have waited a year to do this.