Rollins- lots of hot air

[Jim VB]

I would never blame the fans directly for the problems of the team. I only ascribe "blame" to them in that they have accepted the status quo and are still willing to allow management to continue down the same paths.

I have respect for all fans, but especially like those, like the season ticket holders of the Cleveland Browns, who try to fight back.


Back in the early 1970's, Steinbrenner bought a team that was in total disarray. They had been bad for 10 years. They lost money. They didn't sell a lot of tickets. They put a poor product on the field. He invested his own money and took big dollar chances. Some worked out fine. Some he was forced to eat. He built the Yankees back to a financial powerhouse.

Fast forward 35+ years and he has the highest revenue team in the league. They draw in the neighborhood of 4,000,000 fans a year, despite ridiculous ticket prices. They have the richest TV deal of any team. And they are a team that expects to be competitive, if not win, every year.

I've asked this before and no Yankee haters ever answer, but what should he do with the money coming in? He continues to plow it back into the team. Should he just hoard it? Should he just record the profit and move on? Or should he continue to demand excellence from his players, coaches and team administration?

He already contributes big dollars ($40.0 - $50.0 million a year) into the weaker teams in the league. Many of them (not all) just sit on it. In 2003, the Marlins used something like $10.0 million (George's luxury tax money) to bring their entire organization and their families up to NY for the World Series (two trips). Yet when the season was over, they had to break up the team for financial reasons.

Look at this spreadsheet:
http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?k...XT3cpPRtt9qIGw

Three and four years out, some of these teams have zero payroll obligations! Their management thinks this is the way to run a sound business? The fans should be outraged.


(By the way, this spreadsheet and many more can be found at:
http://mlbcontracts.blogspot.com/200...678860040.html

It's a terrific site that allows you to look, in detail at the salary set-up ov every team.)