Rollins- lots of hot air

[Jim VB]

Originally Posted by whycough

The Yanks: $201,449,000 The Phils: $113,004,000 Big win there also, Yankee fans.

I don't understand your meaning. Would you be happier if the Yankees kept their payroll at $115 million (or some other abritrary number) and just made an additional $85 million in bottom line profit? Should the money just go to George rather than the players?

The fact is that Steinbrenner has built a business that generates more revenue than his competitors. It wasn't that way when he bought the team.

The best players want to go to the Yankees because, yes, they know they'll make the best money in the business, but more because they know they'll be expected to win, AND they know that management will give them every chance to win, every year.

There are many other owners who have more money than the Steinbrenner family. They just choose to not spend it on their baseball teams. That's their choice, but the fans pay the price.

Anyway, if you don't like this system, suggest an alternative.

[calvindog]

Amazing that the Yankees don't spread the wealth around to the other teams (oh wait, they do!) so that they reduce their chances of winning. You'd think that in today's society the Steinbrenners would be more sensitive to the plights of the other billionaire owners.

[base_ball]

"It's not if you win or lose, it's how you march in the parade."

[calvindog]

Jason, I'm not a Yankee fan so I can appreciate your points. Being a Yankee fan is probably more stressful than being a Cubs fan because the Yankees actually are expected to win as opposed to being mired in a culture of failure. I guess it depends on how you look at life: expecting success at every turn can be stressful but one tends to achieve success more often; hoping for the best but being at peace with failure usually produces the opposite results. Of course a zillion dollar payroll does help the former philosophy off the ground.

But to think that the Yankees are the only team which hires mercenaries is just not true as you fully know. Hell, the Brewers traded for Sabbathia last year just to get them into the playoffs. The Phillies did it this year with Pedro and Cliff Lee. At least the Yankees kept their team intact at the trading deadline and didn't have major contributors join the team with two months left in the season.

[JasonL]

Originally Posted by calvindog

Jason, I'm not a Yankee fan so I can appreciate your points. Being a Yankee fan is probably more stressful than being a Cubs fan because the Yankees actually are expected to win as opposed to being mired in a culture of failure. I guess it depends on how you look at life: expecting success at every turn can be stressful but one tends to achieve success more often; hoping for the best but being at peace with failure usually produces the opposite results. Of course a zillion dollar payroll does help the former philosophy off the ground.

But to think that the Yankees are the only team which hires mercenaries is just not true as you fully know. Hell, the Brewers traded for Sabbathia last year just to get them into the playoffs. The Phillies did it this year with Pedro and Cliff Lee. At least the Yankees kept their team intact at the trading deadline and didn't have major contributors join the team with two months left in the season.

to see that they tried to keep the team intact and win with what they had...and it worked. And yes, everyone hires the big guns, or tries to if they can. Your thoughts on stress and success are spot on, of course. Perhaps that is why the Cubs have such a huge fan base...being a Cubs fan is about more than just winning a game or a season. It's not the win that defines you, it's the experience.

I will say this, though, and it runs a little counter to my original post...but then again maybe it doesn't. I enjoyed this year's team more than I have in the past, as they actually seemed to form a team, and I enjoyed the pies in the face and any sign that they had individual personalities. That stuff resonates more with me, as a fan.

[calvindog]

Jason, I agree regarding this year's Yankee team: they were likeable. Even ARod with all the crap he went through actually seemed human; I was thrilled that he did well. As a Dodgers fan growing up I loathed the Yankees in the late 70s because they were easy to hate (any team with Reggie is especially easy to hate). This year's team seemed to have a lot of fun and was filled with regular guys who played hard. Look at Mark Teixeira: has there ever been a zillionaire baseball player who is so likeable? (Apologies to Oriole and Sox fans, of course)

[Peter_Spaeth]

Why would you be thrilled that an admitted steroid-user, a guy who cheated serially on his wife, a guy whose self-centeredness knows no bounds, did well?

[Jim VB]

Originally Posted by calvindog

Amazing that the Yankees don't spread the wealth around to the other teams (oh wait, they do!) so that they reduce their chances of winning. You'd think that in today's society the Steinbrenners would be more sensitive to the plights of the other billionaire owners.

There is not widespread demand for additional revenue sharing because the lower level team don't want to be forced to actually spend the money they receive.

The current system has two components revenue sharing: national TV money and a luxury tax. This creates a financial dis-incentive for bad teams to get better. Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Florida and KC, for example, have most of their payroll covered by shared money. If I remember right, the Pirates, playing in a new, publicly funded stadium, make a profit before they sell even one ticket. Their payroll is lower than the amount of money they receive from the league. Yet each season, we hear that they must sell or trade their best players for financial reasons.

Take a page from European League Soccer.

I would consider taking the 30 MLB teams and putting them in two divisions. A 20 team Major League and a 10 team "AAAA" league. Each year, let the top two "AAAA" teams move up and the bottom two Major League teams move down. The lower league gets no national TV games (or money). They get no All-Stars. They get their own playoffs, but no shot at a World Series, just their own league championship.



Then you'll see who wants to get better. They bad owners, who don't care, will be out in no time.