Let me preface my remarks by stating unequivocably that I am now and always have been a die-hard Boston Red Sox fan. I have been through the decades of "bad" and the decade of "good" . We all want our team to win, but let's look at what is happening in Major League Baseball. As you know, there is no salary cap in this sport, so the teams that have the financial resources are going to be more successful overall. Occasionally, a team with a low payroll, has some young up-and-coming players, who perform above and beyond the norm and the team is competitive briefly. Later on, those players leave for " greener pastures" with the rich teams.
But let's look at the big picture. The "richest" teams are clearly the Yankees, Red Sox, Angels, Dodgers and the "poorest" teams are the Royals, A's,Orioles, Astros and Pirates. Which ones do we always talk about as "winners" or "potential winners" and which ones never are in the discussion?
How would you like to be a fan of the KC Royals, knowing that the before the season started, you entire team's payroll is less than that of just Jeter and A-Rod. You have no chance, so unless you are just a fan of the game, you don't go to many or any games and attendance figures are horrible, meaning even less revenue.
During the season, teams such as the Yankees have the luxury of constant re-evaluation and additions to the roster and payroll. Their contract with the YES Network, their advertisers and huge fan base basically make it so that there is NO CEILING whatsoever to what they can spend. They are already this year at $230M, which is at least $75M more than the next team in line and more than 5 times as much as the majority of other major league teams. They have a struggling pitcher. That's OK; let's go buy another one or trade for another one. A player gets hurt; OK, let's go get a replacement player. When you look at the Yankees, you see A-Rod, Teixeira, Granderson, Sabathia, Petitte, Swisher, Burnett and realize that these guys all came to the Yankees as free agents and other teams could not afford to pay what the Yankees could. The Yankees were the highest bidder for each of them, by a mile. Paying a luxury ( overspending ) tax is of no issue to the Yankees. They could literally run their payroll to $400M and still be in the black, just with media deals. They have a city of 15M people and a new park with nice seats and expensive souvenirs and food. Tickets run up to $750 per game and they still nearly fill it. Some of the poor teams are offering 10 game blocks of tickets for $99, just to get people in the park.
Does anyone think that this disparity is going to get better? It's not. The Yankees have an all-star team. One of their worst regular players is Swisher, a virtual star on any other team. With no salary cap, their potential to win World Championships increases each year as more teams fall behind.
Worse than the thought of the Yankees winning the world Series multiple years or decades in a row, is the thought that bankruptcy looms in the future for many low budget teams. It's hard to atract fans when you always lose. The Pittsburgh Pirates, once a proud franchise, is drawing under 11,000 fans per game. They won't last very much longer that way. They are on their way to their 20th consecutive losing season. It's the same for KC, Oakland, Houston and a host of other clubs. We don't need to lose baseball in major cities now and head back to only having 8 teams.
The 19-39 year olds are not that interested in baseball now, because of its lack of constant action. This is a generation that needs a reason to come back. Losing won't help that happen in the cities they reside.
Some teams should be getting better, because when the rich teams play a luxury tax, the money goes to the poorer teams, supposedly to go out and buy free agents. The last few years has shown that this isn't happening. The money is being used to pay regular bills that otherwise unpaid, would push the teams toward bankruptcy. The system is broken and it needs to be fixed.
Remember, I am a Sox fan, and I know that a salary cap would bring all the teams to the approximate same level. That's OK with me, because I like real competition.
Some people beleive that it has nothing to do with the teams, but rather it's the hiring of good managers. This is total nonsense. Look at the successful managers recently.
Terry Francona was a horrible manager in Philadelphia, when they wouldn't spend any money. He comes to Boston and wins 2 titles. Did he suddenly get smart? No, he sudden;y had money behind him to get players ( Ramirez, Ortiz,Beckett, etc ).
Is Joe Girardi some kind of brain child? Anyone could coach that team in NY right now. Just fill out the card and send them out there. Everyone thought Joe Torre was a briliant manager. That's not true. How was he before the Yankees and now with the LA Dodgers? Did he suddenly get stupid or did the money pit run dry?
Is Lou Piniella a bad manager or does he just have a bad team? Why can't anyone win in Baltimore? The answer is clear. They don't spend money for players. You can't make chicken salad out of chicken shE#$^%@.
Every fall, fans of the NFL in nearly every city really beleive that their team can make it to the Super Bowl, because there is a cap on spending. In these games, talent wins out, the talent you already have, not the talent that you can spend freely to get later on.
I am naming MLB and the MLBPA my stiffs of the week, for failing to see what is happening to baseball and what will ultimately result in its demise. No player needs to make $20M+ a year to hit a ball. The integrity of this game is in serious jeopardy and something needs to be done now.
