That was the problem though. They just spent money and didn't buy quality.
Our pitching in the 2000's was horrible.
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MLB 2010 hotstove
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Our pitching in the 2000's was horrible.
One could easily argue (and I have) that the problem is not the lack of a salary cap, but how little of baseball's revenue is shared. Teams share all of their ticket grosses with the road teams, but there's no cut of TV money, which is the biggest single revenue source. Why not? Every team needs to have opponents to play.
Scroll down in this article to see how much more the Yankees spent than the second-place team in this decade. In four of those years they actually outspent the second-highest spender by more than they did this year. It's true that they have an unfair advantage, but it didn't yield much in the way of results until this year.
Please stop doing that. It's "their". THEIR.
*****
Moving on to the Hot Stove, as a Dodger fan I'm worried about what this McCourt divorce is going to do to the team. If it hurts them even a fraction of what Moores' divorce did to the Padres, then they'll be out of contention. Moores' also claimed at first that the end of his marriage wouldn't impact the team's winning or force the sale of the franchise, but both happened.
The good news is that they have a core of young players that are relatively cheap, even though most of them are now eligible for arbitration. (Billingsley, Loney, Ethier, Kemp, Broxton, to name a few.) Their raises will be offset by finally taking Jason Schmidt off the books.
Recently I read one creative solution that's been going around to the Juan Pierre problem: trade him to the Mets for Luis Castillo. Sure, Castillo is overpriced and not that reliable, but LA is in need of a second baseman (assuming Orlando Hudson looks for a raise elsewhere) and has too many outfielders. The Mets can use a speedy outfielder. Of course, there are also many reasons that neither team would want such a swap.
How is JJ Hardy on defense at short? I have heard from some people he is incredibly underrated and I've heard from others he is terrible.
Umm...exactly why should the Yankees split their TV revenues? The Yankees were the first team to create their own channel which is set the standard for the rest of the sport. This is something that the Dodgers and Mets have both followed and taken advantage of. Steinbrenner was laughed off during negotiations Cablevision (the Dolan Family) and was told to go build his own network and that's what he did. He was the first to do it. He had to fight with other networks to get his station on the air because it allowed teams to have greater control over their airing rights and made other teams even more rich.
While every team needs an opponent to play, not every city needs a team. There are a few teams in baseball which frankly should not exist. Why should the Yankees have to prop up baseball's bad decisions?
I wish everyone would man up and stop whining about it. It was far worse in the early days where there wasn't even a draft and no one complained. Now people are complaining because the Yankees aren't paying your team enough money to keep your players while virtually every owner hides how much money they actually make.
You want know the Yankees spent so much than the Red Sox and Mets these past few years? It's because they were willing to go past the cap and pay luxury taxes to the other teams in order to win. The Red Sox and Mets weren't willing to do that so they stopped right before they point they had to pay a luxury tax. It wasn't that they didn't have enough money. What those teams did was a calculated move to keep their cash. I'm proud I've got an owner who'd sacrifice an arm to win.
The Yankees are like any other great teams or businesses like Ferrari, Real Madid, Cowboys and yes, even Apple. Winning or making the best possible product is their first passion and high earnings is the byproduct.
A couple of comments:
1) The Yankees have a HUGE advantage over everyone else because of one thing: the YES Network. YES generates several hundred million dollars per year in revenue to the Yankees (since YES is owned by the same company that owns the Yankees, though YES and the Yankees team operations are technically separate companies). I know that the Boston Red Sox has a 80% stake in NESN, but it's not anywhere as lucrative as YES.
2) If "Buster" Onley of ESPN is correct, the Yankees could land a LOT of good players next season. The reason is simple: there are a large number of players in arbitration from many teams the team could no longer afford the arbitration salary, and that could mean the Yankees could pick and choose the best of the players let go (the only other teams that might have a chance to get these players are the Red Sox, Phillies, possibly the Cubs and possibly the Mets).
1) The Yankees have a HUGE advantage over everyone else because of one thing: the YES Network. YES generates several hundred million dollars per year in revenue to the Yankees (since YES is owned by the same company that owns the Yankees, though YES and the Yankees team operations are technically separate companies). I know that the Boston Red Sox has a 80% stake in NESN, but it's not anywhere as lucrative as YES.
2) If "Buster" Onley of ESPN is correct, the Yankees could land a LOT of good players next season. The reason is simple: there are a large number of players in arbitration from many teams the team could no longer afford the arbitration salary, and that could mean the Yankees could pick and choose the best of the players let go (the only other teams that might have a chance to get these players are the Red Sox, Phillies, possibly the Cubs and possibly the Mets).
Actually, I don't think the baseball salary structure needs to be changed. I was merely saying that IF you were going to change something, increased revenue sharing would be a better way to go than a salary cap. A salary cap would just reward teams that don't want to spend money.
As for why the Yankees should share TV revenue, why should they share ticket sales revenue? Because they are. Every team is. If it's the principle that's flawed, then that needs to be changed now. Sharing other revenue would just be an extension of this.
Again, I'm not saying that baseball should do this. (This is where my "one could argue" phrase came in.) I'm saying that if something MUST be done, then increased revenue sharing (and a salary minimum) would be a better way to go. I don't think it will happen, and I'm on the record in other posts saying that the Yankees' mercenary-buying strategy has not worked until this year.
Increased revenue sharing doesn't mean that small market owners would spend the money given. MLB needs too put a low end cap forcing owners to spend money as well.
http://sports.espn.go.com/boston/mlb/news/story?id=4638041
Why are the Red Sox in love with Wakefield. he is getting old.
He is still a decent pitcher, even though he was injured for about 1/3 of this season, he put up average numbers, and he is a #5 starter so the Red Sox really have nothing to lose, and at 4.5 million dollars not including the incentives, that's a bargain.
I ask once again though, how is JJ Hardy on defense?
I ask once again though, how is JJ Hardy on defense?
He's a knuckle balling fifth starter and a solid team player,esp in the clubhouse. Even at his age,nothing to lose IMO..
http://msn.foxsports.com/mlb/story/10327310/Source:-Red-Sox-acquire-Hermida-from-Marlins
Typical Sox
Hes a young player who clearly has potential, costs nothing, and has no downside. At worst, hes an ok 4th outfielder. If he figures it out, hes a star. Now, we'll see if Francona will actually let him play..
Did you hear the Yankees are actually the probable team to sign John Lackey? That is going to be a disturbing starting rotation.
All I heard was that they were one of the potential suitors. My guess is that he will wait awhile to weigh his offers and other starters will wait until he signs to set the market.
Matsui probably won't be back especially if they're going after Lackey. They would want to clear payroll ahead of a potential signing. Matsui, unfortunately, is a full-time DH now and the Yankees may not have room if rumors are true that they want to use the DH as a rest stop.
EDIT: Interesting piece on Daring Fireball about the Yankees payroll.
Not interested in the Yankees payroll numbers.
To the hot stove topic, I'd love to see the Giants go after Beltre in the FA market and a trade for Bradley with the Cubs (giving Rowand and maybe others in return.) An addition of Beltre to the Giants would both strengthen their defense (switching Sandoval to first) and give another 25+ home run bat to the lineup. That goes under the heading of much needed help. Don't know how anxious the Cubs are to get rid of Bradley, but I'll take his emotional problems over Rowand's problems on the field. One big contract for another. One player I'd take a pass on, and who is rumored to be part of a possible trade to the Giants, is Dan Uggla. Can't stand his tin glove on defense. Which means it's the move the Giants will likely make.
To the hot stove topic, I'd love to see the Giants go after Beltre in the FA market and a trade for Bradley with the Cubs (giving Rowand and maybe others in return.) An addition of Beltre to the Giants would both strengthen their defense (switching Sandoval to first) and give another 25+ home run bat to the lineup. That goes under the heading of much needed help. Don't know how anxious the Cubs are to get rid of Bradley, but I'll take his emotional problems over Rowand's problems on the field. One big contract for another. One player I'd take a pass on, and who is rumored to be part of a possible trade to the Giants, is Dan Uggla. Can't stand his tin glove on defense. Which means it's the move the Giants will likely make.
Dan Uggla's defense isn't terrible despite what most people say. He's perfectly average. He has a monster arm for a second baseman, he has a little bit below average range and his hands at second aren't terrible, but nothing special. I think the reason why most people think he is terrible is because the All-Star Game.
I think that expecting another 25+ homer season for Beltre is optimistic, especially if he's playing in SF. But he's still very good on defense and won't be a complete black hole in the lineup, which is an improvement over what they have now. As always, it depends on how much he costs. In the current market, he might be affordable.
Considering that Bradley's worn out his welcome wherever he's played, you must REALLY be tired of Rowand. I thought Rowand was a bad buy from the start for the Giants. His numbers were inflated in Philly and that was never going to carry over to a pitchers' park. His OPS+ the last two years has been in the 90s, so it's not like he can't hit at all.
And in answer to your last thought, the Cubs are desperate to unload Milton. You might be able to get Bradley AND someone else for Rowand.
Sayhay, the Giants already signed Freddy Sanchez to a new two year deal, so second base is taken care of for a little while. Two years, $12 mil. Not a bad piece of business if last year's injuries were an aberration.
I do kind of like the idea of Adrian Beltre. I think he's really an NL kind of guy.
Not sure how I feel about Milton Bradley. Your scenario of acquiring him in exchange for Rowand is the only one that seems like it would be a win for the Giants.
Randy Winn's agent was informed that he would not be re-signed by the Giants. He was a good Giant and a great guy, but it's time for him to move on. Same thing for Rich Aurelia. Thank you for your great contributions to the Giants over the years, gentlemen! Godspeed.
I do kind of like the idea of Adrian Beltre. I think he's really an NL kind of guy.
Not sure how I feel about Milton Bradley. Your scenario of acquiring him in exchange for Rowand is the only one that seems like it would be a win for the Giants.
Randy Winn's agent was informed that he would not be re-signed by the Giants. He was a good Giant and a great guy, but it's time for him to move on. Same thing for Rich Aurelia. Thank you for your great contributions to the Giants over the years, gentlemen! Godspeed.