Almost no chance of that in the forseeable future: record attendance, record media contracts, record revenue. They just extended the CBA with zero acrimony & bickering, trademarks of CBA negotiations past. Baseball's in great shape, financially, and both the owners & players seem to be quite happy with the status quo.
I would say baseball is in good shape, not great 23 teams had payrolls of atleast 100 million doallars less than the Yankees. It will catch up at some point IMO. As for today, yes baseball is doing well but MLB better hope that those poor tv ratings improve or else next go around those deals wont reflect the rising saleries. Guys don't under-estimate the power of the players union.
National ratings are less meaningful in the NBA and MLB... than the NFL. The NFL has a tv deal shared by all teams, and all their games are broadcast on some form of a national network. In the NBA and MLB, its the LOCAL tv deals that really boost the team revenue; it is there where the "health" of the game can be assessed. And, how are those local tv deals? They're at an all-time high... with more teams either developing their own regional networks, or signing with FSN at near record-level $$$ (like the Astros did). Also, teams nowadays broadcast virtually ALL the games... which was unheard of just 3-4 years ago. The free-market capitolism world of baseball is doing pretty damn good right now. Sure, if stupid owners start giving out contracts more than they can truly afford (which is what happened back in the 90's), you'll see some form of discord... but right now, owners THROUGHOUT baseball are spending from what they have.
One thing to note is that the escalating salaries right now aren't necessarily due to high payrolls getting higher, but more teams getting involved. More teams feel (rightly or wrongly) that they are in contention now, so more people are bidding for players. So its more that your smaller and mid-market teams are increasing payrolls than your big ones spiraling upwards (outside of a few exceptions). That's actually really good for the game, though it does inflate salaries (that won't last, in my opinion) and really screws with the deadline trade market as we've seen the last two years with more buyers and fewer sellers.
I'm glad the Astros didn't give Lidge away in a fire sale. The Red Sox have been keen on him. I wouldn't object to trading him as a part of a package to obtain a significant player like Tejada, but I think Brad still has a lot left. The main thing is that his stuff is still nasty. He still had stretches, particularly in the second half last year, when he was dominant. If returns to his 2004-5 form, the bullpen with Wheeler, Qualls and Nieve could rival that great bullpen with Wagner, Dotel and Lidge in 2003. Anyway, glad they resigned him.
I'm not so sure he has a mental issue either. I think he was simply worn down. It's not like the guy is Tim Redding. Think about the last few seasons. NLCS in 2004 pitching in nearly every postseason game. World Series in 2005 doing nearly the same. WBC to start the season off in 2006. I'm not suprised if the guy was just exhausted last season. If not making the playoffs did one thing, it's that the team got more rest than they had in the last few years. Hopefully, Lidge stayed as far away from baseball as possible to give himself a mental and physical break. I truly think he'll be back to form this season and will be just as dominating as ever.
FYI, here's what's going on with the Stros other arb-eligibles: Club Offer / Player Offer / 2006 Salary AE: 2.5 / 3.4 / 1.9 MoBerg: 4 / 4.9 / 3.8 Lane: 900K / 1.375 / 450K
Jeez the standards are pretty low. 32 saves looks impressive but I gotta figure anyone on the Astros staff converts at least 30 given as many opportunities as Brad had, including Wandy. After all, a lot of those saves were of the get three outs before giving up 3 runs variety. And Brad gave up 1 or 2 runs in several of those. I saw every inning of every home game. And while there were brief stretches where I was reasonably comfortable with Brad. Most of the season it was a total crapshoot. That said I think most of his problems are mental, and I hope he will return to form next year.
This is no big deal (anyway it's Drayton's money, not mine). If Lidge gets back to form we will be big time contenders with our new and improved lineup. That being said I would still trade him for a legit 3rd or better starter, or in a package for a decent offensive catcher and some good prospects. Let's not forget that our bullpen, in large part, took us to a world series. Qualls, Wheeler, and the retro-Lidge is about as good as it gets from the 7th inning on.
Of Lidge's 32 saves, he only gave up one or 2 earned runs in 4 of them. He got the save in a game he entered with a 1 run lead 11 times, a 2 run lead 10 times, a 3 run lead 10 times and a 4 run lead once.
a 3rd starter? Really? I mean, maybe a top-5 3rd starter...but I wouldn't deal Lidge for the Adam Loewen types that are out there starting on day 3..
How did he get a save when entering with a 4 run lead? Did he pitch 3 innings? (the 3 inning save rule)
he might have come in during the top of the 8th with us up 3, we score in the bottom of the 8th, and he pitches the 9th for the save...actually i think that is what happened, against the braves maybe?
MLB Rules 10.20(3)(b)He enters the game, regardless of the count, with the potential tying run either on base, or at bat, or on deck (that is, the potential tying run is either already on base or is one of the first two batsmen he faces);
