Yankees are obscene! With the ecomonic crisis the world is in...it's insulting to have the Yankees spending this type of money. Fk'em...they still won't win a thing anyway! It's called KARMA!!!!!
It's true! Smaller-market teams contribute nothing to baseball. In fact I bet the Yankees would make just as much money and sell just as many tickets if they were the only team in MLB.
You misunderstand me. I don't want really want that to happen, it just amuses me that teams are complaining about the Yankees spending when the Yankees bankroll their team.
Major League Baseball is now a joke.... the fans need to organize some kind've protest or something... Most flawed professional sport in existence right now in terms of competitiveness and parity. What a joke
I agree with this. MLB really needs to fix parity. Different teams winning the World Series every year, small market teams making the playoffs, all the teams making more money than ever, that stuff SUCKS!
Tell that to the Royals, Pirates, Orioles, and Blue Jays. None of those teams have a shot in hell at winning it all due to either A) the size of the market they play in or B) Playing in the same division that has two teams that are allowed to spend whatever they want with no limit. That's at least four teams that have absolutely ZERO chance to compete for a title because of money. This doesn't happen in the NBA, NHL, or the NFL. If I was a Yankee fan and they win the WS this year,, I couldnt even be all that happy. I mean.. it would be a much bigger story if they DON'T win it all. A half billion dollars in one offseason.. yeah.. it's so fair.
Don't get me wrong, I am glad to have those guys wearing Yankees uniform. But with that kind of money? It is just ridiculous. I have a hard time to understand how they make any money after spending like this. Maybe through ticket sales and viewership of the Yes network? But economics are bad and I doubt New Yorkers will spend more money on sports. Well, anyway I should stop worrying because it is not my money. I don't spend extra money on tickets, etc. I only watch TV so it is all good. Scott Boras must love Yankees for death.
I just disagree that money is why those four teams can't win. The Blue Jays have won a WS (two I think?) since the 90s. The Orioles were competitive for a long time and have a big market. It is their stupid management that has cost them competitiveness. And like I've already said, teams like the Royals and the Pirates are only able to stay afloat in MLB because of the Yankees.
I love how the argument in defense of the Yankees is essentially, "Well, they've cut loose a lot of dead weight (Pavano, Giambino, etc) for approx $80M and they've only spent roughly $60M so far. Judging by that they've actually cut their spending. Let em alone!" Meanwhile the whispers about Manny, the likelihood of resigning Pettitte, etc. all linger. Lord knows what they would have paid Mussina after going 20-9 had he not retired.
That's complete BS... the Royals and Pirates would be just fine without the Yanks.. And the O's and Jays had their success before baseball became such a money game and before teams like the Yanks, Sox, and Angels had their fortune that they now do.
I'm sure you are right. Facts imply otherwise, but who cares about those silly things anyways? And since it became a money game, the Yankees haven't won a world series. Just this decade alone MLB outpaces the other two big two sports in different champions.
While I agree with you in general - it certainly is FAR more difficult to win with Boston and NY in the division - this is not the year to make the argument that the Orioles and Blue Jays have no shot of winning, given that Tampa Bay just won that division and made the World Series.
If true, this should be a massive warning flag that the system is f***ed up. There's no reason that, as profitable as MLB is, a franchise in a city the size of Pittsburgh should be unable to stand on it's own. If this is happening, then the revenue/expense structure of the league is badly mismanaged.
And the Royals and Pirates were pretty damn good in the 80's and early 90's... and yadda yadda yadda. As soon as the small market teams stop crying about the inequalities, and actually commit some modest resources to the draft, and development (the Phillies/Rays model).... they will soon realize that not only do they have the BEST 5-7 years from their homegrown players that they'll have in the big leagues, but they can also influence the big market teams that think they will win by simply signing free agents (hasn't happened yet since the big payroll days started). The Yankees had their dynasty mostly because of Jeter, Rivera, Posada, Pettite... and suprise...those were all home-grown players. It always kills me when a team like the Royals or Pirates commits decent money to an also-ran free agent just to appease the home fans. Gil Meche? please...
Gil Meche was actually a decent signing so far, as it turns out. He's had a sub-4.00 ERA both years and is about 0.500 for a team with a terrible record otherwise. Doesn't really fit in with KC since they suck so bad and it's kind of pointless, but he'd actually be a great fit on a team needing a rock-solid #2 starter (say, the Astros).
It isn't an MLB problem that certain franchises are struggling though. Some are in bad situations such as the Marlins, but Pittsburgh is struggling because of Pittsburgh management.
A league has to be set up that the franchises that aren't winning are still sustainable because not everyone can win. For a comparison, the Memphis Grizzlies and Detroit Lions are self-sustaining. They won't be popular or particularly profitable, but they have be able to maintain themselves. Otherwise, the league is not very healthy from a business model perspective.
But it isn't about not winning that has made them unsustainable. The number of franchises in any real financial troubles are minor and they are kept afloat by taking from one team and distributing revenues.
