anyone else starting to become very disillusioned about pro baseball?

[sask3m]

i always used to look forward to the winter meetings and see who would be traded etc., but now with the economy the way it is and seeing a team like the yankees going out and spending 1/4 of a billion dollars on two players it makes me sick, mlb needs a salary cap so badly its not even funny anymore, why is it that mlb seems to think the playoffs should only include a select few teams each year, at least that's sure how it appears, i know that the rays had a very low payroll and almost won it all this yr.but that is definitely the exception and not the rule

[Knight165]

Re: anyone else starting to become very disillusioned about pro baseball?

i always used to look forward to the winter meetings and see who would be traded etc., but now with the economy the way it is and seeing a team like the yankees going out and spending 1/4 of a billion dollars on two players it makes me sick, mlb needs a salary cap so badly its not even funny anymore, why is it that mlb seems to think the playoffs should only include a select few teams each year, at least that's sure how it appears, i know that the rays had a very low payroll and almost won it all this yr.but that is definitely the exception and not the rule

Being a fan of one of the higher payroll teams, while I won't disagree, I will say this.
My team, which usually has a top 5 payroll(usually top 3 actually!) has only made the playoffs 3 times in the last 25 years and hasn't had a world championship in 30 years.
To know that the F.O. spends that much and has the same track record as other teams that spend MUCH less makes it all the more frustrating.
What I really think bother you is that you feel that other than say the Mets/Yanks/RedSox and Dodgers...the rest of the league is like a feeder league for those teams.....and I agree somewhat.
I think that teams should be able to control a certain number of it's players for a much longer time(never happen thanks to the MLBPA)
It's a tough situation....and very complicated IMO.
The biggest problem here is the MLBPA. They would never go for a salary cap.
I'm sure most team owners would love one.

M.K.
Knight165

[SPTO]

Re: anyone else starting to become very disillusioned about pro baseball?

Nah, it's a fact of life. Don't worry, the big spenders will have to pay the piper sometime. I don't know how the Yanks and Mets expect to do more then break even over the next few years with this bad economy and having most of the seats bought by corporate entities. I'm especially intrigued at what will happen with the Mets. I mean Citibank is on the verge of collapse yet they can pay naming rights for the Mets' new stadium?

Seems kinda strange to me!

[sbauer318]

Re: anyone else starting to become very disillusioned about pro baseball?

The biggest problem here is the MLBPA. They would never go for a salary cap.

Exacty. I think the league would have to start losing money in order for them to even consider it.

[Knight165]

Re: anyone else starting to become very disillusioned about pro baseball?

Nah, it's a fact of life. Don't worry, the big spenders will have to pay the piper sometime. I don't know how the Yanks and Mets expect to do more then break even over the next few years with this bad economy and having most of the seats bought by corporate entities. I'm especially intrigued at what will happen with the Mets. I mean Citibank is on the verge of collapse yet they can pay naming rights for the Mets' new stadium?

Seems kinda strange to me!

Well...huge taxbreaks(NO TAXES!) is one way....
.....then there is the bailout(thank you America...you've just funded CitiField!(although I think they are trying to bar them from using any bailout money for this purpose..and they should)...
...while the corporations hold the most expensive seats...it certainly isn't the "most" seats in the stadium...
.....so a 4 million seat attendance helps...
....and then there is the TV money....
...and then....on top of everything else....is their cut from 80 games of 6 dollar hot dogs and 10 dollar beers(including the money they get from those companies for the right to sell their goods at Shea/Citifield)
Don't worry about the Mets/Yanks.....they're golden for YEARS to come.(and while I'm a fan of the team....I HATE the B.S. they get away with)

M.K.
Knight165

[SPTO]

Re: anyone else starting to become very disillusioned about pro baseball?

Thanks for the info knight though I was made to understand (especially in the Yankees' case) that the majority of the tickets are pretty damn expensive and the only affordable seats are upper deck/nosebleeds.

[Crash Davis]

Re: anyone else starting to become very disillusioned about pro baseball?

Salary cap is needed its been needed for over a decade, MLB is pretty dumb in alot of ways, stupid selig....
who cares if the league loses money, in the end you get a better product and more people watching (not that MLB isnt gaining fans)

[Misfit]

Re: anyone else starting to become very disillusioned about pro baseball?

Make no mistake, corporations and concessions drive ball park revenue, not the American family. The local corporations monopolize the good seats while ticketing agencies get most of the rest. Your average person is left with grandstands and bleachers, for the most part. I work for Citigroup and think its asinine they would spend 20 million a year to have their name on a ballpark while simultaneously announcing they're going to cut 70,000 jobs and some healthcare benefits.

The problem with the payroll situation is not just the teams spending way more than the median, but the teams that don't spend anything and are content to reside in the basement (Pirates anyone?). Its a lot harder to put a price floor in baseball though than it is to put a cap because where do you put the floor? 50 million? 60 million? The Rays just made it to the World Series on less than that.

The current system isn't perfect, but outside the Yankees, it has established a ceiling where most teams don't go over. A 200 million dollar payroll will always be ridiculous, and the real downside is the outrageous contracts given out by the big market teams set the market for everyone else, forcing a team like Kansas City to way overpay for a modest talent in Gil Meche. Unless the game has a good ten years of only big market teams going to the Playoffs then there won't be any changes made to the current system. The Player's Union is too powerful so the only way to institute big changes would be through government intervention or to endure a strike, and the game can't handle a strike.

[fenwayfaithful]

Re: anyone else starting to become very disillusioned about pro baseball?

i always used to look forward to the winter meetings and see who would be traded etc., but now with the economy the way it is and seeing a team like the yankees going out and spending 1/4 of a billion dollars on two players it makes me sick, mlb needs a salary cap so badly its not even funny anymore, why is it that mlb seems to think the playoffs should only include a select few teams each year, at least that's sure how it appears, i know that the rays had a very low payroll and almost won it all this yr.but that is definitely the exception and not the rule

A salary cap would just make the sport fair and normal...We wouldn't want that, would we?

[sask3m]

Re: anyone else starting to become very disillusioned about pro baseball?

A salary cap would just make the sport fair and normal...We wouldn't want that, would we?

lol, yeah who would want that, i just get mad sometimes at the amount of money being tossed around and then if these big shots get in financial trouble they get bailed out by the little guys tax dollars, aside from the money being wasted it also takes away from the teams that are actually trying to develop there farm system and do things the "old fashioned way", take the yankees (cause i don't want them) wasn't it just last year that cashman was saying the yankees were going to stop spending and build from within, lol, well that lasted all of one year, maybe instead of spending all that money on free agents they should spend a bit more on some good scouts.

[CMH]

Re: anyone else starting to become very disillusioned about pro baseball?

Thanks for the info knight though I was made to understand (especially in the Yankees' case) that the majority of the tickets are pretty damn expensive and the only affordable seats are upper deck/nosebleeds.

Seats are available, but it does cost over 20 dollars just to get seats in the Upper Deck in Yankee Stadium.

I'm not sure how that compares to other places, but if you want really good seats, you're spending good money.

[EnigmaNemesis]

Re: anyone else starting to become very disillusioned about pro baseball?

i always used to look forward to the winter meetings and see who would be traded etc., but now with the economy the way it is and seeing a team like the yankees going out and spending 1/4 of a billion dollars on two players it makes me sick, mlb needs a salary cap so badly its not even funny anymore, why is it that mlb seems to think the playoffs should only include a select few teams each year, at least that's sure how it appears, i know that the rays had a very low payroll and almost won it all this yr.but that is definitely the exception and not the rule

I hear what you are saying and agree.

What I think the problem is this year, is not that they are spending a lot of money, is that they are overpaying for talent that isn't even the best in their position ... and thus going to drive the market way higher on ones that are.

[dalnet22]

Re: anyone else starting to become very disillusioned about pro baseball?

Make contracts non guaranteed. If the player union doesn't like that, then they can go on strike. MLB can hire players who want to play for the love of the game rather than the cash.

It might suck for a few years, but it would eventually work.

[dodgerblue]

Re: anyone else starting to become very disillusioned about pro baseball?

The top 3 payrolls in 2008 (according to cbssportsline):
1-Yankees
2- Detroit
3- Mets

None made playoffs

Phillies were 13th and Rays 27th and no one watched. So what is better, to have a few popular high rollers who compete every year or for underdogs and one year wonders to win it all. It's a good question.

I have to admit, I am a Dodger fan (obviously) and having high priced payrolls have only netted 1 playoff series victory since 1988. Also I believe only the RedSox have won more than one ws this decade.

Salary caps don't exactly guaranty any stability with players and teams, look at the NFL and how much movement happens there. I think of the dynasty's of the past as a good thing. It marked the decades and has made the Yankees the hateable team that they are. Which I think is good for the game.

[JBH3]

Re: anyone else starting to become very disillusioned about pro baseball?

The top 3 payrolls in 2008 (according to cbssportsline):
1-Yankees
2- Detroit
3- Mets

None made playoffs

Phillies were 13th and Rays 27th and no one watched. So what is better, to have a few popular high rollers who compete every year or for underdogs and one year wonders to win it all. It's a good question.

I have to admit, I am a Dodger fan (obviously) and having high priced payrolls have only netted 1 playoff series victory since 1988. Also I believe only the RedSox have won more than one ws this decade.

Salary caps don't exactly guaranty any stability with players and teams, look at the NFL and how much movement happens there. I think of the dynasty's of the past as a good thing. It marked the decades and has made the Yankees the hateable team that they are. Which I think is good for the game.

That is a good question, and I think for most baseball 'enthusiasts' the NL & ALCS' were great baseball.

The World Series, while great for me because I'm a Phillies, was more or less a snoozer to most.

I have no problem w/ the infrastructure of baseball. Like everyone has said...Money doesn't translate into rings.

Look what the Yankees tried to rely on for pitching after years of buying up the FA market; a lousy Phil Hughes and Ian Kennedy.

That got them no where...So now they'll re-up w/ a couple of pitchers, forfiet more draft picks, and maintain a barren wasteland of a farm system.

Maybe they ride out the A-Rod, Jeter, Sabathia, Rivera train to another championship...maybe not...history favors the not.

All in all, I see these signings as desperation for a team w/ one of the games best players ever (A-Rod) who has underachieved - considering their talent level.