John Lackey

I think the Angels will be the best team in baseball next season.

MrPryck2U

Screw the salary cap! The Yankees are MLB's stimulus package. The bottom feeders like the Pirates, Royals and others all suck from the Yankees' generous revenue sharing teat. If there was a salary cap, the percentage of their cut might be less money or no money at all. I don't think those owners would like that.


It sure was cool watching the Yankees come down the Canyon of Heroes to City Hall and receive their keys to the city. Nobody throws a parade like New York.

Hewson

So Pubbie, are you gonna change your screen name to Joe Saunders or Ervin "not half as good as Johann" Santana when the Lackster signs with the Rangers?

Headache in a Suitcase

there is a LOT of truth behind this, even if it's the first time i've ever heard anyone use the word "teat" in refering to the salary structure of major league baseball.

it's very simple, people... major league baseball is NOT the N.F.L. everyone points to the NFL, they point to parity, they point to the salary cap, and they point to small market teams being on a "level playing field."

in a perfect world it would be great if major league baseball could do the same thing... but this world ain't perfect, and the NFL's system simply would not work in major league baseball for one major, glaring reason... TV revenue.

the NFL's TV contract is huuuuuuuuge, because every NFL game is an event because they only play 16 games. no other sport can do what the NFL does. if the NFL had to survive on ticket sales and merchandise alone, they couldn't use the system that they do. ticketing and merchandies is a fraction of the size of their TV contract.

a lot of small market teams survive on the revenue sharing money that they get from the yankees and the mets and the red sox and the phillies and every other team spending 100 million plus. some spend the money on talent (Florida), some put it in their pocket (Pittsburgh).

if you put a hard salary cap in baseball, this money would disapear. the small market teams would no longer get this extra revenue, because there is no massive, billion dollar national TV contract for baseball largely because of the style of the sport.

now if you want to argue that MLB can put in a soft-cap like how the NBA does? where a team can go over the cap to re-sign their own players, but any money spent over the cap goes into revenue sharing? maybe you could get that to work... maybe. and even the NBA has a ton of problems with their cap system and have had to tweek it numerous times. just look at the knicks... first bad management got them so far over the cap that they were paralyzed, now they're baisicly purposely tanking two straight seasons just to get under the cap so that they can try to be good agian. look at the struggles the bulls have had since jordan retired trying to get back up to a point where they can compete for a title... the celtics before they got KG, etc. etc.

the only perfect financial system is that of the NFL (even though some may argue that parity = shitty football). there is no grand solution to baseball's money issues.

would it be great if every team had the same amount of money to spend? sure. tell me how that would happen without violating the anti-trust laws, while still being able to turn a profit, and without pissing off one of the strongest labor unions in the world, and perhaps you can be elected president.

until then, baseball will continue to operate the same way it has since the early 1900s. no one said it's the fairest way, but teams like tampa bay, colorado, florida, and yes, minnesota have proven that it's fair enough to work if you're smart enough to make it work.

and anyone who's team spends over 100,000,000 on salaries complaining about the yankees spending too much is just silly.

the tourist

Headache in a Suitcase

yea great... everyone wants to complain about the yankees payroll yet nobody wants to put forth a viable solution.

Headache in a Suitcase

on to more important matters...

Hewson

And people really believed Michael Jackson had died.

GirlsAloudFan

Imperor

Looks like Slammin' Sammy took his Twilight obsession a little too far.

Got Philk?

You too can get the facial cream Sammy Sosa used...but only in Europe.

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speedracer

Unlike most guys, Buehrle won his Gold Glove with his fielding and not his hitting.

lazarus

Imperor

Well, Gaffer, Beckham and the Hound Doggie both got the shaft:

Balls.

Headache in a Suitcase

david wright has two gold gloves. that's all you need to know about the validity of the gold glove.