Sha-na-na-na Hey hey hey GOODBYE YANKEES!!!

[ggiese]

Well said, Sean... But the fact remains - you don't have to worry about being torn apart between your old home and your new home... The Yankees ain't playing the White Sox...


bbbwwwwwaaaaaahahahahahahahaha....

[cigar no baka]

Baseball should be a SPORT, not an ENTERPRISE, so it should be played on as level a playing field as possible. Having a huge disparity in payroll makes it boring for MOST of the fans (you know, we folks who live in "fly over" country (between LA and NY). Yawn, watch three of four teams take home half the championships and let all the little chumps take the rest and fight over who can compete with the fat payroll teams.

[Leebo]

The Yankee's suck, hands down....

[BigMacFU]

No Baka, your logic makes no sense though. The fact is, if you own a baseball team, you're wealthy enough, not matter what market you're in, to spend money and then spend even more. Like I said, don't be blinded by a jealousy of owners who are true fans and want their teams to win. Most teams by the way are owned by people who made their money elsewhere, as in another state/city/market. So, again, I ask, wouldn't you want the owner of your favorite team to do everything possible to win, yes or no? If you answer no, then okay, I guess you're not much of a fan, but if you say yes, then you cannot complain about what owners that choose to spend do, in fact you are more likely going, "I wish our dumb ass owner would spend like that."

[BigMacFU]

I just had another thought No Baka. I agree that baseball should not be looked at as an enterprise. So, if this is the case, let's evaluate which owners are really the ones making it that way...

Let's look at the Kansas City Royals, Minnesota Twins, and Baltimore Orioles. All these teams exist in profitable markets, though small. Look at the success of football teams from those areas. These teams though do not spend money on their team. How many times have you read about Minnesota fans complaining that their team could go all the way if only the owner would spend the money. But, how does the owner react, gives the team just enough money to do well enough to go .500. But, the owner ultimately won't spend any more money because he wants a new stadium. He refuses to spend or expand because he wants a new stadium. But wait, Minnesota fans are some of the most loyal fans in sports, look at their support of the Twins from the late 80's-90's, look at their support for the Vikings through thick and thin. So, the owner of the Twins doesn't really need a new stadium, but he is stuck on the idea that his team exists solely to make him a profit. We can do this exercise with the Kansas City Royals and Peter Angelos of the Baltimore Orioles. Just look at Angelos, he was the only owner to vote against the Expos being put into Washington because he was afraid he'd lose market share and money. But, wait, this guy has plenty of money, why is he so worried about profits?

Heck, let's look at the Cubs, the Tribune company makes HUGE profit off them, yet does not choose to put a truly winning team out on the field or in the managerial and coaching roles. They know that if they win just enough, or offer just enough hope, Wrigley Field will sell out every game. Their sole purpose of the club is to make money not to win.

Now, let us compare this to owners that are baseball fans, do they view their teams as enterprises, or do they view their teams as baseball fans would if they were owners.

Steinbrenner, Moreno, whoever owns the Dodgers, Giants, Rangers, these guys want to win and are willing to do whatever it takes. Often times this costs them more money than it makes them. Yet, they do this, they spend because they want to win.

Conclusion, the people making baseball an enterprise are the "small-market" team owners that got into the business for the sole purpose of profit. The people that make baseball a game are the owners, "small-market," or not who spend regardless of profit margin cuts so that they can put a winning product on the field. Again, I agree Baka, Baseball should be a game, not an enterprise, but it's not owners like Steinbrenner and Moreno, it's owners like Angelos, the Tribune Co. that make it into penny pinching, profit mongering, enterprise. Let me ask you one last question, how much does it cost you to go see a game near you? In the most expensive city in the United States, I can still go to a Yankees game for 10 dollars, that's it. Now, who's ruining baseball, Steinbrenner or the guy who owns the Royals and charges 35 dollars for a bleacher seat?

[grand cru no 2]

Sean, I agree with you. Besides, Drayton McLane outright bought another year out of The Rocket so he could put the best team on the field. Roger demanded a rediculous sum of $$$ to put off retirement for 1 more year. I don't care how you slice it, paying him 18 million for 1 season is buying him! And every Astros fan couldn't be happier he did!

[ggiese]

Sean - you made the EXACT case why I hate the Cubs. The "sheep" that follow the Cubs in the Chicago market are too blind to see that they will NEVER have a winning team. The Tribune company doesn't want to spend money on buidling a team - they'd rather spend money on putting up advertising billboards at Wrigley Field so that the people across the street can't watch the game. Their rise to "glory" two seasons ago was a fluke - and of course the "sheep" blame Bartman (an overzealous fan) for their failure.... The Cubs will make sure they keep one good player around, which is just enough to arouse interest in the team. It's absolutely sickening to me...