backnblack wrote:
Can we put this in the here-we-go-again file? I think the cap makes for a level playing field. The fact that the highest paid team doesn't win the WS every year is not a clear eyed way to assess their payroll's impact. They are certainly in the mix every year. Are all the highest paid teams in the mix every year? No. but more often than not. Basbeall has always been this way. The Yankees don't have 27 WS titles because their scouting is so much better than everybody else's. Also, the Braves were not one infield fly rule away from winning. They were three infeild errors away from winning.
BnB, the reason I still bring this up is because in the Original Thread the Scout proclaimed 'here wo go again!'..I wanted to show that the Yankees and R Sox are not necessarily 'locks' for the WS..It's kinda like after Katrina, everyone said we were going to have heavy hurricane seasons: and the nature went and decided to prove them wrong
Lets address the elephant in the room: those eeeeevil NY Yankees.
They have 27 titles, but part of the reason is because they have been around so long (one of the original teams) and because of where they are. They did not start really outspending until the late 60's: and didnt really really start pouring it on until the late 80's, 90's..And then when they got the YES contract, they really really REALLY spent.
When they gave Dimaggio the 100k contract in the 50's, their payroll spent only 7k more then the Cardinals: who gave Stan Musial a 94k contract. So lets throw out a little more then half of thier titles right there...
Somehow baseball is able to defy the inequalities created by a “capless” league. Yes, the Yankees spend the most and therefore are competitive nearly every year. But they spend the most because they make the most money of any team in baseball: they (arguably) have the most fans, sell the most merchandise and tickets, and have the most nationally televised games. Therefore, if we chose to embrace our country’s capitalistic ideals, the Yankees
deserve to spend more than any other team.
Deserve has EVERYTHING to do with it!
And they do spend—a lot. Last year, the Yankees payroll exceeded 206 million dollars—by far the most in baseball. In fact, only eight teams spent half the money the Yankees did. Out of those eight teams that spent half of the New York payroll, only one (the Philadelphia Phillies) made the playoffs. Only one of those eight teams (the White Sox) finished within six games of a division title. Four of those teams finished with a .500 record or worse and one (the Mariners) finished with the second worse record in the entire league.
In other words, money doesn’t necessarily buy success.More evidence can be found simply by scrolling through 2010 payroll statistics. The Yankees were knocked out of the playoffs by the Rangers, a squad with the fourth lowest payroll. Four teams from the top fourteen payrolls and four teams from the bottom seventeen payrolls were represented in the playoffs. This essentially shows equal success between teams who spend and those who don’t. Low payroll teams can combat the big spenders with other factors: a good farm system, good team chemistry, execution etc. Perhaps the biggest payroll anomaly of 2010 was the Sad Diego Padres, who’s monumental late season collapse kept them one game out of the playoffs. The Padres’ 2010 payroll? A measly 37 million dollars.
New Yorkers have a unique perspective on this. They have two teams that both spend boatloads of money. One of them, the Yankees, has lots to show for it. The other, the Mets, seem to dive deeper and deeper into dysfunction as they spend more dough. Or at least they did until Madoff 'made off' with thier loot! Perhaps, like any business, the Yankees manage their capital well and therefore find success, while the Mets overspend for injury prone players. Or maybe the Mets are simply cursed. Im going with cursed..Either way the New York duo show that money doesn’t necessarily buy success in the Major Leagues.
Yes, baseball has an inherent competitive imbalance built into its infrastructure but the game is also tailored to combat this. Unlike any other sport the lowest paid team has a legitimate chance to beat the highest paid team every time they play—there’s no consistent standard for a ‘good play’. A poorly hit ball that rolls 15 feet can be better than a line drive hit 300 feet, A 88 mile per hour fastball can be more effective than a 95 mile per hour fastball.
This fairness is embedded in the game; there is no recipe for success. Even if an expensive and talented team find themselves in the postseason they are certainly not guaranteed success in the playoffs. The postseason sample size is too small to predict success. That poorly hit ball can knock in the game-winning run just as that scud missile can turn into a game ending double play. The intangibles that are the essence of baseball neutralize themselves over a 162 game season but the story is quite different when a team reaches playoffs where the games are few and significant. The five and seven game playoff series become the great equalizer—there aren’t enough games for inequalities to shake out.
Sure, there are a couple teams that perpetually sit in the basement of their respective decisions, but for the most part, teams and their fans break spring training optimistic for the upcoming year. The Yankees are welcome to spend a combined 100 million dollars on A-Rod, Jeter, CC Sabathia and Mark Teixeira because the game will continue to churn out Evan Longorias, Troy Tulowitzkis, Tim Lincecums, and Joey Vottos. Young, exciting players effectively combat the competitive unbalance..
also, the cap actually hurts more then helps:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/mikeozanian ... ro-sports/Look at the Marlins. They had an owner that came in, spent his money, got a ring. The next year, he sold off the team. During the year they won: Marlins fans happy. Next year? Marlins fans sad.
Pirate fans: always sad. But that doesnt mean a gazillionaire cant do what Jeffrey Loria did.
But what about Bills fan? Raiders fan? How is this 'fair' to them?
They have a cap but struggle due to incompetance. There is no 'J Loria' for them, they are stuck.
I dont think thats fair. Until they have a coach and FO cap' or sharing, the Steelers,Pats and Giants will always be in the hunt..
The salary cap is offensive to principles of American democracy, frankly; a vestige of Sixties era Mao-think, where there are no losers and the smart and strong kids have to compete with their brains or arms tied behind their back. Football et al. are all mob-based authoritarian sports; no wonder they embrace caps. The owners LOVE it!! When the non sports thinking public turns on the NFL because they realize it involves paying men to pound their brains into mush, leaving them morons or invalids by the age of 50, baseball will have the last laugh. And I am only half kidding. The question is..which half?
BTW, I guess I agree the Braves screwed themselves more then the infield fly rule. I do think they had more of a chance to win if they got that call right
