Great day for the Yankees. Bad day for Oriole fans. Dark day for baseball.

[Roy Firestone]

Look. You could argue that the O's shouldve ponied up another 2 million more a year..make it 16 or 17 extra million... but somehow I think no matter what, the Yankees would have gone even higher.
This is just wrong.
Baseball should not be run by money. The game should not be dominated by a handful of teams. And theres no way that four of the highest paid players in the game should play on the same team.
Think about that.
Four players on the same team make more than entire budgets of many major league teams.
I think I know where you are going. Well.. what if it had been the Red Sox or the Angels or even the Nats? Would that make this more just? Of course not. I find this whole execise despicable..EVEN if it had been the Orioles who signed him at that number!!
I will make a prediction. And it is not just mine. I think baseball will hit some serious financial problems and one or two teams will go bankrupt. Maybe more.
Most fans will resent the financial inequity and the inability to compete. Baseball could be villified for this.
I believe the Yankee franchise will be in serious financial trouble someday, perhaps in the not too distant future.
Its already unbelievable that it costs a family of four something close to 200 to 250 dollars to enjoy a baseball game at the ballpark. The Yankees have single game tickets in the box area that go for an astonishing 2,500 dollars.
This is wrong. This is an insult to the American sports fan.On top of that with this country teetering into an unemployment rate of 8-9% and maybe higher...baseball has got a lot of nerve.
This is a dark day for sports in America.

[OsandRavens787]

Look. You could argue that the O's shouldve ponied up another 2 million more a year..make it 16 or 17 extra million... but somehow I think no matter what, the Yankees would have gone even higher.
This is just wrong.
Baseball should not be run by money. The game should not be dominated by a handful of teams. And theres no way that four of the highest paid players in the game should play on the same team.
Think about that.
Four players on the same team make more than entire budgets of many major league teams.
I think I know where you are going. Well.. what if it had been the Red Sox or the Angels or even the Nats? Would that make this more just? Of course not. I find this whole execise despicable..EVEN if it had been the Orioles who signed him at that number!!
I will make a prediction. And it is not just mine. I think baseball will hit some serious financial problems and one or two teams will go bankrupt. Maybe more.
Most fans will resent the financial inequity and the inability to compete. Baseball could be villified for this.
I believe the Yankee franchise will be in serious financial trouble someday, perhaps in the not too distant future.
Its already unbelievable that it costs a family of four something close to 200 to 250 dollars to enjoy a baseball game at the ballpark. The Yankees have single game tickets in the box area that go for an astonishing 2,500 dollars.
This is wrong. This is an insult to the American sports fan.On top of that with this country teetering into an unemployment rate of 8-9% and maybe higher...baseball has got a lot of nerve.
This is a dark day for sports in America.

Great post... MLB is a joke and I can also see the Yankees going under not too far down the line. They spend $423M on 3 players and have the audacity to ask the taxpayers of New York City for MORE money to build a stadium that's already cost upwards of $1 BILLION!! I say President Bush or future President Obama issue an Executive Order nixing this Teixeira deal ...

[ChaosLex]

Look. You could argue that the O's shouldve ponied up another 2 million more a year..make it 16 or 17 extra million... but somehow I think no matter what, the Yankees would have gone even higher.
This is just wrong.
Baseball should not be run by money. The game should not be dominated by a handful of teams. And theres no way that four of the highest paid players in the game should play on the same team.
Think about that.
Four players on the same team make more than entire budgets of many major league teams.
I think I know where you are going. Well.. what if it had been the Red Sox or the Angels or even the Nats? Would that make this more just? Of course not. I find this whole execise despicable..EVEN if it had been the Orioles who signed him at that number!!
I will make a prediction. And it is not just mine. I think baseball will hit some serious financial problems and one or two teams will go bankrupt. Maybe more.
Most fans will resent the financial inequity and the inability to compete. Baseball could be villified for this.
I believe the Yankee franchise will be in serious financial trouble someday, perhaps in the not too distant future.
Its already unbelievable that it costs a family of four something close to 200 to 250 dollars to enjoy a baseball game at the ballpark. The Yankees have single game tickets in the box area that go for an astonishing 2,500 dollars.
This is wrong. This is an insult to the American sports fan.On top of that with this country teetering into an unemployment rate of 8-9% and maybe higher...baseball has got a lot of nerve.
This is a dark day for sports in America.

Truer words have never been spoken. I know people came on saying, "but... but... THE RAYS," but I'm not buying that lightning can be caught in a bottle again.

Also, I have a funny feeling that the Rays are going to be a 3rd place team in 2009.

[PaulBako]

Truer words have never been spoken. I know people came on saying, "but... but... THE RAYS," but I'm not buying that lightning can be caught in a bottle again.

Also, I have a funny feeling that the Rays are going to be a 3rd place team in 2009.

With their already improved team, and David Price? They are probably going to get another corner OF, along with Price could be a 100 win team.

The Rays are going to be nasty next year.

[OsandRavens787]

Again, another diehard O's fan "thinks" that the Yanks would have gone higher. O's get the benefit of the doubt once again.

Too bad we don't "know" since not once did we put a real offer on the table for a guy we've spent 3 years targeting.

Too true... Not to mention the year he was drafted we were dumb enough to actually keep playing and we swept the Yanks, I think, and lost out on DRAFTING him!! It was our own stupid fault to begin with! Our "offer" was always a token offer and nothing more, just something to try and keep us interested until the real teams bid.

[trueoriolesfan]

Everyday is a good day for the yanks.

[Enjoy Terror]

I don't know if there's truth to it, but MLBTR says Tex wanted to play for the Yankees all along. How can you argue against the Orioles FO on that one?

[Burg]

The worst part of this is the fact that the Yankees are asking the taxpayers to give them 350M for their new stadium.

After shelling out 420+M on THREE players that's unconscionable.

[Mad Mark]

Roy:
You're closer to this than any of us are. You have better sources. Around MLB, is this looked upon as anything other than just another day at the office? More of the same old, same old? Did this signing even raise an eyebrow in MLBland?
More importantly, how long will it be before a majority of the owners is compelled to realize that MLB's current revenue distribution system is all about (at most) five teams, and that the other 25 can just suck wind?
Or are they still happy to pocket their revenue sharing and luxury tax Yankeedollars and keep their mouths shut?

[Old_Bay_Oriole]

Quit blaming baseball, money or anything else. It's Teixeira's fault. He signed on the dotted line.

Roy, with all due respect, baseball is a business. The sucessful companies make money, the unsucessful do not, in general. High prices are indications of inflation and increased demand. If no one came to see games, ticket prices would not rise. As long as people are willing to pay it, they will charge it. You have no grounds to connect an economic recession/depression with high paid baseball stars. When ballpark attendance dwindles over the coming years because of economic hardship, you will see a different story. It's basic economics.

The prices would be a lot less impressive if you adjusted them for inflation, which over the last 100 years has been incredible. The Yankees have stacked talent for years, but no matter how many free agents they sign, they can't win a championship lately. The Rays didn't espouse "have not" nonsense, they buckled down and worked for it.

If Teixeira wants to be a traitor, that's his choice. I can't wait to boo him when he shows his ugly mug at the Yard, but im not about to bemoan some notion that the game is run by money. Everything is run by money, and there will never be a time when everyone is altruistic and doesn't want money. Who said money was a bad thing? It isn't necessarily so.

The Yankees are bigger, more sucessful, have a much larger market, and they can afford more. We deal with it.

[MVP-Markakis]

I will have to agree with the previous poster that the Rays are still the team to beat. They have all homegrown young talent and will compete for years. The Yankees cannot buy YOUNG pitching and thats what it takes to win. Burnett and Sabathia are good but for how long unitl they are stuck with that contract three years tops. Then what. BUrnett will be Carl Pavano part II. When the O's are trotting out Chris Tillman and Jake Arietta. They Rays with Price, Nieman, Kazmir, and insert great pitching prospect. I'm different then most belly achching fans. That cry that the Red Sox and Yankees spend more money to get great players. Where has it got the Yankees. OUt of the playoffs last year and $2500 ticket prices. Old players that break down and nobody wants when they are making 30 million as a 35 year old part time player. With the right front office every team can compete and win. Teams don't do it with free agents. They do it buy stealing talent from other teams through trades, drafting and developing players. Rome wasn't built in a day and the ORioles system was bare for years. It's coming around. Other teams like the Mets spend and spend. Where does it get them. They due have a Wright and Reyes. They went the wrong way and don't make the playoffs either. Every year the Marlins compete after they trade away there best player. The A's and Twins always compete. Thats how it's done.

[MVP-Markakis]

Quit blaming baseball, money or anything else. It's Teixeira's fault. He signed on the dotted line.

Roy, with all due respect, baseball is a business. The sucessful companies make money, the unsucessful do not, in general. High prices are indications of inflation and increased demand. If no one came to see games, ticket prices would not rise. As long as people are willing to pay it, they will charge it. You have no grounds to connect an economic recession/depression with high paid baseball stars.

The prices would be a lot less impressive if you adjusted them for inflation, which over the last 100 years has been incredible. The Yankees have stacked talent for years, but no matter how many free agents they sign, they can't win a championship lately. The Rays didn't espouse "have not" nonsense, they buckled down and worked for it.

If Teixeira wants to be a traitor, that's his choice. I can't wait to boo him when he shows his ugly mug at the Yard, but im not about to bemoan some notion that the game is run by money. Everything is run by money, and there will never be a time when everyone is altruistic and doesn't want money. Who said money was a bad thing? It isn't necessarily so.

The Yankees are bigger, more sucessful, have a much larger market, and they can afford more. We deal with it.

great post.

[clarence]

I wish Congress would step in and deal with the real issue that is affecting baseball (salary discrepancies) and quite worrying so much about guys hitting the long ball.

[JGuthrie46]

MLB needs a salary cap... there's no question about it. If there's a strike again then we ban all the players on strike and make the salary cap happen, I don't care what it takes.. I can't stand to see the sport I love be downgraded like this.

[Old_Bay_Oriole]

I wish Congress would step in and deal with the real issue that is affecting baseball (salary discrepancies) and quite worrying so much about guys hitting the long ball.

With what authority would Congress do this?