Yankees - Good for Baseball?

[TiredofLosing20]

Wait til they sign Manny too.

[The_Nameless]

The yankees asked the state of NY for over 400 mil to build a stadium and then spend that much on free agents. They are destroying baseball, and I am betting they will sign Ramerez and Sheets too. I am done with baseball.

[lobo]

No, they are not good for baseball. I consider them the sports version of Enron. What would be poetic justice would be for fans to not go to the games, and then the team has to go to Congress asking for a bailout because of their ridiculous spending in this poor economy.

[Owatcher]

Dude they made the playoffs like 11 times in a row until this past year. Once you are in the playoffs, the WS is a crapshoot. To say them not winning the WS means their is parity is just false.

TOUCHE! Spot on.

[Todd-O]

Hey, it's not like they've won championships while spending all this money and they're not a lock to win one now.

Had they been winning a title every year, that'd be a different story. But they're not.

This couldn't be any better stated.

And... we have no idea what the pressure cooker that is NY will do to these guys. Just wait for the fans to start complaining with Burnett starts getting injured all of the time, CC grows larger, and Tex simply can't handle the media attention and demands for big hits and he caves into a .270 hitter with 24 hr. per year.

It's possible. It has happened before... just look how NY has brought so many great players to their knees.

Let the Yankees spend all their coin. I love the O's in my heart... but this will be a year where I will eagerly root for teams like the D-Rays.

[MVP-Markakis]

The Yankees are not destroying baseball. I'm tired of that week argument. Maybe the Orioles could spend a little more money but on what. Overpriced free agnets. No thanks. The Yankees can spend all the money they want they still will not win. Where was this argument for the past 8 years when the Yankees won ZERO World Series rings. If it's not Yankees then it would be the Red SOX's. The sox's best players Dustin Pedrioa and Papelbon were drafted, David Ortiz was released and the Sox took a chanse on him. And Beckett was traded for and they gave up one of the best players in baseball to get him in Hanley Ramirez. How many World Series rings does Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi have after they signed huge deals with the Yankees. ZERO. How many did Mussina get with the Yankess. ZERO. Matsui and Damon have ZERO rings with the Yanks too. So spending money doesn't get you a ring. Jeter, Petitte, and Rivera have how many between them. 18. Guess what they were all drafted by the Yankees.

[MVP-Markakis]

Dude they made the playoffs like 11 times in a row until this past year. Once you are in the playoffs, the WS is a crapshoot. To say them not winning the WS means their is parity is just false.

And they got knocked out in the first round the past 6 times.

[Moose Milligan]

Dude they made the playoffs like 11 times in a row until this past year. Once you are in the playoffs, the WS is a crapshoot. To say them not winning the WS means their is parity is just false.

No, the fact that you think once you're in the playoffs the WS is a crapshoot is false.

The Yankees right now bear no resemblance to their really good, well rounded and developed teams in the late 90's.

This decade they have proven time and time again that you can't buy a ring. Every time they have been bounced from the playoffs this decade it has been done by a better overall team.

Look, I hate the Yankees too. But no one whined when the Braves won the NL East and made the playoffs every year. No, instead people marveled at them and talked about how great they were and what a historic run it was.

[nbrger]

The obvious solution, without a salary cap, is to put another team in New York/New Jersey. Hell there's probably a market there for 3-4 teams. One for each burrough plus New Jersey. That should even things out a bit.

AMEN Bro-- I think 3 in NY/NJ and at least one more in Boston is about right.I think baseball as a sport is dead. It thrives as a business for the TV networks ( Fox, ESPN), the players ( $22.5#@#@ million per year to play a game?), and the owners who can get away with $8 10 ounce beers, etc.

Folks , we're being taken ... and we line up and say " I'll have some more please".

By the way, $ 22.5 million per year averages out to about $45,000 per AB ( assume 500 AB/yr), or about $9000 per pitch ( assume 5 pitches/ AB). How about an average of $3000 every time a batter scratches his nad! Think about that when your unemployment runs out or your kid asks you for a bike and you can't afford it anymore or you can't pay for health insurance.

[markdublya]

I may skip my first Opening Day in 14 years - I can't watch a Sabathia shutout and Tex grand slam....with 30,000 Yankee fans

[casadeozo]

The Yankees are not destroying baseball. I'm tired of that week argument. Maybe the Orioles could spend a little more money but on what. Overpriced free agnets. No thanks. The Yankees can spend all the money they want they still will not win. Where was this argument for the past 8 years when the Yankees won ZERO World Series rings. If it's not Yankees then it would be the Red SOX's. The sox's best players Dustin Pedrioa and Papelbon were drafted, David Ortiz was released and the Sox took a chanse on him. And Beckett was traded for and they gave up one of the best players in baseball to get him in Hanley Ramirez. How many World Series rings does Alex Rodriguez and Jason Giambi have after they signed huge deals with the Yankees. ZERO. How many did Mussina get with the Yankess. ZERO. Matsui and Damon have ZERO rings with the Yanks too. So spending money doesn't get you a ring. Jeter, Petitte, and Rivera have how many between them. 18. Guess what they were all drafted by the Yankees.

Wow talking about not getting it. The problem with the Yankees has nothing to do with WS rings. It has everything to do with a handful of teams having an unfair financial advantage over the rest of the league. You can argue the O's could have spent more to get Tex, but that does nothing to answer the true issue which is why does one team have the ability to hand out these massive contracts, while small market teams suffocate and have an opportunity to win every 10 years because they can not "hang" in an exorbitant free agent climate?

[Birds08]

No, the fact that you think once you're in the playoffs the WS is a crapshoot is false.

The Yankees right now bear no resemblance to their really good, well rounded and developed teams in the late 90's.

This decade they have proven time and time again that you can't buy a ring. Every time they have been bounced from the playoffs this decade it has been done by a better overall team.

Look, I hate the Yankees too. But no one whined when the Braves won the NL East and made the playoffs every year. No, instead people marveled at them and talked about how great they were and what a historic run it was.

They had an old team. Now they have just got a lot younger with a 1B and pitcher in their prime. In no way are they guaranteed to win the WS with their current team, but I wouldn't be surprised if they make the playoffs the next 5 consecutive years. Not sure how you can argue these points.

[MVP-Markakis]

Wow talking about not getting it. The problem with the Yankees has nothing to do with WS rings. It has everything to do with a handful of teams having an unfair financial advantage over the rest of the league. You can argue the O's could have spent more to get Tex, but that does nothing to answer the true issue which is why does one team have the ability to hand out these massive contracts, while small market teams suffocate and have an opportunity to win every 10 years because they can not "hang" in an exorbitant free agent climate?

I do get it. The Yankees sell out every game. The Orioles don't sell out. When the Orioles sold out they had the highest payroll in baseball. More then the Yankess and more then the Red Sox's. As a business person why would an owner lose money if the fans don't support the product. Win or Lose. The Yankees lose money every year. Not many teams are willing to spend more then they bring in. In fact only the Yankees do. So until the Yard is filled I would not expect Angelos to spend. Angelos did spend and has the ability to do so. But it won't make a difference in attendence. A few years back when the Orioles were in first place, when Mazzilli was the Manager. The fans didn't show up then, why would they if Tex or Sabathia or whatever free agent signed. If they didn't before they sure won't with higher ticket prices.

[clevis]

So is a salary cap a possibility? They say that the MLBPA is the strongest union in the universe, so they'd never let this happen... and what of the talk of the luxury tax being a "soft" cap?

[WhyNotUs09]

I guess we all play the "wait for the young highly ranked prospects to rise up and realize this team is going nowhere" game right? Wow, it's hard to be optimistic these days, and with the Orioles they aren't doing anything. We need a first baseman badly. It's one of our biggest defensive holes. Instead draft 2 pitchers, and one catcher. I hate to sound crazy, but I would give up Arrieta and Tillman for Tim Linecum straight up, and trade for a power hitting first baseman.