3 months before pitchers and catchers report.

Matsui might not have had the greatest World Series game by a Yankee, but it might wind up being the best game ever by a Yankee in his last game as a Yankee.

I'm shocked.

But, congrats NY!

Steinbrenner is a jailbird and no one talks about that anymore, even those who thought Limbaugh was unfit to be a part-owner of a team are silent on George's past.
Congrats to his players and coaches, however. I stopped following the sport after the batboy, umpire and hot dog sales strikes years ago...

From the Wiki article on Boy George Steinbrenner:

"The "convicted" part of Martin's comment referred to Steinbrenner's connection to U.S. President Richard Nixon: he was indicted on 14 criminal counts on April 5, 1974, then pleaded guilty to making illegal contributions to Nixon's re-election campaign and a felony charge of obstruction of justice on August 23. Steinbrenner was personally fined $15,000, while his firm was assessed $20,000 for the offense. On November 27, Commissioner Bowie Kuhn suspended him for two years, but later reduced that amount to fifteen months, with Steinbrenner returning to the Yankees in 1976. U.S. President Ronald Reagan pardoned Steinbrenner on January 19, 1989, in one of the final acts of his presidency."

A felon owns a team but Limbaugh is too immoral??? Rush got only a slap for a drug charge, which I rank with littering.

I heard today on the radio that since 1936 whenver the Ynnkees win the World Series, the S&P500 goes up an average of 10% the following year. But when the Yankess lose, the S&P500 goes down an average of 13% the following year. Goood job Yankees!

A felon owns a team but Limbaugh is too immoral?

Limbaugh's long history of racially inflammatory remarks is what cost him a chance at NFL ownership. The NFL decided it didn't need the aggravation, and I can't blame 'em.

"A felon owns a team but Limbaugh is too immoral??? "

Steinbrenner made mistakes, paid his debt to society and has lead a life without remaking those same mistakes.

Limbaugh on the other hand alienates citizens of this country with his hateful words, continuing the same mistakes on a daily basis with no remorse.

I'd say there was a huge difference!

Score one for the overdogs.

I hate it when the Yankees spend their money well.

Cookfish/offensive bwahahahahah. Philly sucks!!!!!!

Rivera was the real MVP. But it was nice to see Matsui have his moment. Rivera is going to the Hall of Fame on his first ballot anyway.

Damn Yankees!

Reluctant congratulation from Spud who really wanted to see Philly take it this year.

The Yankees are just so damned rich due to their global marketing and big assed teevee market that they can afford to pay the fines they incur by continually exceeding their salary cap and thus it's kinda hard to cheer them on with that unfair advantage.

Be Well.

It is time to take the money equation out of baseball. Calling it a "sport" is ludicrous. The fact that KC, PIT, MIL, TB can be considered major league teams is a joke.

"The fact that KC, PIT, MIL, TB can be considered major league teams is a joke."

TB was in the WS last year. If Minnesota and Florida can win World Series, those other teams could too. Not saying the higher revenue teams don't have an advantage but teams like KC are run horribly. They are no different than Detroit in the NFL.

so long as mlb has no payroll salary cap, it can't be taken seriously.
unless you live in new york or one of the elite teams.
how can this sport be truly competitive?
it can't be.

I'm afraid that CookedFish didn't take this very well......

Yankees win! The Yankees win! I watched the game last night in a local restaurant/bar and the crowd went wild, as you might expect. I grew up in Pittsburgh and only became a Yankee fan in recent years. What can I say? It's too bad the Pirates don't have the money to put their new stadium to better use. They used to be contenders back in the days of Clemente or Bonds and Bonilla, the Killer B's. Pittsburgh is a football town, but I'd like to see it be a baseball town again someday.

THR BEST TEAM MONEY CAN BUY!!!!! Does this mean that Rodrigues an the rest of the Yankees that had taken STERIODS, all is forgiven????? Thanks to God as a Giant Fan now maybe Barry Bonds will be accepted back into Baseball,HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAH
AHAHAHAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
HAHAHAHAHAHA, NO CHANCE BARRY is to black for baseball, SOME THINGS ARE NEVER GOING TO CHANGE......

You are fucking nuts.

"so long as mlb has no payroll salary cap, it can't be taken seriously.
unless you live in new york or one of the elite teams.
how can this sport be truly competitive?"

I don't understand why people try to forward this nonsense when the easily verifiable fact is that the NFL and NBA have no more "parity" than MLB despite having salary caps.

Last 10 World Series: 9 different winners.

Last 10 Super Bowls: 6 different winners.

Last 10 NBA championships: 5 different winners. Only 7 different winners in 26 years.

Reality simply does not mesh with this popular monologue about MLB.

Actually, 7 different teams have won Super Bowls in the last 10 years but that still ain't 9.

Any reports of diehard Met fans jumping off the bridges yet? I heard some of them say that if the Yankees were playing al Qaeda, they'd root for al Qaeda.

"I don't understand why people try to forward this nonsense when the easily verifiable fact is that the NFL and NBA have no more "parity" than MLB despite having salary caps."

since they've been in existence, the yankees win a world series every four years and are in it many more times.
look at the link above and see how many of those bottom tier teams make the playoffs.
florida bought one awhile back and suffered financially for several years as a result.
dynasties can be built in any sport (basketball in particular) but it is easier if those around you can't afford to keep up.

Arizona won their first WS in only three years after becoming an expansion team.

Florida won their first WS in four years and two within the first ten years.

Baseball comes down to fundamentals and injuries. Pitching, hitting and who gets hot at the right time. The Marlins were a wild card team and got hot at the right time. Just like Colorado a couple of years back winning the Pennant. The Tigers and White Sox a several years back. If it was all about payroll, the Yanks should win every year, of course all that talent only resulted in one WS win since 2000.

"since they've been in existence, the yankees win a world series every four years and are in it many more times."

And for most of those WS wins there was no free agency so they don't support the point you are trying to make at all.

"florida bought one awhile back"

I assume you're talking about 1997. They've won 2. The beat the Yankees in 2003.

"dynasties can be built in any sport (basketball in particular) but it is easier if those around you can't afford to keep up."

I agree that having more money in baseball makes things easier. But your original post making it sound like MLB is a joke of a sport due to lack of competitiveness from different teams doesn't stand up to scrutiny when you look at the other 2 major sports.

Revenue sharing in the NFL removes most if not all of the deepest pockets factor from winning. Management of your team and your cap places emphasis on the quality of your staff - not the size of your bank account. The fact that the Steelers have won 2 SB recently and are consistantly in the hunt reinforces this. NE since Kraft took over, IND... Detroit is a poorly run team no matter the checkbook size.

The marlins and diamondbacks bought their championships - as did Boston and NY.

Yankees 200mil payroll, Pirates 49 mil. The fact that the Yankees don't win every year proves that without the money advantage they enjoy, they probably would not win nearly as much as they do. Same for Boston, LA. The margin for error each year is greater for these teams because they can just buy players before the trading deadline. They have money in reserve.

"The marlins and diamondbacks bought their championships..."

Maybe if Colorado and the Mariners the two expansion teams well before the Marlins and Diamonbacks had won a WS, I could agree with you. Expansion teams usually don't have the luxury of having minor league affiliates to bring up through the system. In their first years they can only pick from players unprotected by the rest of the league and sign free agents.

I heard some of them say that if the Yankees were playing al Qaeda, they'd root for al Qaeda.

#22 | Posted by Gal_Tuesday

The Yankees could play against Cancer and I would still root against them.

Any Yankee fan not raised in NY is a putz.

Any Yankee fan not raised in NY is a putz.

I prefer to think of myself as an opportunistic carpetbagger. :-) FWIW, I've lived in NY a long time. I guess I could have stuck with the National league and become a Mets fan, but I didn't. Just like I didn't become a Jets fan but lean more toward the Giants, after the Steelers, of course.

"Revenue sharing in the NFL removes most if not all of the deepest pockets factor from winning."

The Yankees pay tens of millions of dollars to other teams in revenue sharing every year and most of it goes right into the pockets of small market owners who don't give a crap about winning. The guy who owns KC is basically stealing money from the league at this point and should be forced to sell out. You can't blame the Yankees for that jackass killing his own franchise in a town that actually loves baseball. You seem to understand that teams are mismanaged in the NFL but not in MLB.

And the reason why the NFL has the cap and revolving rosters is that the NFL player's union basically sold out its constituency under Upshaw. Most players gets used up on 3 years and thrown away with nothing to show for it. The overall quality of play - especially in the playoffs - was much higher in the NFL before the cap when teams could stay together for a long time. Now we have no more partiy and lower quality of play because it takes teams half a season to figure out what they are doing every year.

MLB is wise to say no thanks to that model.

#7 | Posted by rcade

In a sport/business that would like to draw fans from all segments of society, I also don't think it helped much that Limbaugh is one of the most divisive figures in modern history.

Who really cares-- no meaning when you can buy your champiopnships --- talk about a lack of competition.

#30 | Posted by Sully at 2009-11-05 12:09 PM | Reply | Flag:

Mismanagement in all leagues - does not matter how deep the pockets or the sport. Just like in business.

The "tax" that overspending MLB teams have to pay should be required to be spent on payroll - I agree.

The NFL model does work - Den - in the crapper last year, great this year. TEN great last year, in the crapper this year. How many times has there been a worst to first in consecutive years in the NFL compared to MLB?

I would normally be on the side of laissez-faire for business, but if baseball is to be considered a "sport", a level monetary playing field needs to be instituted - or, let teams move where they want - hold onto players as long as they want.

KC would have to run it's organization perfectly to compete with the yankees. Again, the checking account of the big boys can make up for a lot of bad management.

"Again, the checking account of the big boys can make up for a lot of bad management."

There is no doubting that having alot of money can overcome for bad signings. The Yankees are paying Kei Igawa more than alot of teams paid their aces. To a much lesser extent, having money can also help overcome a failure to develop your own talent. But it is very hard to win if you don't develop your own players. The overall results are not that skewed compared to other leagues. And last year, the Rays came out of nowhere to go to the WS and less people watched than this year.

A huge reason why NFL teams can very in quality from year to year is that the roster turnover is huge because NFL players have short careers. Unless you are talking about an MVP caliber star, it takes a good three seasons for a player to reach his potential. Most NFL players are out of the league in three years. One very good draft can help a team out big time. It takes years for draftees to reach MLB rosters. Coaching also plays a much bigger role in the NFL so changing coaches or catching on to a coach's system in the 2nd year can account for teams improving greatly from one year to the next as well.

"Unless you are talking about an MVP caliber star, it takes a good three seasons for a player to reach his potential."

Was talking about MLB players there.

Last 10 World Series: 9 different winners.
Last 10 Super Bowls: 6 different winners.
Last 10 NBA championships: 5 different winners. Only 7 different winners in 26 years.

Nobody's saying that all world series' are bought. This year felt different than most. You had a team with nearly double the payroll of anyone else, and they looked like the Harlem Globetrotters. You can't look at their lineup and honestly claim they didn't buy the world series.

Their victory was boring to anyone that wasn't a Yankees fan. It didn't even look like they enjoyed it as much as other teams do. It was like they expected it to happen, and when it did they were just relieved.

barf

"Nobody's saying that all world series' are bought."

If you're going to use the word "buy", then you have to understand the meaning of the word. Either you can "buy" it every year or you can't "buy" it at all.

"You can't look at their lineup and honestly claim they didn't buy the world series."

They have more talent that they developed through their farm system on their roster now than at any time I can remember. Certainly more homegrown players than the majority of playoff teams over the last decade. More than your joyless, boring store-bought ChiSox team that won.

"Their victory was boring to anyone that wasn't a Yankees fan. "

That is true about every winner every year.

" It didn't even look like they enjoyed it as much as other teams do. It was like they expected it to happen, and when it did they were just relieved."

That's just bullshit. I personally don't care one way or the other about the pie-in-the-face stuff but the fact remains the Yanks were a team that were jumping around and celebrating all year.

Playing the Yankees is just like playing Poker against a guy that has Pocket Aces EVERY HAND.

Does it mean that he's gonna win every hand? Nope

But it sure as hell DOES mean that he's gonna win most of them if he knows what he's doing.... just because the Yanks went 9 years without a title doesn't mean they didn't have the tools to win - they just blew it despite the odds being overwhelmingly in their favor.

Until competitive balance (FINANCIAL competitive balance) is achieved via a salary cap similar to the NFL, baseball is a joke.

I truly don't blame the Bankees for being the Bankees - I blame MLB for allowing such a ridiculous system to exist.

So congrats to Yankee fans... I guess. =/

Best team money can buy.

Until Obama gets a hold of them before next season.

Enjoy it while you can Yanks.

No doubt, the better team won this year's WS. Congrats Yankees and fans. Wierd shit going on. In two consecutive at bats, Chase Utley tied Reggie's WS homers record, and Ryan Howard tied Willie Wilson's strike-out record, which he wnt on to break at 13. MIA were Howard, Hamels and Lidge. They should have pitched J.A. Happ instead of Pedro in game 6. You can't throw 84 mph fast balls at the Yankees and not expect them to start drooling in anticipation. Overall, still a good year for the Phils, and with some minor tweeks, we'll be back again.

Limbaugh's long history of racially inflammatory remarks is what cost him a chance at NFL ownership. The NFL decided it didn't need the aggravation, and I can't blame 'em.

#7 | Posted by rcade

That is such crapola.

What remarks--the ones that were proven lies!!

Oh the poor McNabb remark--that was racist? Hardly.

----------

The reason was the shot over the bow by Demaurice Smith the Players Union guy who worked on Obama's transition team and we all know how the WH hates Rush.

Smith told the owners life would be hell during the upcoming negotiations if Rush was in the league.

Congrats to NY--back on top again.

this proves without a doubt that there is no GOD
for the 27th time

More than your joyless, boring store-bought ChiSox team that won.

That might be the dumbest fucking thing I've ever read. Their payroll in 2005 was about $75 million - right around the middle of the league. Store-bought my ass. They earned that series more than any team in recent history.

They have more talent that they developed through their farm system on their roster now than at any time I can remember.

LOL. Like A-Rod? Sabathia? Johnny Damon? Matsui? Mark Teixera?

These are the people who won the world series for the Yankees. None of them came from the Yankees farm system. They were bought with Yankees money.

Sox fan here.

MLB doesn't have a hard or soft salary cap. Nor, to my knowledge, does it have a minimum salary.

The Yankees can afford to exceed the amount allowed and incur a luxury tax. If they're willing to essentially double pay for a guy, they'll go for it. NY isn't hurting for $$$.

If we move to a hard cap we also need a minimum threshold. Unfortunately, in MLB we don't have incentive for lousy teams to pay more and/or to improve.

The Pirates have managed to reach a record for futility... something like 15 consecutive losing seasons.

So, there was a world series again? Didn't realize it, I guess it is that time of year.

If you spend a Gazillon dollars a year, you better win. Horrible series, and may they never even make the playoffs next year.

Baseball, now that's the sport where you fall asleep after the national anthems?

You know, the one that I used to take my guitar, no joke, while attending Expos games?

Are we talking about that?

God, America wake up, your national pastime is a fucking joke.

Come to think of it, any spectator sport that does not have continues action is a complete right-off especial the NFexcruciating.

Crisis