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Written by wrigleyville
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Wednesday, 24 December 2008 |
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 Phil Sheridan - who, as we've noted previously, is worried that somebody somewhere is having a good time - is very cross with the New York Yankees.
Let's look at his temper tantrum from today, FJM style:
The New York Yankees represent the very worst of America.
That seems like an overstatement.
Overstatement? Consider the times. Cornerstone industries are faltering, taxpayers are being asked to bail out mismanaged financial institutions and their overpaid CEOs, and decent, hard-working men and women are being laid off or worrying that they could be next.
Yes, it is a difficult time. What does this have to do with Mark Teixeira and the New York Yankees?
Now consider the eight-year, $180 million contract the Yankees reportedly handed first baseman Mark Teixeira yesterday. Stack it on top of the $161 million deal signed by pitcher CC Sabathia and the (relatively) modest $82.5 million promised to A.J. Burnett and you have the most egregious display of financial irresponsibility in the history of sports.
Uh oh. Are the Yankees in debt? Can they not afford Teixeira? Will the Yankees collapse due to these contracts?
The Yanks' insane overspending would be bad for baseball in the best of times. These are not the best of times.
I'm sensing a little Dickens, given the season.
If Major League Baseball had a commissioner - that is, an independent and strong-willed leader unafraid to do the right thing - the Teixeira and Sabathia deals would be nullified based on the commissioner's sweeping "best interest of the game" powers. But MLB has Bud Selig, who still is poring over Doppler radar reports, trying to figure out how Citizens Bank Park got so muddy the night that Game 5 of the World Series began.
So, Phil believes that the commissioner should just void any freely agreed to contract between team and player? Bowie Kuhn did something along these lines in 1976, when he wouldn't let the Oakland Athletics sell Vida Blue, Joe Rudi and Rollie Fingers for $3.5 million. But preventing a third-place from trying to get better? You, sir, are a socialist.
Up in Boston, where the Red Sox made a serious run at signing Teixeira, this deal is being rationally and calmly analyzed by baseball fans as if actual, flaming chunks of blue sky were crashing through the roofs of their homes.
As opposed to the reasoned response from a highly paid sports columnist in a semi-major metropolitan daily newspaper.
As one commenter on boston.com reasoned, "Dear God, please kill me now . . ." Another reflected, "OMG - I want to jump off a bridge . . .! Yankees are instantly the favorites in the AL East for 2009 . . . ARGH!!!!!!!!!!!!" Any more than 12 exclamation marks would be just a trifle overdone, don't you think?
Or as one columnist reasoned, "The New York Yankees represent the very worst in America."
But we are not here to commiserate with the Bostonians, who have celebrated two World Series titles, three Super Bowl victories and an NBA championship in this decade alone. Especially since their beloved Red Sox are a shark only slightly smaller and less voracious than the Great Blue monster from New York when it comes to preying in the free-agent waters.
The Sox, who already have Kevin Youkilis at first base, were bidding in the same range for Teixeira. So there is no pity for the Sox or their spoiled fans.
Ah, good, name calling. The hallmark of all good sportswriting.
And frankly, it's hard to shed a tear here in Philadelphia. The Phillies are, after all, the reigning champions of baseball. They are the team with the hardware the Yankees and Sox are emptying armored trucks in an effort to regain. While no one has accused the Phillies of crazy overspending on free agents, their payroll has been more than respectable since they moved into the aptly nicknamed Bank.
The Phillies were 10th in payroll in 2008 at $112.7 million - more than double the Rays' $51 million. Therefore, WV23 is beseeching the commissioner to use the "best interests of the game" clause to overturn the 2008 World Series - because, you know, it just wasn't fair.
What's wrong here is obvious. It's also not really new. Unlike the NFL, NBA and NHL, baseball has no salary cap. Those leagues do not have caps for the sheer, unbridled joy of finding loopholes and exceptions. They have them as part of an effort to maintain some kind of competitive balance among teams from different-size markets in disparate parts of the country.
The World Series champions this decade: New York Yankees, Arizona Diamondbacks, Anaheim Angels, Florida Marlins, Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies. Seems rather balanced between different parts of the country and between leagues.
In fairness, MLB did create a luxury tax system that punishes overspenders such as the Yankees and Red Sox and adds revenue to the coffers of teams such as Florida and Kansas City. Of course, that system also gives some of the small-market teams a disincentive to spend money to win. They can pocket their free money from New York and Boston and continue to flounder on the field.
If by "disincentive" you mean small market owners too often "refuse to field a competitive team" I'm with you.
The Yankees have proved for the last five years that buying the highest-priced players does not guarantee you a title. Teams, not necessarily all-star teams, win championships.
So your beef here is...?
But the Sox and Yankees do spend their way to the postseason virtually every year, which means each always has a chance to win it all.
Isn't that the goal of sports? To, you know, win?
The bully franchises make good foils for everyone else. It was a nice, fun story when the Tampa Bay Rays played their way into the World Series to face the Phillies (who in turn beat out the New York Mets and their bloated payroll).
At what point does a payroll become bloated? The Mets had a payroll of $144.7 million, so I'm guessing it's somewhere between the Phillies' $112.7 and $144.6 million. Phil, please define.
When the bullies win, well, they're supposed to. When they lose, well, they give everyone something to laugh at.
Phil Sheridan is a small person.
Baseball economics always have been bad for competitive balance, but this Yankees spree is the worst ever because of real-world economics. It just smells bad.
Ah, I see. I thought this was about baseball. Or the Yankees' fiscal health. Instead, it is about stench.
New York signed arguably the top two pitchers and the best slugger on the market.
They seem to have good taste.
The Yanks, bidding against no other team, simply threw tens of millions of extra dollars at Sabathia.
Actually, the Brewers reportedly offered Sabathia $100 million over five years - or $20 million a year. According to this handy cost of living calculator, Sabathia would need to earn $39.4 million a year to maintain the same standard of living in New York. So the Yankees are actually underpaying Sabathia, comparatively.
Meanwhile, MLB's Web site laid people off last month. Meanwhile, autoworkers are being told their plants will shut down for months. Meanwhile, the rest of us are trying to hang on to our homes and our health insurance while cutting back on holiday spending.
Relevant only if the Yankees were responsible for running MLB's Web site, operating auto plants, and paying for our mortgages, health insurance and holiday gifts.
Merry Christmas, Mr. Teixeira. A nation turns its pockets inside out to you.
Oh, I see. This was all just about class warfare. Makes perfect sense now.Labels: C.C. Sabathia, Mark Teixeira, Milwaukee Brewers, New York Yankees, Phil Sheridan, Philadelphia Phillies
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