Would a salary cap save the Yankees and Sox from themselves.

[PFSIKH]

Is a salary cap needed to keep the teams from dragging each other down?

In an effort to keep up with the each other, the Sox and Yankees have spent $338 million this season on salaries. The Sox in particular dropped over a 100 million on free agents. What will the Yankees spend this offseason? The Sox spent over 100 million coming off a season that imploded. Now, the Yankees are facing the same situation.

Their has been a negative impact of this epic spending. It has forced or driven other AL teams to spend money. Not Yankees or even Sox money, but to spend money none the less. Of course, they cannot spend the amount the Sox/Yanks have. So they have to spend it wisely. Their self imposed salary caps keeps them from throwing good money after bad money like in the cases of Julio Lugo and JD Drew.

We know MLB needs a salary cap. A minimum/maximum cap to keep teams in the same neighborhood ad nauseum. The Sox and Yankees have made efforts to build through their farm systems, but still find themselves dipping into the pocket book to fix weak areas. If their was a salary cap, would it not force the Sox and Yanks to run their teams smarter like the Twins, Indians, A's and Tigers?

[Jetsfan80]

Is a salary cap needed to keep the teams from dragging each other down?

In an effort to keep up with the each other, the Sox and Yankees have spent $338 million this season on salaries. The Sox in particular dropped over a 100 million on free agents. What will the Yankees spend this offseason? The Sox spent over 100 million coming off a season that imploded. Now, the Yankees are facing the same situation.

Their has been a negative impact of this epic spending. It has forced or driven other AL teams to spend money. Not Yankees or even Sox money, but to spend money none the less. Of course, they cannot spend the amount the Sox/Yanks have. So they have to spend it wisely. Their self imposed salary caps keeps them from throwing good money after bad money like in the cases of Julio Lugo and JD Drew.

We know MLB needs a salary cap. A minimum/maximum cap to keep teams in the same neighborhood ad nauseum. The Sox and Yankees have made efforts to build through their farm systems, but still find themselves dipping into the pocket book to fix weak areas. If their was a salary cap, would it not force the Sox and Yanks to run their teams smarter like the Twins, Indians, A's and Tigers?

I don't think you'd find too many opponents to a salary cap. The problem is that the MLBPA is one of the strongest unions in the nation, period. And the last Collective Bargaining Agreement basically removed any possibility of a salary cap happening in the near future.

[madmike1]

The salary cap doesn't preclude you from also making good player moves as boston found out last year and the yankees are finding out this year. There is only so much you can buy yourself out of even with no cap.

[Bugg]

So what do the Yanks, Sawx and Mets do with all the revenue? It will take about 10 minutes for all the crap franchises that are run itno the ground by morons to start demadning the revenue these big market teams throw off rather than letting Steinbrenner, Wilpon or Henry to simply pocket it. But each of these guys laid out more and took more risks to buy these premier franchises. They didn't buy the Royals or the Pirates or Rays at lower prices, so why should they be penalized for making a good investment?

Add in as above about the union, the fact that teams like those 3 poor teams barely spend the floor and pocket revenue sharing, and you begin to see that the big markets aren't the problem.If you want to impress us how desperate the small markets are,explain the As being a perennial playoff team. And let us all know when one of the poor sister teams are actually g oing out of business. And let us also know why they each want the Yankees, Sawx and Mets to play at their stadiums every year.

I am so tired of this "purist" whiny Bob Costas BS. There have always been doormats. And there have always been poorly-run teams. And there have always been well-run teams run on tight budgets. The big teams can make more mistakes personnel-wise because they have more resources, but they aren't immune to dumb decisions.

[Gainzo]

So what do the Yanks, Sawx and Mets do with all the revenue? It will take about 10 minutes for all the crap franchises that are run itno the ground by morons to start demadning the revenue these big market teams throw off rather than letting Steinbrenner, Wilpon or Henry to simply pocket it. But each of these guys laid out more and took more risks to buy these premier franchises. They didn't buy the Royals or the Pirates or Rays at lower prices, so why should they be penalized for making a good investment?

Add in as above about the union, the fact that teams like those 3 poor teams barely spend the floor and pocket revenue sharing, and you begin to see that the big markets aren't the problem.If youw ant to impress us how desperate the small markets are,explain the As being a perennial playoff team. And lewt us all know when one of the poor sister teams are actuallyg oing out of business. And let us also know why they each want the Yankees, Sawx and Mets to play at their stadiums every year.

I am so tired of this "purist" whiny Bob Costas BS. There have always beend doormats. And there have always been poorly-run teams. And there have always been well-run teams run ont tight budgets. The big teams can make more mistakes personnel-wise because they have more resources, but they aren't immune to dumb decisions.

Great post Bugg. I agree 100%.

[Bugg]

What's happening in the Bronx this season and the Orioles forever is proof positive that money isn't everything.

[drago]

The salary cap doesn't preclude you from also making good player moves as boston found out last year and the yankees are finding out this year. There is only so much you can buy yourself out of even with no cap.

the yanks used to have such a nice farm system, and kept pulling great players from it. Not sure why they got away from that, but you reap what you sew.

[PFSIKH]

So what do the Yanks, Sawx and Mets do with all the revenue? It will take about 10 minutes for all the crap franchises that are run itno the ground by morons to start demadning the revenue these big market teams throw off rather than letting Steinbrenner, Wilpon or Henry to simply pocket it. But each of these guys laid out more and took more risks to buy these premier franchises. They didn't buy the Royals or the Pirates or Rays at lower prices, so why should they be penalized for making a good investment?

Add in as above about the union, the fact that teams like those 3 poor teams barely spend the floor and pocket revenue sharing, and you begin to see that the big markets aren't the problem.If you want to impress us how desperate the small markets are,explain the As being a perennial playoff team. And let us all know when one of the poor sister teams are actually g oing out of business. And let us also know why they each want the Yankees, Sawx and Mets to play at their stadiums every year.

I am so tired of this "purist" whiny Bob Costas BS. There have always been doormats. And there have always been poorly-run teams. And there have always been well-run teams run on tight budgets. The big teams can make more mistakes personnel-wise because they have more resources, but they aren't immune to dumb decisions.

Do you think that makes that much a difference? It does not.

The Royals selling out 6 games at 39K and residual merchandise sales do not make up a 120 million dollar difference in payroll disparity. You are an idiot if you think otherwise.

How about spending it on their farm system which was the whole point? I was just throwing out commentary that the Sox and Yankee rivalry pushes our respective teams to make irrational decisions. MLB was better when the payroll difference was in the tens of million compared to the hundred of tens of million.

[Gainzo]

Do you think that makes that much a difference? It does not.

The Royals selling out 6 games at 39K and residual merchandise sales do not make up a 120 million dollar difference in payroll disparity. You are an idiot if you think otherwise.

How about spending it on their farm system which was the whole point? I was just throwing out commentary that the Sox and Yankee rivalry pushes our respective teams to make irrational decisions. MLB was better when the payroll difference was in the tens of million compared to the hundred of tens of million.

The Yanks have YES and the Sox have NESN. That is why they can continue to make money and spend like drunken sailors.

The Twins & A's are getting it done. They aren't bitching like the Pirates (who have a state of the art Stadium thanks to tax payers) or KC.

There is no need for a salary cap. The Sox, Yanks, Angels and Mets can spend all they want. It doesn't mean they are going to win a World Series anytime soon.

[wildthing2022000]

There should be a soft going into a hard cap. It's a joke that teams exist like the Devil Rays who pay on $24 mil in payroll vs. a $187 mil team in the Yankees. The cap doesn't have to be restricting it would have a max/min of 120/70. It would be a soft cap for 5 years then it would become a hard cap to allow teams to get rid of high contracts. Then teams like Tampa could actually compete once in a while.

Either that or contract about 1/3 of the league because what's the point of having teams that do nothing but collect checks from the league office.

[madmike1]

the yanks used to have such a nice farm system, and kept pulling great players from it. Not sure why they got away from that, but you reap what you sew.

The yankees have one of the best farm systems in baseball right now.

[PFSIKH]

The Yanks have YES and the Sox have NESN. That is why they can continue to make money and spend like drunken sailors.

The Twins & A's are getting it done. They aren't bitching like the Pirates (who have a state of the art Stadium thanks to tax payers) or KC.

There is no need for a salary cap. The Sox, Yanks, Angels and Mets can spend all they want. It doesn't mean they are going to win a World Series anytime soon.

True.

That is my point.

The Sox 'cap' is roughly 40-60 million below the Yankees spending. If they had to spend to an actual cap, 120-150 million and not to trying to keep pace with the Yankees, they might do it alot smarter. The same with the Yankees.

[Bugg]

I cannot state it true, because many of the MLB teams are privately held. But rumor is that the revenue sharing the Reds, Rays, Pirates and Royals receive(remember, that's from mostly from the Yankees, Sawx and Mets revenue they're getting, money those teams made) more than covers each of their payrolls. Now, if they want to merely make some cash off their gate and tv and radio money and pocket the rest, that is their business. But none are in danger of going out of business, or we'd be hearing about that. Instead, they have no problem being a doormat and going to the bank regularly. I think, and many of their fans do as well(based on the walkout in Pittsburgh last Saturday), they they should do more than just sit back and wait for the checks they get from MLB. The A's and Twins can;they should too. I think it's going to be interesting to see what the Rays do over the next few years because they have a wealth of talent in their roster and in the minors. If they start dumping Crawford, Baldelli, Kazmir as they approach arbitration, that would be a sign they don't really care about winning.

Again, the problem with baseball has nothing to do with the Yankees and the big market teams. It has to do with the piss poor way some of the bottom feeders choose on their own to do business.

[SouthernJet]

Just get a cap..

set a high# and state that every team must spend at least 75% of the high #.

[PeterNorth09]

NFL, NBA and I think Hockey (could care less about that sport) all have a salary cap. Baseball doesn't. That is lame.

[SouthernJet]

NFL, NBA and I think Hockey (could care less about that sport) all have a salary cap. Baseball doesn't. That is lame.

they should allow the few fat cat owners to keep their TV revenue,, but impose a cap for the game,,that would make them rich but it would level playing field for all teams.

[Arsis]

I cannot state it true, because many of the MLB teams are privately held. But rumor is that the revenue sharing the Reds, Rays, Pirates and Royals receive(remember, that's from mostly from the Yankees, Sawx and Mets revenue they're getting, money those teams made) more than covers each of their payrolls. Now, if they want to merely make some cash off their gate and tv and radio money and pocket the rest, that is their business. But none are in danger of going out of business, or we'd be hearing about that. Instead, they have no problem being a doormat and going to the bank regularly. I think, and many of their fans do as well(based on the walkout in Pittsburgh last Saturday), they they should do more than just sit back and wait for the checks they get from MLB. The A's and Twins can;they should too. I think it's going to be interesting to see what the Rays do over the next few years because they have a wealth of talent in their roster and in the minors. If they start dumping Crawford, Baldelli, Kazmir as they approach arbitration, that would be a sign they don't really care about winning.

Again, the problem with baseball has nothing to do with the Yankees and the big market teams. It has to do with the piss poor way some of the bottom feeders choose on their own to do business.

This is a POTW

[PFSIKH]

I cannot state it true, because many of the MLB teams are privately held. But rumor is that the revenue sharing the Reds, Rays, Pirates and Royals receive(remember, that's from mostly from the Yankees, Sawx and Mets revenue they're getting, money those teams made) more than covers each of their payrolls. Now, if they want to merely make some cash off their gate and tv and radio money and pocket the rest, that is their business. But none are in danger of going out of business, or we'd be hearing about that. Instead, they have no problem being a doormat and going to the bank regularly. I think, and many of their fans do as well(based on the walkout in Pittsburgh last Saturday), they they should do more than just sit back and wait for the checks they get from MLB. The A's and Twins can;they should too. I think it's going to be interesting to see what the Rays do over the next few years because they have a wealth of talent in their roster and in the minors. If they start dumping Crawford, Baldelli, Kazmir as they approach arbitration, that would be a sign they don't really care about winning.

Again, the problem with baseball has nothing to do with the Yankees and the big market teams. It has to do with the piss poor way some of the bottom feeders choose on their own to do business.

MLB does not lose money. The owners are not foolish enough to do something that stupid (i.e. let a team fold) and possibly lose their anti-trust exemption.

Do they have a choice to be anything, but a doormat? Not really.

A's and Twins are nice examples and obviously have a management mantra that guides their personnel decisions. We all can agree that money is not a cure all and guarantee of success so to expect the Royals and Pirates to be successful following the A's Twins examples is foolish.

The Royals, Pirates, Reds and even the Twins and A's are merely feeder systems for the bigger clubs. Yes, the recent changes might allow them to keep some talent, but it will still allow a good portion to leave like Kazmir might when he becomes a FA. Think the Rays are going to be able to match anything the Yanks/Sox/Mets/Dodgers could short of a hometown discount for Tampa? No.

[ShadowJet35]

NFL, NBA and I think Hockey (could care less about that sport) all have a salary cap. Baseball doesn't. That is lame.

high f'in five, someone for the cause, hockey sucks.

[madmike1]

I doubt baseball will ever have a salary cap but that doesn't change the fact that teams that do a good job of building from within like the Indians Tigers and Brewers are winning...

[Arsis]

MLB does not lose money. The owners are not foolish enough to do something that stupid (i.e. let a team fold) and possibly lose their anti-trust exemption.

Do they have a choice to be anything, but a doormat? Not really.

A's and Twins are nice examples and obviously have a management mantra that guides their personnel decisions. We all can agree that money is not a cure all and guarantee of success so to expect the Royals and Pirates to be successful following the A's Twins examples is foolish.

The Royals, Pirates, Reds and even the Twins and A's are merely feeder systems for the bigger clubs. Yes, the recent changes might allow them to keep some talent, but it will still allow a good portion to leave like Kazmir might when he becomes a FA. Think the Rays are going to be able to match anything the Yanks/Sox/Mets/Dodgers could short of a hometown discount for Tampa? No.

With revenue sharing and rich ass owners I don't see why they can't. You're saying they can't, but why not? cause they don't make as much money as the yankees? why don't they? because they have losing teams and cheap owners, you act like some of these teams are in the middle of farmlands or the desert. They're all in very densely populated cities and are capable of generating enough money to keep competitive. Seems to me owners would rather just pocket the yanks/red socks monies and be done with it.

[RSJ]

Whether a cap is right or wrong from each individual owners standpoint is debatable. But I do believe that a cap and a shared MLB television network would help the sport a ton and perhaps even catapult it back to number one.

[Arsis]

even if there was a cap, say at something like 80-90m half the cheap ass teams still wouldn't spend more than 50 on a team

[madmike1]

Mid Market teams who run their team smartly are clearly able to compete.

[Scott Dierking]

Mid Market teams who run their team smartly are clearly able to compete.

Does that make it right for large market teams to run their teams badly and still compete?

[madmike1]

Does that make it right for large market teams to run their teams badly and still compete?

Big market teams pay for bad moves as the yankees are this year and the mets did for most of the early 90s and 00's.

[drago]

The yankees have one of the best farm systems in baseball right now.

if they actually used it rather than buying washed up players every year they'd go much further. Not to mention they wouldn't look so foolish when they get bounced by the ow profile team every year.

either way, its the main reason i look forward to October. I can't get enough of Pay-Rod's batting average. what a joke.

[madmike1]

if they actually used it rather than buying washed up players every year they'd go much further. Not to mention they wouldn't look so foolish when they get bounced by the ow profile team every year.

either way, its the main reason i look forward to October. I can't get enough of Pay-Rod's batting average. what a joke.

well it's only been very good for a short time. you won't see the real effects until the next few years.

[Scott Dierking]

well it's only been very good for a short time. you won't see the real effects until the next few years.

In other words, its status has not really been tested.

[PFSIKH]

With revenue sharing and rich ass owners I don't see why they can't. You're saying they can't, but why not? cause they don't make as much money as the yankees? why don't they? because they have losing teams and cheap owners, you act like some of these teams are in the middle of farmlands or the desert. They're all in very densely populated cities and are capable of generating enough money to keep competitive. Seems to me owners would rather just pocket the yanks/red socks monies and be done with it.

I really think you need to get a view of the world outside of NY.

Define densely populated? Ever been to KC? You can literally drive through the city in about 30 minutes. Maybe less depending on time of day and traffic. Once outside KC, the people per square mile drops significantly. KC has a population of 600K. How are they supposed to compete with a team that has 8-10 million?

Here is a question I ask many a Yankee fan. If you owned the Royals. Your assets totaled 1 billion dollars. Would you spend the 120 million it took to be competitive financially with the Yankees? Would you spend it knowing with in 2 years, a quarter of your assets would be gone? With in 9 years you would be bankrupt? Why should they spend there money if the system is already stacked against them? If you think the money they get from the big revenue clubs is the answer you are dumb. Two years ago, the Royals received 18 million dollars. That chopped the gap from about 140 million to 122.

They cannot compete because the big revenue clubs have TV packages worth a 1000x what they generate, the big revenue clubs tickets are more expensive and their apparel generates and costs more.

[drago]

well it's only been very good for a short time. you won't see the real effects until the next few years.

I dont know about that. They had a great system for a long time, they just keep trading their players away. Its the same farm system that produced Jeter, posada, and Pettite all around the same couple of years. Not to mention, Soriano 8 or so years later. The talent has always been there, they just keep making dumb moves to bring in guys like Brown, Johnson, and Sheffield.

[madmike1]

I dont know about that. They had a great system for a long time, they just keep trading their players away. Its the same farm system that produced Jeter, posada, and Pettite all around the same couple of years. Not to mention, Soriano 8 or so years later. The talent has always been there, they just keep making dumb moves to bring in guys like Brown, Johnson, and Sheffield.

This idea that the Yankees have traded all these great prospects away isn't true. They gave away a few but nowhere near what people say...

[Lil Bit Special]

This idea that the Yankees have traded all these great prospects away isn't true. They gave away a few but nowhere near what people say...

They did a good job pumping up prospects that didnt pan out.

The worst thing is losing draft picks because of signing top-level free agents. That is the greatest blow to a rich team. Look at the Mets this year, they lost their 1st round pick because they signed Moises Alou. How's that looking now??? Burns my ass, I'll tell ya that!

[madmike1]

They did a good job pumping up prospects that didnt pan out.

The worst thing is losing draft picks because of signing top-level free agents. That is the greatest blow to a rich team. Look at the Mets this year, they lost their 1st round pick because they signed Moises Alou. How's that looking now??? Burns my ass, I'll tell ya that!

For a long time there the yankees were really bad at drafting and they didn't realize how to use their money advantages in the draft. Since they have been doing that, they have become a MUCH better drafting and player development team.

[SteelerFan87]

For a long time there the yankees were really bad at drafting and they didn't realize how to use their money advantages in the draft. Since they have been doing that, they have become a MUCH better drafting and player development team.

Thank you for making the small market point for me. These "money advantages" that you admit are crucial to the Yankees drafting well are precisely what's wrong with baseball. There shouldn't be "money advantages". The Yankees have that advantage, but do the Pirates? The Marlins? The Reds? No, and that's why MLB is a joke.

Yes, the fact that the Pirates' owners are cheap *******s is a huge reason why we suck. That's why we've had 14 consecutive losing seasons. But even if they were smart, would the Pirates really be able to compete with the Yankees every year? Or even most years? No. Not at all. See, the only way the Yankees will suck, is if they are incredibly stupid, as they have been this year. If they're even remotely competent, they have a HUGE advantage over teams like the Pirates. If our owners showed a clear commitment to winning and the intelligence to match, what could we spend? $60 million? MAYBE every once in a while, up to $80 million? What does that matter if the Yankees spend $200 million? The As and the Twins, yeah yeah yeah, we small market team fans hear that all the time. But what are the As? Sure, they've been able to be competitive. They've been able to consistently make the playoffs, but what has it gotten them? All the A's are, is basically the rich teams' AAAA minor league team. That's all the Pirates could ever hope to be too.

Look at football. If there was no salary cap, could the Steelers really compete with the Jets? I mean, with the salary cap, and years of being in the upper echelon of NFL teams, the Steelers can afford to spend at the cap, which is what, $80 million? The Pirates don't have all those years of financial and competitive health. Could they afford to spend $80 million on a regular basis? Probably not. And even if they could, all they'd be is the A's, if they're extremely lucky and extremely smart. When was the last time the A's won a World Series?