Theo the Terrible apparently offered 41 year old Mariano Rivera three years at $15 mil per to sell his soul. He backed his play by assuring him that Papelbon would be shown the door if he accepted. Now he's even trying to plunder the Bombers. Go fish! Cubbies spend $10 mil per year on .198 hitting Carlos Pena. Angels, Rangers, Nationals and Yankees in a four way free for all for Cliff Lee.
The mega corporation known as the Boston Red Sox have done it again! Theo the Terrible drops another $142 mil on Carl Crawford. Apparently when they were doing the Big Dig they struck oil in Beantown. 8) The Mets new management signaled that they are actively building a championship team with the acquisition of Boof Bonser. :lol:
Haha! With George and Jif actively engaged in shelling out the megabucks for the top tier free agents (note Yankees' offer of $1.5 billion for Cliff Lee), let the hot stove fires burn. Spring training is right around the corner. Hooray!
I have a somewhat different view. Yes, I believe it is a shame that only 2-4 teams have the corner on the expensive free agent market, BUT, how many times in just the past 5 years have we seen that money does not buy championships? How many times have we seen a megastar get a dream payday then stop producing or succumb to the injury bug? For me, baseball has always represented in some way David vs. Goliath, cheering for the underdog, etc. The signings by the Red Sox and Yankees help to cement my interest in the sport because, while I don't cheer against those two teams, I cheer for all the other underdog teams in the league to get to the World Series.
Sid is exactly right. Both the Yankees and the Red Sox are extremely well run businesses in high population areas who have tapped into their own cable outlets and maximized their logo revenues to the hilt. They both sell out all the time because their customers know that management re-invests in the team EVERY year. Unlike some other teams whose owners pocket the proceeds. And who won the WS last year?
BOSTON U S A !!! <r>Could this be the year for the TRIFECTA <E>:?:</E> <E>:?:</E> Pats... Celts..Sox <E>:?:</E> ...oh wait..we have a wild card..Boston Bruins!!!</r>
Sid While you're looking at what is happening at the top, what is going on at the bottom is just as important. For instance, let's take Cleveland. In the past few years they've lost top rank pitchers to the moneyed franchises. While the big money teams might not win with a Sabathia, his loss certainly hurt the Indians. Unlike other businesses, the cost of your salary structure is determined by the dumbest of your competition. So an outfielder who slams 19 whole home runs in a season is now worth 20 mil. a year for 7 years???? You just know that contract will be brought up at every arbitration hearing in baseball for the next decade. If I were an owner, I'd rather put that money "in my pocket" rather than piss it away like that.
sid if you pocket the cash as an owner...wont take long until fan stay away..except in boston where the season sells out before Xmas...win or lose!
The Yankees did win with Sabathia, the WS in 2009 and were in the playoffs last year. The Red Sox have got to be figuring on batting Ellsbury and Crawford 1-2 in the lineup. That gives them some real speed at the top. You wouldn't build a team around Crawford, he's not that good. But for a team like Boston, they are just looking for a puzzle piece to complete the picture. They may have just found him.
can you imagine Jacoby and Craw batting one two and being on base together? Infield will have to play in as power steps to plate
Gip....LOL!....your usual gem. Only a native New Yawker can make that comment. I don't recall. Are you a Mets fan? George, has Yankee Stadium been selling out? I always see empty seats behind home plate when I watch the games. I realize that those are the most expensive season ticket seats and that they probably are pre-sold, but why are they empty?