Well I would be interested to see what spinner has to say. I'm still in shock that my Tigers went out and made this trade. Nobody even mentioned them, but the way things look now is that Illitch is starting to have the Tigers operate like he does the Red Wings. Dude has the money and he's showing that he's willing to spend it. How long are they in Nashville? Now that we have Inge left as trade bait, I'm wondering what else my Tigers have in store for me.
Dayton, I am finally happy to see someone with this kind of sentiment that is not a Sox or Yanks fan. In the past I used to have a problem with the dollar disperity in the MLB. Sure I've always been a fan of the Sox, who have been among the biggest spenders in the game, and as of the past 5 years only second to the Yanks. However, over the past couple years I have really become interested in the business behind baseball (I can thank Billy Beene and Moneyball for that).
Just some things to think about:
This past year, each team earned 25 million solely from the medium of internet (MLBtv, mlb.com, ect.)
The low level teams (Tampa, Florida, Pitt) recieved 30 million from the luxury tax.
Revenue Sharing is expected to be 30 million per team this year.
Therefore, without even considering each individuals team revenue from tickets, tv contracts, merchandise, ect. The "low money" market teams have generated 85 million in revenue. Now I understand that all of that is not pure profit, I am sure it is quite expensive to run and upkeep a stadium, especially in Pittsburgh where they have a new one, however, when you look at team salaries it is rediculous that they spend so little.
Tampa Bay Rays - 27 Million
Pittsburgh Pirates - 29 Million
Florida Marlins - 33 Million
These are the teams that are considered weak, but to be honest its their own damn fault. Kevin Kennedy (Sox fans will remember him as the skipper who led us to that '95 East Championship) was talking about how the Marlins owners required that the GM keep the team salary at or below 30 million.
Therefore, if fans want to bitch and moan about how the Red Sox and Yankees pay a billion dollars for their teams, maybe you should stop being jealous of our success and our desire to win and rather blame your own team's owners for being greedy and running your team solely to line their pockets. And trust me, I am as capatalistic as anyone and have no problem at all with trying to make a profit, but fans need to make a decision, root for a team that spends the money in an attempt to win or root for a team that pays the bare minimum in order to turn a large profit.
Funny thing is, with all the money that the Sox and Yanks spend I am sure their owners don't go without....funny thing how winning just brings in more and more money. Maybe if the owners were willing to pay up and take just a small salary for a couple of years, they could establish a quality team which would in turn wake up their fan base, bring more people to games, sell more jerseys and caps and ultimately bring the profits way up.
Pro sports are becoming increasingly profitable these days and I don't understand how teams can't capitalize on that. We live in a material world and we are material girls....or boys.
:allhail:
