Prince Fielder Rumors: Monday

That’s perhaps the most simplistic answer to a grossly complicated issue I’ve ever heard. Congrats. But that is only a tiny, overly simplistic, narrow minded, and manipulative analysis. Yes, other teams would be in line to be the top spender, but they’d still be 25% behind the Yanks. There should be a salary cap and floor to solve the pocketing of revenue sharing issue. The Yankees are the team who outbid everyone on everybody for years. They developed this system by consistently scoring the big FA, whether they beat the Red Sox, Dodgers, Cubs, etc. on that given player is irrelevant. The issue remains that they drove the market to such depths b/c they could afford it due to a nearly inexhaustible revenue stream and could continue to afford it once they took FA spending to a realm most teams can’t approach. Until the early 90s, spending was somewhat self governed despite there being no cap b/c teams simply didn’t dare approach such absurd ceilings. In all sports we had home grown talent and yes, players left via FA, but it wasn’t b/c they were offered hundreds of millions, it was b/c of a reasonable and moderate salary boost and a preference on where they lived. Before FA, teams were all able to compete, but there were still dynasties – formed through developing their own talent and shrewd business strategy. Now, the Yankees can throw 30 mil at a Kei Igawa and never lose a night’s sleep over it, they can sign an ARod to the biggest contract ever and it’s only a one day new story b/c it’s so routine and expected. Meanwhile, half the teams in the league and their fans know they simply cannot compete no matter what. The Rays have the best GM in baseball. They have the best scouting department in baseball. But they
can’t win consistently b/c they constantly lose their players and have to
work exponentially harder to put together an inferior product. There is
something fundamentally wrong with that, which goes against the very grain
of sport itself. Sport is about competition – but we no longer truly have
that. Not when the few can have whatever they want no matter what,
frustrating the overwhelming majority and ruining the integrity of the
sport…but hey, it’s ok b/c the business overall is growing. If you’re
foolish enough to think it’s b/c popularity has risen, that’s on you. It’s
b/c people are literally addicted to sport. They will pay tremendous,
outrageous sums to attend events b/c they are addicted. It’s a
sociological and psychological function of society that we dare not speak
of b/c then we’d have to engage our moral compasses rather than just worry
about the almighty dollar. The trend towards super teams (Yankees, Red
Sox, Heat, etc) and superconferences (NCAA) is a dangerous direction and
you can only stomp on the little guy – who represents the vast majority –
for so long before there are consequences. I assure you that will happen
and it’ll be interesting to see how MLB responds. Because they are going
to have millions of frustrated, angry fans (which they already have) and in
addition there will eventually be some ownership who is sick of turning a
blind eye and taking a beating while being told it’s ok b/c their pockets
are being taken care of. There are so many factors at play and so much
broken in baseball that when it all comes to a crash the game may find
itself in a late 90s freefall again w/o a Cal Ripken Jr., Big Mac and
Slammin Sammy to save it from itself. Let’s not pretend the game of
baseball didn’t already almost kill itself. And to pretend the Yankees
weren’t an overwhelming factor would be naive. The Yankees are bad for
baseball. They have done irreparable harm to the game and generations of
fans and eventually there will be consequences b/c the sport won’t be able
to flourish in the inevitable aftermath when the scales finally tip – which
history has shown us is a certainty to happen, it’s only a matter of time.
So be blind and say “oh, it’s a business” or whatever other Yankees
nonsense you’ve come up with to justify the destruction of America’s Past
Time. What people like you need to realize is that just b/c you can make
an argument that has accurate components does not mean you’re right. Logic
can be used to justify anything. That’s its power. And its greatest flaw.
Unfortunately, you have legions of fans just like you who don’t recognize
the tremendous flaws. And the sport and its fans will ultimately pay the
price. We already are. So enjoy your opinions and attempts at
logic…they have some merit. But when everything is boiled down, when you
stop with excuses and justifications, you are left with the big picture and
that is this: The Yankees ruined baseball. 27 championships. The last
handful came at a tremendous cost: the beauty and integrity of the sport.