10-18-2004, 01:14 PM
Do you think that Steinbrenner loses money with a payroll of $184,193,950? Of course he doesn't. Between TV and merch, he's still making a crapload of money off of the Yanks.
I love fans who bitch and moan that the owners of "their team" don't show a commitment to winning because they - gasp - actually want to make a profit from their investment rather than throw away millions of their own money. Reds fans are "dying" to fiscally support a winner, are they? So, if Lindner announced that ticket prices were going to increase 400% so that they could afford a $186MM payroll, am I to believe that Reds fans would be fine with that? Yeah, whatever.
The simple fact of the matter is that the Yankees have a non-baseball factor (i.e. being located in New York) that greatly enhances their chances of winning. Good on Steinbrenner for taking advantage of that factor (as he should), but don't act like the Yankees are on a level playing field as everyone else. It is one thing to build a winner through great scouting, great drafting, and great trades, and quite another thing to build a winner by outspending everyone else by 30%. The odds are heavily stacked in the Yankees' favour, which is why cheering for the Yankees is like cheering for the house in blackjack.
I love fans who bitch and moan that the owners of "their team" don't show a commitment to winning because they - gasp - actually want to make a profit from their investment rather than throw away millions of their own money. Reds fans are "dying" to fiscally support a winner, are they? So, if Lindner announced that ticket prices were going to increase 400% so that they could afford a $186MM payroll, am I to believe that Reds fans would be fine with that? Yeah, whatever.
The simple fact of the matter is that the Yankees have a non-baseball factor (i.e. being located in New York) that greatly enhances their chances of winning. Good on Steinbrenner for taking advantage of that factor (as he should), but don't act like the Yankees are on a level playing field as everyone else. It is one thing to build a winner through great scouting, great drafting, and great trades, and quite another thing to build a winner by outspending everyone else by 30%. The odds are heavily stacked in the Yankees' favour, which is why cheering for the Yankees is like cheering for the house in blackjack.