[quote name='ph33r m3']The money is ridiculous, and when I was driving back home on the radio they were discussing how MLB is really gonna hate what's happening with the Yankees spending costs.
Think of it this way....what teams are REALLY championship caliber?
Break it down by division:
NL West: None
NL East: Phillies/Mets (both spend money.....both above 90 Million I believe)
NL Central: Cubs (Spend a shit load)
AL West: None (Especially after the Angels let Tex and K-Rod walk)
AL Central: White Sox (spend nearly 120 mill)
AL East: Red Sox, Yanks, Rays (The Rays had to tank for 10 years)
No doubt you can make a case for that "Marlins team" like the Marlins, A's, Twins who have a low payroll and make a cute little playoff push to get everyone to support the underdog....but realistically....your looking out of 30 teams....7 are truly contenders.....[/quote]
The thing is, even though the small market teams make some noise here and there, they are not ever going to be consistently competitive the way things are currently. It requires a perfect storm of scouting, team makeup, excellent management, and relative competition. Tampa Bay is a poor excuse of a small market team being successful. They've had more number 1 draft picks in the last 10 years than the
ing LA Clippers. If you ask me, their resurgence was long overdue.
I'm not going to sit here and lie through my teeth and say I don't enjoy my team winning the services of players like Matsuzaka, but I really think some kind of spending ceiling and floor should be put in place.
You shouldn't have to be pigs like the Yankees to be competitive. Baseball is my favorite sport, but football is definitely the most exciting one I watch. There's a reason for that.
[quote name='integralsmatic']well there is still quality out there.ManRam, Lowe,Perez,Dunn,Hudson.....all guys that can make an impact on any team and that could be just as good as Tex,C.C and Burnett. And i think the yanks overpaid burnett by alot. Sure these guys bring consistent regular season performances year in and year out but all these players have something in common. They stink when it matters most. C.C has been utterly atrocious in the post season. [/quote]
There are other decent guys out there, but I would argue that none of those guys left (with the exception of Ramirez, who comes with the baggage of a whiny adolescent) are true superstars worthy of franchise money.
The Yankees way overpaid on Burnett, I think most people agree with that. CC is a great pitcher, but he's fat and not getting any thinner or younger. I have a hard time believing he's going to be healthy enough over the next 8 years to earn all of that money. Teixeira will likely be a great addition for the life of his contract, but the money is still nutty in my opinion. I'd take any of the three on my team, don't get me wrong, but not for those prices.