Friday, January 25, 2008
Dollar Signs
Red Sox fans are taunted by Yankee fans for "only" having seven championships compared to their 26. And the '07 numbers are out, and we see that the Red Sox' payroll is 71% of those Yanks, who play in our division. So how are we not an underdog?
You know how many different teams' entire payrolls could fit in the space between the Yankees' and the Red Sox'? 14 of 30. [Correction: it's 6 teams. I effed up. The point remains, and the above percentage is still correct.]
You know how many different teams' entire payrolls could fit between the Red Sox' and the Dodgers', who have the next-highest payroll? ZERO.
Yes, 12 teams can say the Red Sox' payroll is at least twice as high as theirs. But 24 can say it about the Yanks.
Why do I get the feeling if the Seattle Mariners win the World Series next year, nobody's gonna claim that it's unfair or that the Mariners are "the new Yankees"? Yet their payroll is the sixth-highest, at $114 million. The closest division opponent to them in terms of dough has a payroll 68% of the Seattle's. An even bigger advantage than the Yanks have over the Sox.
The Orioles' payroll is three times as high as the Devil Rays'. The Angels spent $20 million more than the Braves, who spent $20 million more than the Brewers, who spent $20 million more than the Pirates. Surely it ends there, right? Nope--the Pirates spent $20 million more than somebody, too.
The point is, it's horrible how baseball allows this, I know how much money the Red Sox have (despite having the smallest park), and I'd sign up for the league to be totally equal right now, especially knowing what a great job we've done with our farm system. But the team that started all this crap is the New York Yankees. They've got way more championships than your team, and way more money. And their spending left other teams with no choice but to spend as well if they want to win--and stay competitive beyond that one season. But it's not your fault if you were brainwashed into "hating" the Red Sox--that's what the Yankee fans in the media will do to you. These are the same people who, when the Yanks were actually winning a decade ago, told you "it's impossible to hate these Yankees." (Secret: It absolutely wasn't!) If yawnfests like the '98 Yankees (again, with all the championships and all the money) can be considered likable, why can't a fun-lovin' bunch, whose fans had to suffer for eight decades, and who is the opposite of those Yanks, be? I wouldn't expect anyone to switch loyalties, ever, but to just start hating a team because--well, from all I can tell, because the newspapers started telling you you already do, I don't get that.
The Chicago Cubs spent 115 million dollars last year. If they win the World Series, I totally wouldn't hate them. I wouldn't say, Oh no, now we have to "deal" with Cubs fans. I'd be like, That's awesome, the Cubs won after a hundred years, a time in which the Yankees won 26 times. And I don't know anyone who wouldn't feel the same way, except White Sox and Cardinals fans.
Sorry, I saw those numbers and I had to continue this never-ending, multi-part rant. But at least I didn't mention football.
And yes, I know the Dice-K posting fee doesn't count in the payroll. If George had spent that, we'd hear, "he always does what it takes, spends the money, and that's a totally classy move by that total non-convicted felon."
You know how many different teams' entire payrolls could fit in the space between the Yankees' and the Red Sox'? 14 of 30. [Correction: it's 6 teams. I effed up. The point remains, and the above percentage is still correct.]
You know how many different teams' entire payrolls could fit between the Red Sox' and the Dodgers', who have the next-highest payroll? ZERO.
Yes, 12 teams can say the Red Sox' payroll is at least twice as high as theirs. But 24 can say it about the Yanks.
Why do I get the feeling if the Seattle Mariners win the World Series next year, nobody's gonna claim that it's unfair or that the Mariners are "the new Yankees"? Yet their payroll is the sixth-highest, at $114 million. The closest division opponent to them in terms of dough has a payroll 68% of the Seattle's. An even bigger advantage than the Yanks have over the Sox.
The Orioles' payroll is three times as high as the Devil Rays'. The Angels spent $20 million more than the Braves, who spent $20 million more than the Brewers, who spent $20 million more than the Pirates. Surely it ends there, right? Nope--the Pirates spent $20 million more than somebody, too.
The point is, it's horrible how baseball allows this, I know how much money the Red Sox have (despite having the smallest park), and I'd sign up for the league to be totally equal right now, especially knowing what a great job we've done with our farm system. But the team that started all this crap is the New York Yankees. They've got way more championships than your team, and way more money. And their spending left other teams with no choice but to spend as well if they want to win--and stay competitive beyond that one season. But it's not your fault if you were brainwashed into "hating" the Red Sox--that's what the Yankee fans in the media will do to you. These are the same people who, when the Yanks were actually winning a decade ago, told you "it's impossible to hate these Yankees." (Secret: It absolutely wasn't!) If yawnfests like the '98 Yankees (again, with all the championships and all the money) can be considered likable, why can't a fun-lovin' bunch, whose fans had to suffer for eight decades, and who is the opposite of those Yanks, be? I wouldn't expect anyone to switch loyalties, ever, but to just start hating a team because--well, from all I can tell, because the newspapers started telling you you already do, I don't get that.
The Chicago Cubs spent 115 million dollars last year. If they win the World Series, I totally wouldn't hate them. I wouldn't say, Oh no, now we have to "deal" with Cubs fans. I'd be like, That's awesome, the Cubs won after a hundred years, a time in which the Yankees won 26 times. And I don't know anyone who wouldn't feel the same way, except White Sox and Cardinals fans.
Sorry, I saw those numbers and I had to continue this never-ending, multi-part rant. But at least I didn't mention football.
And yes, I know the Dice-K posting fee doesn't count in the payroll. If George had spent that, we'd hear, "he always does what it takes, spends the money, and that's a totally classy move by that total non-convicted felon."
Comments:
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The payrolls of 14 different teams. Not combined, in which, yeah, I think it was the bottom 6 that you could add together and still fit it all between Sox and Yanks.
No, I understood what you meant before. But I am still computing the difference between #1 and #2 as totaling about $62 million. And that is more than the individual total payroll of each of the bottom six teams on the list. OTOH hand, even adding only the very bottom two together gives you about $65 million -- more than the difference between Sox and Yanks.
I don't mean to be a PITA here. In fact, even if my math is right, it still supports your point (with which I agree). But I am just trying to understand your math and/or my mistake.
I don't mean to be a PITA here. In fact, even if my math is right, it still supports your point (with which I agree). But I am just trying to understand your math and/or my mistake.
Okay, I see what you're sayin', and you're totally right. I was wrong. I was going by a number of 238 mil by the Yanks, which is what someone said on the radio. So I got that in my head that the difference was 82, not 62. That's no excuse, though, as I had the list right in front of me and easily should have noticed it was 62. Thanks for the correction. But, yeah, still a big difference.
Another way I should not have messed that up: when I was entering the Yanks' number into the calculator to get the percentage, I should've been like, hey, I'm entering 218 and not 238! Terrible job by me.
To be fair, the Sox farm system is so good because the have money to spend - they can afford to make moves like drafting Lars Anderson and Matt LaPorta late in the 2006 draft.
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