The Beast of the East
The question came up on the Wall to Wall baseball show that airs Saturdays at 11:00 a.m. on MASN.
Why aren't any Major League Baseball officials concerned about the payroll and competitive disparity in the AL East where the Yankees and Red Sox are on one level and the other three clubs are at another?
I guess the biggest reason is because this impacts three clubs and not the other 27 teams. Why should anyone in MLB or a team official from Minnesota or Kansas City or Texas care?
Now if Minnesota or Detroit were in the AL East, they might have a different take. After all, each team went just a combined 2-11 in the regular season last year vs. Boston and New York.
You think they want more games versus that pair?
No they are content in the AL Central and happy to watch the O's, Jays and Rays play those clubs 36 times each season.
They'll take their chances vs. the duo in October when you have to beat them in a short series, not over 162 games in a long season when you have almost no chance.
For years some baseball officials have talked about balance in baseball, pointing out that non-big-spending clubs like Florida, Houston, Colorado and Tampa have either been in or won recent World Series.
Sure, because those clubs didn't have to beat out the big two over six months of baseball. Well, Tampa did it once. Will that prove to be a road map for success or just a one-year fluke?
What goes unspoken is that, from where Bud Selig sits, it's a good thing to have the Yankees and/or Red Sox get deep into the postseason. It's good for ratings. That translates into more ad dollars, which eventually filters back to the clubs through network rights fees.
Yes, when it comes to the plight of the O's (and Jays and Rays) MLB could care less. It's not their concern.
There's no chance the sport will have a salary cap anytime soon. The owners have lost too many bargaining sessions over the years and the players union holds most of the cards.
Right now, a team like the Yankees can pay more for one or two players than some teams spend on 25 guys. That's amazing, but there seems to be no way to fix it.
The O's are trying to build a winner from the ground up. That looks like the best strategy for them and the only way they may some day have a chance under baseball's current system.
Meanwhile, as they try to rebuild, no one in a prominent spot in MLB gives a damn whether they ever make it all the way or not.
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Categories (click for archive)Orioles News | Steve Melewski |
Steve- tremendous summary of the O's current uphill battle. Now that it appears that the Orioles' front office is beginning to get out of its own way, we still have baseball's infrastructure to battle. A guy on Roch's blog calls major league baseball, YLB, and he's probably right. What other league outside of international club soccer allows for this gross disparity in spending? I personally feel that Selig's pandering to the big market teams is short-sighted. Obviously I'm biased becasue I support the Orioles and they are one of 3 teams who face the brunt of the current economic climate. But how much better is the NFL because teams have a shot at the playoffs after a terrible year (unless you are the Raiders or Browns)? The fact that we may need to wait 3-4 more years before we have a *shot* at a playoff berth and then get shut out for another decade is absurd.
Thanks for speaking up on this very relevant issue! Now, what about that 4-team AL West.....
Whenever Selig or someone else makes the argument that the Yankees and Red Sox are good for baseball, I cringe. Sure the ratings are good for their games and they draw the highest attendance on the road, but that's incredibly short sited. If there was better balance, the league wouldn't have to rely on 2 (MAYBE 3 or 4) teams for ratings and attendance, because each team would be better draws for their own games. And if there was a sense that more than 2 teams mattered, baseball wouldn't have to panic over the ratings if those teams got eliminated early, like for the Philly-Tampa World Series or the Minnesota-Chicago ALCS a couple of years ago.
I know MLB to NFL isn't an apples to apples comparison, but there's no two teams in the NFL that would create as much apathy as either of those match-ups, because the NFL has a system where every team matters.
Steve,
While I agree that teams may not care about the Yankees in other divisions, what if the Yankees sign some more big guys this year (Lackey, Holliday, Bay, or even trade for Halladay)? As much as I hate the Yankees, I kind of want to see them string off 5 WS wins in a row so that maybe we'll have a shot at a salary cap, and real competitive balance among teams. Part of the problem with the World Series is that baseball doesn't turn it into an event as much as the NFL does and play up the stars that make it (also there has not been a competitive WS in a since '02 or '03 before this one). Basically as much as I love the O's and want them to be successful it's hard for me to see them being successful for more than 2-3 years as long as the Yankees can double their payroll.
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It's so hard to win three straight short series, five WS in a row, even for the Evil Empire would be tough. That might get someone's attention, though. - Steve
Actually, Steve, I disagree with your last sentence. I think the people in MLB Do give a damn whether the other three teams in the AL East make it or not. I think they care to the extent that they very much want the other three teams NOT to make it. A post-season without the Yanks and/or Red Sox is "bad for business."
It's an absurd system- sports are supposed to be about fair/almost fair competition. It can't be fair with a budget disparity miles wider than any other pro sport.
To add insult to injury, MLB has the unbalanced schedule that further penalizes AL East teams by reducing their chances for a Wild Card birth.
In addition, they further hurt the Orioles by moving the Nationals and splitting the market in half.
Steve I was just talking to a Sox fan about this. Toronto, Tampa, and the O's could make all the right moves and still be fighting for 3rd most years. I'd love to see an even schedule with one table for AL and one for NL. Take the top 6 teams and there ya go. Red Sox and Yankees will still make it but it would open it up to the best of the rest for the other positions.
Steve,
The Yankees and Red Sox can only do it for so long before bad decisions catch up. Red Sox have only two guys under 30 projected in the starting lineup next year (Ellsbury and Pedroia) and the Yankees are in big trouble if they do not get younger in a hurry - Arod is signed through 2017 and Jeter is about to get something similar. I also think Halladay is a bad decision for either team long term because he is 33 and will require 100 million through when he is 38.
That being said, the O's have to open up the pocketbooks a little bit if they really want to be noticed next year. Miguel Cabrera has to be the target because he is right handed, plays first, and is still young at 27. I understand delaying the service clock on Bell but bringing in a guy like Atkins will only cause more of a logjam and I don't think he is any better than Wiggington. I'm still dreaming of a Roberts, Jones, Markakis, Cabrera, Reimold, Wieters Christmas. Time to make the big splash.
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But making bad decisions is one thing all the money overcomes. Sign a bad pitcher, no big deal, just go sign another. - Steve
Steve,
Well said.
The only thing I can think of that would help would be to move or add teams in close proximity to the big two. Cut into their revenue base. Putting a team in Brooklyn again would be a good idea for every team in baseball except the Yankees and Mets. Once there's a team in Brooklyn then team(s) in NJ and/or Conn. Put an NL team in Boston.
The way baseball is currently structured, this is the only way I see to even start to level the playing field. The Yankees will still have more money than everyone else, hopefully it won't be so lopsided.
Of course MLB had a chance when the Expos/Nats moved and didn't use it.
Baldy
Bud Selig's interview with Bob Costas confirms that he is not concerned about the huge competitive imbalance in the AL East. So, the problem is not even on the table for discussion. Is it possible that Andy MacPhail is using his experience with the Orioles as a "laboratory experiment" for building from within as his test within the AL East before entering becoming Commissioner? I would hope that Andy MacPhail, as Commissioner, would put the AL East problem on the table for discussion. But, that's not to after the 2012 season!!
You hit that nail right on the head. Selig is about the $$ only, screw the fans. He has been such a joke as baseball's commish. I wish they would go back to the regular schedule. Get sick of watching all the division games constantly. It would be a more fair test for teams to go to playoffs using a balanced schedule. Oh well, gotta watch so we are stuck.
Steve,
That's a really depressing e-mail. I am ever the optimist, though, and think that these things do go in cycles. I firmly believe that the Yankees will go through some tougher times once Rivera, Jeter and Posada retire. You can't lose three hall of famers like that and not feel it, especially since they are the heart and soul of the Yankees. I do also believe that the Yankees will "lose a step" just as Baltimore gains traction in the division, and all the rookies this year enter into their 3rd and 4th seasons.
I'm more concerned about the Red Sox, who have seemed to build from the ground up more than the Yankees, and have young guys all through their system and team. They aren't an especially old team, and guys like Varitek, Wakefield, and Ortiz will be replaced by guys like Martinez, Buchholz and Lars Anderson.
Don't count out the Rays, either, as their pitching should be very tough. Their offense might take a step back, however, if they lose Crawfod and/or Pena.
The owners hold the cards here. They are the ones who write & sign the checks. They need to stand up to the union even if it causes a long strike. In the long run, they are hold the checkbook & the union will cave. What other option will they have? This has to be done for the good of the game & the fans understand this. Lock em' out !!! We want competitive balance ! Look at the NFL's success !
If the owners are content w/ the current system they must be making hundreds of billions despite their claims of not turning a profit. The problem is, both sides are crooks.
Steve-
The only way anything would ever change is if fans from every other team just stopped going to games. Its a joke, and everyone knows its a joke, but, with 3 divisions, there is always 3 teams in 1st place now, and then the Sox.
I just hate listening to a-holes like Boras say "well, the Marlins for example got 30 million in profit sharing last year". Arod makes 32.
The O's could spend more though is the key. THey had terrible scouting for years, and then spent on washed up players instead of actually good players in their prime. The O's carried 98 Million for 2 seasons, and THAT was 13 and 14 seasons ago. You would assume they could carry more presently. But no one looks into the numbers.
In the end, I just root for the NY team bus to crash. No deaths ofcourse, just a but some torn acls and mcls. Ok, if Tex didn't make it, it wouldn't be the worst thing. I am totally kidding before people get mad btw.
But not really.
This is the reality we face. It is a system that is working for most of Baseball. Screw the three teams it chews up.
I want MLB to merge with Japanese baseball. They should pick four teams from their league to become a Japanese West Division. The other teams would become AAA canidates. The travel could be cut down by having long Japanese tours of three weeks or so.
Imagine the wars!!
Yankees versus the Nippon Giants!!
I agree with you Steve. Playing them, (or anyone) 18 times a year is crazy. Over 20% of our schedule is against those two teams. I hope when Bud leaves the new commish will balance the schedule again. It's all about the $$$$, of course, forget about the integrity of the game. The NFL isn't perfect but it sure is a better model than baseball. Baseball wants the fan's money but doesn't want to listen to the fans. They just want to bend over for FOX. Hit the road Bud.
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I'm torn on a balanced sked. In the short term, it would help the Orioles on the field. But part of me likes playing those teams so much, those games are just bigger events than others and create more excitement. Of course when you go 7-29 as the O's did this year............Yikes. - Steve
All valid points.
It is just not MLB tho, the Rays were a feel good story but the Yankees vs Phillies world series had a LOT higher ratings then the Rays vs Phillies world series held the year before.
Also any salary cap would have to be used in conjuction to an international draft and a cap on the draft. If not the Yankees could just spend 30 million a year on international talent and draft picks. Heck they would need to add farm teams to hold all the talent.
The truth does hurt!!
Steve: Don't know whether I have posted on your blog before but, as to the subject. In my opionion, which might not make sense to some is to elevate some of the problem by going to a balanced schedule, elimate the DH, and do away with inter-league play. This would not be popular with MLB or sports networks, and TV, but there it is.
Good article! Very sad but true!
Great post, Steve. The Orioles must build from the ground-up to be competitive, but they will also need to wisely spend some money on at least a couple of top tier free agents. They just don't have the margin of error that the Yankees and the Red Sox have. However, unless they want to be the perennial Joke of the East, they can (and must) mix it up with the big boys for the right couple of players. I think MacPhail has got this thing on the right track. We'll see how patient the fans are, though.
"But making bad decisions is one thing all the money overcomes. Sign a bad pitcher, no big deal, just go sign another. - Steve"
Exactly right. The Albert Belle contract changed the way the Orioles did business for several years. The Yankees got absolutely no value out of the ridiculous Pavano contract and didn't even miss a step.
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Remember all the money they threw at Hideki Irabu as well. - Steve
You know, I can't help but feel that part of the problem is that the Orioles have been terrible for so long. Camden Yards only gets sold out when the Yankees or Red Sox fans come to town.
If the Orioles can put together a good team and start winning, then maybe they can actually sell out Camden Yards. If they can sell out Camden Yards, there's no reason why our payroll can't go up to 120 million. Maybe we can't match the Yankees or Red Sox straight up, but we can come close.
I understand that Toronto has some of the richest owners in baseball. Baltimore isn't exactly a small market. If anyone is complaining, it should be the Rays.
It isn't Boston or New York's fault that they do a good job running a team and the only thing we've done a good job doing is running a team into the ground.
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They do a good job AND have many more resources than anyone, that's the issue here. - Steve
We are like the proverbial "man in the black mask" the WWE rolls out to take on the hyped popular wrestler. We are there to take our beating, and like it. Not that I even watch wrestling, just trying to find an apt analogy and its a shame to have to bend that low for one. Its not very fixable either, you're right in that the powers that be need the twin powers to be as viable as possible but that leaves us three teams to be nothing more than the designated stiffs. I am just not willing to pay for any more beatings until its fixed though.
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Like being the Washington Generals to the Globetrotters. - Steve
Attendance isn't the issue. The Orioles could sell every seat of every game and not have the resources the Yankees have. The Yankees television revenues dwarf everyone elses in baseball. The money from the gate is a drop in the bucket next to that.
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You are probably correct about that......Steve
Steve,
If they ever want to get serious about a more competitive league, then there are 2 musts that need to take place. Forget about a salary cap. Not happening. No, the 2 things that will help level the playing field is: Revenue sharing among all MLB teams, like the NFL, and all international players must go through a draft. Heck you could have a HS/College entry draft, followed by international players draft (same principles as current draft, except you could trade picks).
Great blog steve,
I am glad someone is standing up and speaking out. the league won't do anything to help the disparity in baseball an it's a crying shame. the Orioles only two chances is to develope from within and may get some good major league players on the team that won't to win and know how to win. there must be a salary cap in baseball. this has been needed for years. and MR. Selig knows it but won't say anything much due to the owners and the players union. hopefully and prayerfully the next commish will have enough GUTS to stand up and say so.
Steve, for so long I have been complaining about the unbalanced schedule. I have also been whining about the lack of competitive balance in MLB because there is no salary cap, and how these combined make it nearly impossible for the O's, Rays and Jays to compete in the AL East. But not once did I ever think about how owners from other divisions thought about it, and now I am as depressed as an Oriole fan as I have ever been.
You are absolutely right, why would those owners want a balanced schedule so that they would have to play the Yanks and Sox even more? And why would they care about the plight of the O's, Rays and Jays? They don't! Bud Selig has got to go down as the worst commishioner that any sport has ever had. I need a drink!
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Just don't drive after. Yes, I wonder if the other owners/teams would vote to approve a balanced sked. But why the AL Central or West vote for it? - Steve
But if they do a good job, then they should be able to maximize their resources. And if they maximize their resources and we minimize our resources, then we should expect to be outgunned.
They sell out their stadium every game. We're lucky if we get half of capacity. They must make a fortune on jersey sales, marketing, advertising etc because people like a winner. We must make little because we're terrible.
They have more resources then we do because we've been terrible for ten years and they've been dominant. It's not because we're a small market and can't hope to compete. They have more resources then we do because they do a good job and not in spite of it.
Not only does the MLB front office not care about teams like the Orioles, they don't want them to win! No one there wants an Orioles-Pirates WS. That would be a disaster for them. Its all about the TV ratings.
I agree there is a problem. But not sure that a salary cap is the answer. I think MLB could do a better job spreading out the teams. Why would you have the Orioles, Phillies, and National all within what, 100 mile radius then leave just two teams for all of New York and New Jersey. What's the closest team to Boston, 300 miles away. I can't for the life of me understand why they would put the Nats in Washington.
Hi Steve,
A lot of people have been clamoring for a salary cap in baseball and of course the MLBPA will not allow something like that to happen. They love the status quo. But in lieu of that I think the one major thing killing baseball is the guaranteed contracts.
Part of the reason why small market teams can't take on a huge payroll player is the chance that he'll get hurt and then not play for them, meanwhile they have to pay most of his contract for however many years they signed him for. The Orioles have two very good examples of how this hurt them with Albert Belle and David Segui, two highly paid players that only played a portion of the years they signed (Belle about 2 years out of 4, Segui about 1 full season and spot play in 4 years) which handicapped the payroll flexibility of the team.
A team like the Yankees didn't even sneeze when Pavano got hurt or when Irabu went down. Just open up the wallet and sign two of the top FA pitchers on the market in CC and AJ.
Football has it right, you don't perform or can't play, you get cut and the only thing you get is your signing bonus and guaranteed pay. You don't get paid for those other two to three years you couldn't play. This in turn gives this player an opportunity to play elsewhere if another team is willing to take a chance.
Of course I don't see that passing the players union, but I was wondering what somebody else thought of this idea.
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The only way that might change would be thruough bargaining. I don't ever see it happening, the owners would probably have to lock out the players and cancel a whole season, maybe two. Who wants that? The players have all the cards and don't ever seem willing to give even one back. - Steve
You've always had a way of putting things in perspective, Steve. Makes your blog fantastic. I can only hope that Angelos actually will boost his payroll to 150 million per year so we can compete. I think it could happen, but only when we have the homegrown guys in place so free agents will want to come here.
Put me in the small group that thinks we can overcome this and we can be competitive with these morons who have almost ruined baseball.
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Thanks for the nice words, Billy...........Steve
Matt P:
While I agree that they should be able to maximize upon their success, there's simply no way anyone can compete with the market they have at their disposal. 2008 population estimates put 8.3 million people within the city limits, and over 18 million in the metro area of NYC. When you're running a regional TV sports network that broadcasts into a market this insanely large, the advertising you sell makes way, way, waaaaayyyyy more money than anybody else's advertising. As other posters have pointed out, the YES network is probably the biggest reason for the revenue disparity.
Mythical:
I totally agree with you that the guaranteed contracts are a big problem. And I totally agree with Steve that they will never be eliminated. It would be great if they could work something out that removes this potential disaster of a team signing a player long-term who is unable to perform after only serving a small piece of the contract.
It seems to me a contract to play a sport at a professional level should involve the undersigned playing said sport. If someone has a career ending injury, there's no way they should be paid the balance of the contract if they can't play. If someone sucks, a team should be allowed to send them down to the minors... and if they refuse that's the player's call.
And then the jerk agents have the gall to cry "collusion" because the owners are gunshy about ponying up a ridiculous amount of dough on what amounts to a multi-million dollar human lottery ticket.
Here is an interesting article written in 2000 (right after the Yankees won the WS then signed Mike Mussina) that discusses this problem and pretty much predicts that we would end up in this situation. This is before YES was even formed, and the dollar amounts they were discussing back then are almost laughable today.
http://www.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/al/yankees/wed.htm
A few notable quotes:
"At the start of spring training," Commissioner Bud Selig said, "there no longer exists hope and faith for the fans of more than half our 30 clubs."
... he muttered, visibly trying to contain a snicker. Selig then climbed into the back of his limo to go deposit more checks in his bank account.
And, said Laurel Prieb, the Brewers' vice-president marketing: "The Yankees have done a great job ... but you want pennant races decided by the savvy and acumen of your baseball people, not to have unlimited resources cover your mistakes."
Thanks for the feedback Steve.
Basically any solution to try to curb the free spending ways in baseball by some teams or to adjust contracts would never clear the Players' Union. They have way too much power.
This is part of why baseball has been losing favor to Football as the past time. Football is a more exciting game to watch for one, but there are salary caps, non guaranteed contracts, and a sense that really if you draft well and sign the right free agent(s) that your local team has a chance to get into the playoffs no matter how poorly they did the season before.
Most teams in baseball do not have that hope. The Pirates have been a poor team for a long time and due to their situation, don't appear to be getting better any time soon. The Orioles have been horrible for over a decade and maybe, just maybe within the next couple of years they might be respectable. The Rays were horrible for years before their draft picks finally panned out, caught lightning in a bottle with a fortuitous Carlos Pena signing, and then remaining relatively healthy the whole season.
It almost seems hopeless to be a fan of a team in the AL East other than the Yankees or Red Sox. In order for your team to have a chance you have to hope your home grown talent makes it and produces, you get a decent FA to sign and have a great year, every player stays healthy, and maybe the Yankees and RedSox both have key players go down with injuries for most of the season.
Just doesn't seem right. I mean, what is the point with the Yankees? They can afford to have a mediocre farm system right now because they can buy the help they need, usually the best players on the market year after year. They can afford to sign injury risk players because if they get hurt, they'll just trade for a guy on some other team that that current team can't afford to pay anymore.
The players should be able to see where this is heading. If people become so upset about all of this and stop watching and coming to games, nobody will have a paycheck anymore. But, as with most current day players they only care about them and the here and now.
Can't remember who it was (maybe Matt Birk?) who tried to get a collection going from current day players to go to a fund for the retired players having all the health issues and out of the entire league he got 5 players to donate something, the total was under $10,000.
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I don't disagree with you about this. But while this is going on the game is drawing more fans than ever and ticket sales have been good. The players union won't do anything to help the game, though.....Steve