Yanks get Mark Teixeira

Dayn Perry:

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The real danger — and here's where the "risky" part comes in — is that the Yankees' winter extravagances will leave Commissioner Bud Selig spoiling for a fight. The last two collective-bargaining sessions have been notable for peace and ease, but that could change next time around. If enough outrage is ginned up among small-market owners, then the drive for a salary cap may resume.

But baseball manifestly doesn't need one. Salary caps do nothing to promote competitive balance, and all they do is guarantee owner profits. The hazard, then, is that the latest case of Yankee fatigue will inspire owners to go to war for the hard cap. The Players' Association won't go for it, and a labor stoppage could follow. That, obviously, would be bad for baseball. Once more with feeling: What baseball needs is more revenue sharing and guarantees that the money will be spent on player development, draft bonuses and payroll and not used to line the pockets of owners. If this whole affair leads to bloodless institution of those policies and not a salary cap, then it will all have been worthwhile.

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I will only be in favor of a salary cap in baseball only if they put a minimum spending cap as well. Right now its a screwed up system, only because owners are pocketing luxury taxes instead of using it for spending on players, which was the point of the luxury tax to begin with.

The NBA has a salary cap (& floor) & is widely renowned as the sport w/ the least competitive balance/parity

Great analysis of the signing, mostly about the salary stuff.

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Originally Posted by HoustonGM

Great analysis of the signing, mostly about the salary stuff.

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That's a great article. it's a little disgusting (actually a lot disgusting) when owners like Loria and Pohlad scream bloody murder about how they can't compete and pay these players like the Yanks. Every major league owner is a billionaire. However, they would rather pocket the luxury tax, beg for a new stadium, and try to win with a 5 dollar payroll. With the revenue sharing, luxury tax, and huge increase in baseball attendence in the last few years, there's no excuse for "small market" owners like Loria and David Glass to sit there and pretend like they can't afford their $25 mil payrolls.

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Originally Posted by haveacigar

it's a little disgusting (actually a lot disgusting) when owners like Loria and Pohlad scream bloody murder about how they can't compete and pay these players like the Yanks.

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Exactly... and (some) fans still don't understand why their favorite players don't have "loyalty" to the hometown team? You give what you receive.

Yea, well said. This is something that I've been considering for a few years now... There definitely does not need to be a salary cap in baseball.

The thing is, you gain from being good (fans, advertising, etc...), and you gain from being bad (Higher draft picks, revenue sharing, etc...). The place not to be is somewhere in the middle.

So, I think that the important thing to do is to make the middle pay more, while at the same time giving the bottom a more secure "safety net" without providing revenue. That's easily accomplished by increasing the amount received by middle teams through revenue sharing mechanisms (revenue sharing and luxury tax), decreasing it for lower tear teams, but at the same time having the league guarantee portions of pre-arbitration salaries including draft pick signing bonuses.

Alternatively, you can enforce a "weak" salary FLOOR. By weak, I mean the following. Teams aren't mandated to pay at least the salary floor. However, only teams ABOVE that floor will get the benefits of revenue sharing and the like. This is (just one) way to ensure that small market teams actually invest the revenue sharing money into their clubs instead of pocketing it.

If there was a salary floor of $75MM, the Marlins would sign Bonds to a 1 year $50MM deal.

Yea, that's not a bad idea... it has the large benefit of being easily understood, as well.

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Originally Posted by Moot

If there was a salary floor of $75MM, the Marlins would sign Bonds to a 1 year $50MM deal.

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Good! problem solved...

Frankly I for oneam sick of fans and owners of other teams roasting the yankees for doing what their teams owner should be doing and that is investing in a winning team. It seems other owners think that by stopping the Yankees from spending that they will magically be able to win with two dollar payrolls. Instead of their fans complaining they should force their local owners to get off their arses and invest in their teams instead of engaging in the newest great American past time, whining.

So, here's an interesting point that was brought up on Deadspin today...WILL New Yorkers be happy about this? After all, this same Yankees team that just dropped Ghana's GDP on 3 guys is THE SAME Yankees team that bitched and whined about needing ANOTHER $480 million of taxpayer money for their stadium.

It's really a case of "them that has, gets"...the Yanks had an incredible amount of salary free up all at once (Mussina, Abreu, etc.), so they were able to just go out and spend.

I disagree with...well, practically everyone, in that there needs to be a salary cap; Burnett and Teixiera are Exhibits A and B to that. But as important, or perhaps moreso, is that a salary floor needs to be put in as well, and expanded and meaningful revenue sharing must be put in place. The owners in general need to stop treating their teams as if they were Microsoft or Coca-Cola or any other business.

Why would they need a salary cap, though? Overall, over the last several years, teams have been spending less on player salaries recently (as a percent of revenue), so what would a salary cap address exactly?

From what I can see, the only thing that a salary cap would do is to justify putting more money into the owners pockets. Knowing something of your own politics, I can't see that as something which you would support... So, I'm a bit confused I guess.

I do support something like a "salary floor", personally. I don't think that it would look like what most people who advocate for it really want, though.

I'd like to see a Salary Cap, but ONLY WITH a Salary Floor as well...it doesn't work without both components. Then you do what the NFL does and tie it directly to league revenues. If the league makes more money, both the cap AND the floor rise the same percent amount that revenues went up. If revenues fall, the same thing happens downwards.

I'm just finding it increasingly difficult to give a crap about baseball, to be quite honest. It's just becoming increasingly difficult to cheer for any team beyond maybe 10...sure, the smaller teams can draft well, but what's their reward? When that guy's contract is up they are GUARANTEED to lose him to a bigger market with huge resources. And then they get the 'privilege' of starting all over again? Yeah...yippadeedee.

Years ago, I was a much more active fan of the sport. Football's always been my true love for sports, but baseball was right there with it. As time goes on, though, I just find I have less and less interest in actually, actively watching it. I passively follow it, but I care less and less and less. Certainly, some other things factor in to that as well...the local AAA ball club going away was a big shot to my love for the game. In the end, though, I just find myself increasingly turned off by the major leagues. It's boring.