AL East

[robinhoodnik]

I really don't think that there is a team out there these days at the MLB level who can honestly say that they can't afford to win. It's just an excuse to squeeze more money out of the better run teams.
MLB oughtta be able to vote out an ownership group based upon success. If you don't have a winning, or at the minimum, break even season for five straight seasons, you're out, and MLB arranges the sale of your franchise for you.
It's just idiocy to give away money to owners who don't want to put forth the effort that better run franchises do. I'm with G. Steinbrenner (gag, retch) on this point.

[robinhoodnik]

Royals are in the midst of building ( a la Brewers of say 3/4 years ago) they have a decent manager now & some solid units like Greinke/Soria/Gordon & Butler ONLY problem is they are in the toughest division in Baseball (even tougher than the East) with the Tigers,the youthful Indians & a nasty-underated Twins team

They've been rebuilding since about 1990. Enough with their whining already. They've been run like a 5 year old kid's lemonade stand. Of course they can't win when they behave like a double a team.

[RickD]

Agreed!

[filihok]

I really don't think that there is a team out there these days at the MLB level who can honestly say that they can't afford to win. It's just an excuse to squeeze more money out of the better run teams.
MLB oughtta be able to vote out an ownership group based upon success. If you don't have a winning, or at the minimum, break even season for five straight seasons, you're out, and MLB arranges the sale of your franchise for you.
It's just idiocy to give away money to owners who don't want to put forth the effort that better run franchises do. I'm with G. Steinbrenner (gag, retch) on this point.

Boo...

where were you on the non-sports related thread when it came to "how can we tell people how to spend their money?"

This is the same thing

[robinhoodnik]

Boo...

where were you on the non-sports related thread when it came to "how can we tell people how to spend their money?"

This is the same thing

I dunno, probably figuring out how to make more money?

Look, IMO, baseball is a business, if you run a business poorly, you're out of business. Why should MLB operate differently?
If a retail chain fails, do the remaining retailers have to give that company money to keep it open and losing money? Not that I'm aware of.
Businesses fail, and if they have valuable assets remaining, are bought by other successful businesses. MLB ought to retain the right to insure that all teams are run profitably and competently (in light of it's federal protection), with the best interests of the league as a whole the guiding principle. If a group can't uphold that bargain, replace them.

[Pavelb1]

Boston takes the division. I grew up loving the Sox, but they're really turning into Evil Empire v2.0.

Uhm...how so? Their three starting All-Stars (If you count Papelbon as a 7th or 8th inning reliever) are all still near-minimum salary guys.

Maybe the FAN BASE reminds you of the Yankees...though the real ones are still waiting for the other shoe to drop and for something to happen to take the last two WS trophies away...."I told you!!! They were just stringing me along!"

[RedsoxRockies]

Boston is not the evil empire, they are a team with a good number of home grown players and more to come

[Pavelb1]

Boston is not the evil empire, they are a team with a good number of home grown players and more to come

What's silly is the TEE isn't the TEE anymore....look at their team*! Despite the All-Star game shenanigans it's difficult to work up any long lasting enmity against them....I still have some to spare on Tampa Bay for playing Sweet Caroline after the last Sox sweep!

*Betemit? Ponson? Molina? Sexson? Their rookies are scuffling. Giambi finally earning his paycheck and having a sense of humor! Their announcers are smart at times and much less annoying or boring than many many other announcers.

[m4rk6]

Jeez. How can you call the Yankees Teh Eebil Empyre when the king has stepped down and has been replace by the court jester and the stableboy?

... and yes, I was referring to George Steinbrenner and his get, Hank and Hal.

[grasshopper]

Teh Eebil Empyre when the king has stepped down and has been replace by the court jester and the stableboy

As a Yanks fan I agree in some ways, but the torch must be passed. Hank (jester) is a jackass and I agree. But like his Dad, he will not allow the Yankees to fade or go average on his watch. Too much pride. As for the Stableboy, you may want to reconsider. He is now in 90% control of all NY financials. He will remain behind the scenes, but is/will be the true manager of the Yanks. In 5 years, I guarantee we will be talking about the other Stein.

[dickay]

Boston is not the evil empire, they are a team with a good number of home grown players and more to come

Don't start the home grown crapola. The Yankees have had just as many home grown players if not more in their recent history.

There are many outside of NE that look at Boston in the same boat with the Yankees and thats just a fact. The Sox payroll has consistently been top 4 now for years by a landslide in some cases. The Yankees however are despised more so and given the dba 'Evil Empire' because they consistently have had a payroll 60-80 million dollars higher than the #2 payroll in the league. That is a VERY significant increase. Although they've had alot of 'home grown' (I loathe that word) they also had more big dollar FA signings than anyone by a landslide. For them however, alot of those signings haven't worked out as well as they have hoped, which is why their payroll grows so high. They can afford to make more of those big dollar mistakes and still win than anyone in the league.

[dickay]

And I really don't like the knocks on Toronto. This is a team thats spent alot of money trying to be competitive in this division. What people call mismanagement because they've overpaid in some instances I call necessity. Cmon now, BJ Ryan was the top pursued closer of that FA class....does anyone believe Toronto had the same chance of landing him for equal compensation? No, they had to pay more. Sadly, alot of Toronto's moves haven't worked out. Vernon Wells...maybe a roid product...ran into injuries and derailed after getting his contract. Some say that contract was way overvalued but he was a young CF'er with alot of upside who had proven himself...again, had to overpay to keep him.

Now Baltimore on the other hand....they've wallowed in the kiddie pool for too long. I don't remember the last big FA signing they've made.

[jcbarr]

We haven't signed a decent FA in a long long time. We have the money and all they would have to do is put a decent product out on the field and the fans will come. There really is no excuse for why that can't compete on a regular basis.

[TheNamelessPoet]

Now Baltimore on the other hand....they've wallowed in the kiddie pool for too long. I don't remember the last big FA signing they've made.

tejada lol

[jcbarr]

Big FA. He was a good player, but he wasn't anything big. Especially when we didn't have any team around him at all. I still don't think he was ever as good as he was made out to be.