TooLiveBrew

The Yankees payroll was $60 million more than the Cubs--which is too big of a different to put them in the same category. The Yankees have an incredible margin for error. I wasn't comparing the Cubs to the Yankees as much as I was the Cubs to the rest of MLB. The Cubs payroll was higher than any playoff team not named the Yankees: ~$5M > PHI ~$50M > SF & MIN ~$60M > ATL ~$75M > CIN & TB ~$90M > TEX The Yankees, Cubs, and about 4 or 5 other orgs. have a pretty huge monetary advantage over the rest of the league. But it's not the most important component. The two WS teams this season operated with payrolls at 47% & 27% of the Yankees'. They run their organization well and are popular, so does that mean they deserve to get all the top free agents? If the Badgers football team is run well & wins a lot of games, do they deserve to get better/the best recruits? I think MLB needs to invest in some "Yankee-proofing" to allow other teams to have a chance to share in the limelight. Imo this would require a salary ceiling (which many small market owners would love) & a salary floor (which many small market owners would hate). There's a reason MLB doesn't have a salary floor, and it's because small market owners would make less money. To get to your point about what's fair, what, realistically, should be done about the Yankees? There are always people to point out how they have an unfair advantage, yet what are the realistic solutions? The Yankees make a ton of money -- should MLB randomly seize some of that money from them? Should they not be allowed to spend the money they have on their team? I understand why smaller market fans get annoyed with the Yankees' financial reserves, but I don't really see a fair solution in terms of what should be done. What are some tangible ideas to "Yankees-proof" the system? EDIT: To answer my own question, one idea I just thought of would be to make every free agent signing result in draft pick compensation. The instance I'm thinking of is, of course, the Yankees signing Teixeira in addition to Sabathia two offseasons ago. First, I would like to see the free agent rankings completely scrapped & re-devised (the way Elias & MLB rank FAs is archaic at best). From there, create "types" or "tiers" of free agents, down to the FAs signing MiLB deals -- and create draft pick compensation for everyone above that (lowest) tier. Structure rules surrounding FA signings so that, any time a team signs a FA, the team losing said FA receives draft pick compensation relative to the status of the departing FA. You could still incorportate (and even expand) sandwich/supplemental picks, but I think the main impact would be to have teams lose their draft picks when they sign FAs. Even if a team signs multiple top-tier FAs, they would forfeit their highest remaining draft pick(s), in addition to sandwich-round compensation, relative to the FA's tier status. However many tiers of FAs there would be in any given offseason, that's how many sandwich rounds there would be generated in the draft (if that makes sense). This is just a crude thinking-out-loud type of rambling, but I think the only real way to get teams to reconsider spending ungodly amounts of money on free agents is to have it wipe out their draft picks. I'm sure there are plenty of logistical holes in this idea, but I hope the premise is at least reasonable.

Thus, the Yankees get additional attention every October that other teams only get every few years. They always are given the prime time TV slot. MLB directly controls that. Are you sure the TV networks don't control that? I honestly don't know. In order for other teams to get attention, the Yankees need a few years where they fade into oblivion by July. The Rangers, Phillies, & Rays all got significant attention this season imo. You can't just ignore teams like the Rangers and Giants for 90% of the season and then expect them to draw ratings. The only time any of these guys get attention is the All-Star game. The Sunday night baseball game on the last day of the season was Yankees-Red Sox, not Padres-Giants. There was no build up toward anything except "Can anyone beat the Yankees this year?" West Coast teams are always ignored in that fashion, though. It's just a product of the timezones. It seems to me that you're overgeneralizing out of frustration. The Yankees are relevant every single year. And there are teams with huge payroll advantages that aren't. While the Yankees have a ton of money to spend, they're also a well-run organization. The Cubs had the third-highest payroll in MLB this season. It's not a system that's set up to favor the Yankees. It's a system that inherently favors well-run organizations that also have a lot of money to spend. It seems to me that some fans tend to oversimplify their loathing of the Yankees. The Yankees are good every season first & foremost because they're run very well. Secondly is that they have a ton of money to spend. It's a lethal combination, but to imply it's all about the money is inaccurate.

Hadn't seen this posted here yet: John Steinmiller of the John & Cait... Plus Nine blog posted an entry from the AFL, which included a segment on James, including some quotes "I can't stand walking people. ... I've always been against it." Sounds like he's going to get along really well with Rick "Don't say the 'W' word" Peterson

he hasn't made it better or worse, only maintained the status quo In terms of opportunity to make the playoffs, he made it (marginally) better by adding the WC.

The same is probably true, then, with Lawrie. I guess that would depend on whether or not the Royals would be in the vast minority & think Brett will be able to stick at 2B.

They designed a system that lets them make the playoffs over 90% of the time. I'm sorry... what?

You can't argue with science

Link Link

Only from 4.0 IP in 2010, but FanGraphs has James with the following pitches FB (94.0) CT (89.3) SL (85.3) CH (86.0) He threw the fastball or cutter for roughly 94% of his total pitches thrown

No, I meant that someone called that Sedar would be let go; nothing about your joke

That's my point. Did anyone see that coming in March? Sorry -- since the Giants won in spite of their offense, thought your point was that the Rangers won in spite of their pitching.

or the Rangers with 'that pitching staff' The one with the second-highest team ERA+ in the AL, and tied for 5th in MLB

Brian Wilson is equal parts amazing-in-every-way & terrifying http://imgur.com/L2Phf.gif

I think it was X ellence? ... TheCrew07? Pretty sure Principessa didn't mean someone called that JimH5 thought Sedar looked like the kind of guy to lend you his pressure washer. http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif

Yeah, that's probably about right.

I got curious about Andres Torres today, since he kinda reminds me of McGehee in going from a relative unknown to regular starter seemingly out of nowhere. Unlike McGehee, Torres actually hit with some authority in MiLB (albeit as a 29- & 30-yo), especially when you consider that he appears to be a solid defender in CF. One almost comical similarity between the two players, though, is that Torres spent 2008 with the Iowa Cubs. He posted a slash line of .306/.391/.501/.892. The Cubs apparently didn't make an attempt to keep him, and Torres filed for free agency, of course landing with the Giants prior to the '09 season. I also found this writeup at Chris O'Leary's site: "My Experience with Andres Torres". An excerpt: This was a really interesting read. Recommended for any baseball nerds that like a good redemption story (not involving substance abuse)

So X, what did you decide on going with as a costume?

Again, players do not magically get better by eating lean meats and fruit. Yeah, you can easily put on muscle by eating Doritos & candy bars

The Yankees fans on MLB Trade Rumors are adamant that Montero would be too much for Greinke. Maybe if Soria was throw in too they might consider it. They are such idiots and I hate them all. Jesus Montero might be the most valuable hitting prospect in all of baseball (if he can stick at C, you're looking at amazing value), so that's really not that crazy.

If Lawrie is ready in the next year or two, Weeks could help to net that individual. Lawrie could also potentially be the answer at 3B. Since I've always really liked Weeks, I hope they can extend Rickie & that Lawrie can handle third.

Sorry. It's a joke from a thread in the Minor League forum. I'll change it again soon, probably.http://static.hometheaterforum.com/imgrepo/thumbs/8/81/Darth%20Vader%20Nooooo.jpg/600x800px-LL-Darth%20Vader%20Nooooo.jpg

McGehee's avg. WAR is dragged down due to lack of a full season in '09. I think Casey made a pretty good case for being about a 3-4 WAR talent this season. I think Melvin would be trading with that assertion. His 3.5 WAR value for '10 is probably a very accurate for what his avg. WAR should be considered imo. I think Casey will have more trade value, simply because Fielder is a rental (albeit a very good one). But like Cheez said, supply & demand is always the key. Never know when a couple teams might get into a bidding war on a guy like Prince.

Thanks for posting that -- awesome

Or you end up like the Rays or Rangers. I agree with mletto157, it's surprising how often "he's untested" comes up given the economic realities of MLB & the Brewers. Every player was once a prospect, and of course not every good prospect turns into a good MLB player. Gamel's really no slouch, though, and has hit MLB pitching quite well for a prospect.

I think Kottaras is a nice backup to have, gives you the L/R combo. Kottaras has a lot more power & patience at the plate than Lucroy right now, and imo probably more power than Pierzynski too. I'd rather the Brewers didn't spend ~$4M or whatever on A.J. when they already have Kottaras for lg.-min. salary. Use that money to go towards a contact offer to someone like Dunn or Berkman.