Will all of the Yankees’ spending force a cap?
Lost in the midst of everyone’s bitching about the Yankees’ holiday spending spree this year is the notion that Major League Baseball might actually step up and finally put a salary cap in place in efforts to control teams’ future spending. (I said might.)
In one offseason, the Yankees acquired two of the top pitching free agents (CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett) available and the market’s best young hitter (Mark Teixiera). Outside of Manny Ramirez and possibly Jake Peavy, the Bronx Spenders have left the market completely bare. (And don’t think they haven’t thought about figuring out a way to squeeze both Manny and Peavy into their budget, too.)
If you trust what some of the major media outlets are saying, then the Yankees are pissing people off – and not just the Red Sox, Angels and every other team that tries to compete with their spending every year. Apparently, they’re pissing off the league, too, but will it be enough to get Bud Selig off his dead ass and put a cap in place? It’s unlikely, but at least there’s talk of a cap possibly on the horizon.
I don’t blame the Yankees for spending as much as they can because there aren’t any rules in place to stop them. If you’re going to allow a tyrant to do whatever it wants, then the tyrant is probably going to do whatever it wants. The Yankees don’t hide who they are – they want to win and they’re willing to spend to do so. And you know what? Don’t blame them – blame the league that doesn’t care enough about evening the playing field to put a system in place to control the spending of every team.
But maybe this time around people are finally going to wake up. The Yankees’ spending isn’t out of control – it’s been out of control for a long time. But again, don’t blame them. There’s never been a better time for a cap and if the Spenders’ holiday shopping spree won’t force change in baseball, then I’m afraid nothing will.
The thing is, not having a salary cap actually helps the sport for the sole fact that it creates this drama.
Baseball is America’s game. Been around for ages. It’s storied history just makes it fantastic. I think there is something very American in not having a salary cap. That laissez faire idea is seen in companies from Microsoft to organizations like the Yankees. I love that the Yankees pull this stuff. The thing about baseball is that the season is so long that the complexion of a team can change over night. New Yorkers will hate you if you don’t bat .400 for the season. That type of love/hate attitude can really affect your game. While Teixiera is awesome, there’s always some other player that might come over, play for the price of bubblegum, and become the next break-out star. The Yankees still won’t win the World Series. Watch, it will probably be the Marlins again.
You said not to blame the Yankees, and I agree they are working within the rules that are currently in place in the MLB, but don’t they deserve some blame for being incapable of developing their own talent, especially lately?
Jorge Posada
Derek Jeter
Chein Ming Wang
Mariano Rivera
Job Chamberlain
Melky Cabrera
Robinson Cano
Phil Hughes
Ian Kennedy
Andy Pettitte
All home grown. They can develop talent – people just seem to focus on the players they buy.
Okay, if they are so great at developing talent AND they have the ability to buy any player they want in free agency, then why have they been so pathetic of late? Poor managing?
I never said they were great at developing talent, I just noted that they don’t buy all of their players like everyone in the free world suggests.
What people forget is that sports still come down to execution. The Yankees haven’t executed since 2000 and it doesn’t matter how much they spend in the offseason if they can’t get it done on the field.
This is why I don’t get why everyone freaks out when they spend millions of dollars on free agents. They haven’t won anything since 2001 when they won the AL title but lost in the World Series, yet everyone is ready to crown them champs come the following winter.
I think everyone freaks out because they’d like to see the free agent talent spread around the league, not all signed by one team.
maybe other teams should stop putting thair revenue in the bank and put it on the field the yankees care more about winning then how big thair check book is