Reply #11: NO CAP FOR BASEBALL! NOT EVER! [View All]

Full disclosure: I despise the Yankees. My loathing comes from somewhere visceral, somewhere primal. It's not the kind of hatred that makes sense, it's not like a hatred of injustice or Ann Coulter or anything like that... but it's real.

Nonetheless, I agree 100% with George Steinbrenner. Baseball should not have a salary cap.

Why? Because it's NOT all about money:

Exhibit A) The 2002 World Series champion Anaheim Angels. Before winning, they were called a "small market" team that didn't have a chance. This is bullshit. Half of the LA metro area is NOT a small market. Prior to '02, they were a small-REVENUE team, because the product was crap.

Exhibit B) The Oakland Athletics. Four straight playoff appearances with one of the lowest payrolls in baseball. It's not always how much money you have, but how wisely you spend it.

Exhibits C, D, and E) The Dodgers, Mets, and Orioles. These three teams have spent an unholy amount of money over the past several years, and they have bupkis to show for it. Again, it's not always how much money you have, but how wisely you spend it. And remember, the Yankees were shitty in the '80s; and they outspent everybody then, too.

George Steinbrenner wants to win. It's the owners who DON'T want to win who are the problem. Carl Pohlad in Minneapolis/St. Paul. Carl Lindner in Cincinnati (full disclosure: I'm a Reds fan). Allan H. "BeelzeBud" Selig in Milwaukee (full disclosure: I now live in Brewers country).

Just because I hate the Yankees doesn't mean I begrudge them the opportunity to win. Carl Lindner could buy Steinbrenner, but he doesn't want to invest in his team. Big Stein put millions of his own dollars into the Yankees in the '80s, before all those lucrative media deals; and THAT gets my respect (if not my affection).

Don't believe Selig's lies. The salary cap has (IMHO) ruined the NBA, and caused considerable havoc in the NFL and NHL. I like football and hockey well enough, but I LOVE baseball -- and I don't want to see it going down that same path.