Wow, I guess $207,000,000 (Yankees payroll) don't buy what it used to...

Estil

Yankees 1st in payroll, 3rd in division; Rays next to last in payroll, but 1st in division

I guess $207M ($28M for A-Rod alone) just doesn't buy what it used to anymore, does it? Meanwhile, the Rays are next to last in payroll (entire roster is equal to less than two years of A-Rod's annual paycheck) yet they're in first place in their division, and could very well make the World Series.

Luxury tax? Salary cap? Who needs it?

stevek

They hire mercenaries who don't really care about winning a championship and won't do whatever it takes to win a championship, and the results are as is.

Barndog

<< <i>They hire mercenaries who don't really care about winning a championship and won't do whatever it takes to win a championship, and the results are as is. >>



this statement reminds me of Manny Ramirez

stevek

Anyone can say whatever they want about a guy like Mantle, but there is no doubt the basic year-to-year contracts back then kept him hungry and wanting to win, to earn money, despite much success in the past. These are "professionals" and the money is important to them. Give them "too much" money, and sure they can still perform at a high level due to inherent talent, but suddenly extra batting practice, etc., etc., etc., and doing what needs to be done to help the team win, becomes relatively secondary to them...add this up over a number of players on the team and then teams with less talent who are hungrier, can beat them out for playoff spots and championships.

stevek

Herb Brooks said it perfectly when putting together the 1980 Gold Medal Olympic hockey team and was criticized by some during the player selection process for not choosing a few of the popular top players in the country. Brooks said, "I don't want the best players, I want the right players."

Brooks got it correct, and many GM's out there would be smart to heed the wise words of Herb Brooks when signing professional athletes.

ctsoxfan

What's funnier is hearing Hank Steinbrenner crying about injuries - as if $207M can't buy any lineup depth. That team has shown that they will spend and spend (it's just going to get worse with the new stadium and increased revenues) but they don't seem to spend wisely.

bdunndchi

<< <i> but suddenly extra batting practice, etc., etc., etc., and doing what needs to be done to help the team win, becomes relatively secondary to them...add this up over a number of players on the team and then teams with less talent who are hungrier, can beat them out for playoff spots and championships. >>



So true.

jdip9

<<<this statement reminds me of Manny Ramirez>>>

Really? It doesn't remind me of Manny at all.

I understand this is a running joke for you, but last I checked the Sox won 2 world championships with Manny, and he was a large reason why.

MeteoriteGuy

<< <i><<<this statement reminds me of Manny Ramirez>>>

Really? It doesn't remind me of Manny at all.

I understand this is a running joke for you, but last I checked the Sox won 2 world championships with Manny, and he was a large reason why. >>




I think the statement has some merit...or at least at the end of Ramirez' Sox career. But as you noted, Manny was a key part of the 2 World Champions, and without him, it is unlikely they would have prevailed such. He obviously was not happy at the end though, but I do not think it had much to do with money, which is the point of this thread.

TomGshotput

<< <i>Anyone can say whatever they want about a guy like Mantle, but there is no doubt the basic year-to-year contracts back then kept him hungry and wanting to win, >>



So why did the Yankees win so much in the 90s? Why have the Red Sox with the second highest payroll done so well recently? Even if we suspend logic for a moment and believe money destroys hunger and hunger is what makes winners, perhaps the real issue is not with the players. It is that Yankees management earns so much without putting together a winner, so why should they even try sign or draft anyone who will lead them to a championship, when anyone will still bring them to the playoffs?

The problem is not that Jose Molina and Robinson Cano have stopped taking batting practice or Ian Kennedy and Darrell Rasner are completely satisfied now that the league minimum is a few hundred thousand. The problem is that the Yankees, even with all that money couldn't come up with better options?

They must have gone soft with the TV deal and are no even less hungrier with the new stadium being buit. Or maybe they have simply lacked the inherent ability to put a winner on the field every year. When a team can't draft any big league talent for over a decade, their only option is free agents. And if they draft niether inherently talented players, nor the "right players," what makes you think they will be able to change their fortune in the free agent market?

Estil

If anything, players are more about winning a World championship and especially that ring. Haven't you noticed players don't even mention the HOF like they used to? In the "reserve clause era", they were more concerned with just winning the league championship (and the World Series was just icing on the cake pretty much) and the bonus money.