"They Bought the Pennant "

Is that a serious question?

 

talk to the fans of the Royals, their owner has a lot of money and he doesn't see the need to invest in the product.

 

That's his own damn problem. Steinbrenner does the exact opposite.

 

Well, yeah, the GIVE playoff spots to seven other teams each year, so ... no shit.

 

Investing in the product?

So you can have a $75 million payroll instead of $30 million, lose millions and still only make the playoffs when the planets align?

 

Thanks, Mantooth.

 

Are you just some bitter Red Sox fan or something? Still steaming over that five-game sweep?

 

The attendance as a percentage of the population within 50 miles of the stadium, is just a little bit ahead of the Marlins.

 

OK... there aren't seven other playoff spots the Yankees aren't eligible for.

I guess I'm wrong.

 

I will say this much about Steinbrenner -- I'm jealous because the Yankees have an owner who gives a damn about wins and losses. Not every team can say that. A lot of teams simply worry about the bottom line.

That said, it's easy to spend that much money when you generate $200 million-plus for TV and radio rights -- the Royals are probably lucky to get $15 million, and much of that comes with market size. Bigger the market, bigger the checks to broadcast the games, which you can then use on free agents and investing into the farm system. More money allows Steinbrenner the flexibility to gamble more with his money than others.

 

About as simple an economic principle as there is.

 

Thank goodness no one crushed this batting practice meatball 750 feet.

Wang is in his first full season. His salary is $353,175.

But the Yankees bought him.

Columbo, it is EXTREMELY difficult to take you seriously when you consider to get such basic facts wrong. (re: no one's ever hit 250% more homers than doubles, oops, Mark McGwire did it every year from 1998-2001)

Same empty argument as always. And MLB's the only sport to have a different champ every year this decade.

What are you going to say if it's Twins-Padres on the third Saturday of October?