"They Bought the Pennant "

You're kidding, right? The Astros have one of the top payrolls in the majors, and even if you didn't count Jeff Bagwell's portion, they still have a hefty outlay every year.

 

I am rooting for the Yankees to win the World Series. That may sound strange coming from a die-hard Red Sox fan but its true. And I'm doing it because its in the best interest of the Red Sox.

If the Yankees win the World Series they will be less likely to make changes or to sign any major free agents. They are pretty well set at all the positions in the field (maybe 1st base is a bit of a question). For starters - they will have Johnson, Wang, Lidle, Wright and Pavano under contract and should resign Mike Mussina. The only thing they may do is add someone for the bullpen. Not having the Yankees bid for the top free agents is a good thing for the Red Sox because they then become the top dog as far as payroll is concerned.

If the Yankees win it all - that places pressure on the Red Sox front office. In theory the idea of growing the organization from within through the farm system is a solid one. However in reality - prospects you trade away end up throwing no-hitters and the one you keep develops cancer. Red Sox fans will be calling for Theo Epstein's head if no major upgrade is made to the pitching staff this off season. Plus I don't see how signing a major free agent pitcher hurts the idea of growing the farm system (I know you have to give up draft picks but have you looked at how hit-or-miss first round draft picks are in MLB?). Right now the Sox 2007 rotation is Schilling, Beckett and Wakefield (Papelbon is scheduled to join the rotation but then the Red Sox have no closer). That's it. The Red Sox HAVE to go after a Jason Schmidt hard. I'd be curious what the NESN ratings for the last month have been. I hope the Red Sox are feeling the shortfall of advertising dollars in the pocketbook.

The Red Sox NEED to sign the best free agent starting pitcher available. Having the Yankees win the World Series helps make that happen. Go Yankees! (Or go Dodgers - having Grady and Nomar have rings would serve the same purpose)

 

One mistake the Sox made was trading Renteria . Also did not help having Varetek hurt.

 

A bigger mistake was acquiring Renteria in the first place.

 

Maybe mistake was not resigning Cabreara. It does seem like they gave up on Renteria awful fast though.

 

You cannot include the NBA, whose champions are determined by one, maybe two players.

 

You directed that steaming pile of rudimentary pablum at me?

When you want to add something that offers any proof that the NFL system isn't by far the best, let me know.

And, the Angels had plenty of high-priced guys on that team.

 

Ask Kevin Garnett and Allen Iverson about that.

 

Like I said, "maybe two"

 

Columbo: I said high-priced FREE AGENTS on the Angels in 2002.

If you say that NBA championships are determined by one or two players, you know nothing, nothing about basketball.

NFL is the best system for owners - it's socialism for extremely wealthy people. But there are a lot of teams (Detroit Lions, Arizona Cardinals, New Orleans Saints, and New York Jets) who almost always manage to remain mediocre at best.

 

I does not matter a FUCK whether the guys were free-agents or not.

They were signed to huge deals that a team in the L.A. market can easily afford to pay based on TV contract.

Four is "a lot" now?

Also, Jets made the AFC Championship in 1998 and were a FG away in 2004.

Three is "a lot" now?

 

I named four teams. The Jets are constant underachievers and made the championship when Parcells was there. Then they reverted to their tradition. The Bengals made the playoffs last year, but that was the first time in a long time. They are another organization which is messed up and doesn't seem to give a damn about winning. There is more complacancy and as much mismanagement in the NFL than in any other league.

If you are spouting the "the big payroll teams have a bigger chance" whine, than it does matter whether a team signs free agents or not. Don't expect the return of the lifetime reserve clause any time soon.

You know what? There are a lot of people on here who know a great deal. So when you bring you raving, talk-radio act here, you are going to be judged and have been judged accordingly.