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Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
1) The luxury tax is a joke, whether or not the yankees pay it. The problem is not with the luxury tax, it's with the great disparity in the ability of teams to buy the best players, which continues despite the tax. But, yez, the sox can't really complain about that, because they have the second highest payroll. The remaining 28 teams can legitimately gripe, though, which means pretty much everyone is griping. But you heard bellyaching about it in the 80s too--when Winfield was signed for the outrageous sum of $8m for 5 years (or whatever), it cast the same pall over everyone else. Problem was, the Yankees didn't win, so folks could laugh at them for spending and still losing. the criticism is a wee bit more effective when they're actually winning.
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Then please explain to me why the teams yelling the loudest about the disparity pocketed the cash instead of spending it on better players.
Quote:
Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
2) As for the capitalists griping -- kind of a misplaced criticism. Sports generally rely on some equality on the playing field. Why does every major league sport in the US have a draft? The idea is to maintain some competitive balance. One of the appealing things about the NFL is that either team can win in every game (except those involving the Bengals or Cardinals). Get too far away from that goal and the sport becomes uninteresting to fans.
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Interesting argument. Can you explain the Clippers to me then?
And your argument isn't with the Yankees. It's with major league baseball. Just like all bitter fans, your anger is misplaced. You're upset because the Yankees have fans, are popular and make money and spend that money within the rules of the sport.
The Mets had a huge payroll. The Dodgers had a huge payroll. The White Sox certainly had a larger payroll than the Twins. Spend the fucking money. (And here's the key
Spend it wisely. Build a winning team. Increase your fan base so you have more money. Repeat.
Quote:
Originally posted by Mmmm, Burger (C.J.)
3) And, bitch, please, there was plenty of griping about the celtics when they were winning, the lakers now, and the yankees then and now. And, no, never from those cities. But what was the "unfairness" of the celtics' winning streak? That they got bob cousy and john havlicek in the regional draft? It certainly wasn't free agency. Same with the yankees pre-free agency. The hatred wasn't from unfairness, it was because they always won. Sports are different now: money, rather than cunning and luck, has become the principle driver of success. Is that a positive development?
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That's my point. You people are griping because the Yankees are successful. You just scream extra loud because we invest what we make in the team. Until other teams decide to stop lining their pockets instead of doing the same, I don't really want to hear the complaints about the payroll. Especially when we pay you extra for the right to play within the rules.
TM
