Nations Past time

Since I moved back to Iowa, I havent been able to do much. Mostly because there isnt much to do. What I'm trying to say is; Im bored! I decided I am going to go on a spending spree. I will be purchasing two major league baseball teams. I will run one team and you can run the other one. You knew there was a catch though. The catch is my payroll will be 200 million dollars and yours' will be one fifth of that, or 40 million dollars. What? You don't feel thats fair. You must feel the same way about major league baseball. Well that's how they have been doing business for years. They don't have a salary cap. Baseball is small market teams vs big market teams. Which is the main reason why I feel our nations' pasttime has done just that: past its time.

If you do believe MLB's system is fair and makes sense, then prepare to have your eyes opened. I can't understand why they don't have an even playing field. I've heard it time and time again, big payrolls don't equal championships. You are correct. Big payrolls don't always bring titles but it certainly puts you in position to win. If you can find a Kansas City Royal fan, ask him when is the last time they played a meaningful game? I can bet it hasn't been in the last fifteen years. The Royals, Pittsburg Pirates, Toronto Blue Jays, and even Larry's boys, the Texas Rangers are normally out of contention by the All-Star break.

I do know, there are always exceptions to the rules. If you are smart with your 40 million, you could be the Tampa Bay Rays. They won the most competitive divisional race last year, beating the Yanks and Sox. The Rays made it to the World Series last year and their opponent, Philadelphia Phillies also had a normal payroll. The Florida Marlins won 2 world titles, but each time, they dumped payroll the following year. The most consistant teams who are small market teams are the Oakland A's and the Minnesota Twins. They use their farm systems and also spend wisely in the free agent market. I think that's the most important thing, spend wisely.

If you run the New York Yankees, you don't have to be smart. You have an endless amount of money. You can go out and spend alot on high dollar free agents. I get so upset about this the most. The big market teams get established stars, while the small market teams sign young raw potential talent, who may or may not pan out. The free agents the small market teams sign are veterans who are past their prime. The Yanks, Soxs, and Angels don't have to be smart. They sign anyone and everyone that can help their ball clubs. Small market teams don't have the same luxury. Last year, I rooted for the Rays because of these reasons. They do everything the right way. The Rays use their farm system to develop talent and sign crafty veteran leadership. They know they must be smart because one signing could hurt them for several years.

Major League Baseball has a version of a salary cap. They have a luxury tax system. MLB sets a number on what you can spend, essentially its a cap. If you exceed the "cap" then you pay into the tax. The tax is a certain percentage and if you continue to go over the threshold, you pay a larger increase. The maximum tax you will pay is forty percent. The problem I have with the system is that the tax does not go to the small market teams. The money goes to an industry growth fund. MLB uses that fund for player benefits and promoting baseball around the world. I think thats a nice cause but it should be shared. Baseball does have a revenue sharing, which is similar to the NFL. The NBA has both a salary cap and a luxury tax. They set the cap, it changes every year, and a team may go over it. Again, like baseball, if an NBA team goes over it by a certain percentage, they pay a tax. Most owners don't want to pay the tax, which is the reason you see teams trade a superstar for a quarter so they can get under the cap threshold. The NFL has the easiest system. The NFL has a salary cap and you can't go over it. They dont have a luxury tax. You can't exceed the cap. The only thing the NFL has is salary cap penalties for cutting players, since contracts aren't guaranteed, like they are in the NBA. If you cut players in the NFL, the penalty money gets taking away from your salary cap. Are you confused yet?

I guess what I'm trying to do is make this real simple. MLB is flawed. The steroid era helped gain fans back in the late 90's after the strike. Now steroids are hurting baseball. Many players we know and loved are getting caught now or did them back in the past. They need to implement a salary cap. I want to see baseball become fair and balanced. I also would love to see the media get on Bud Seligs' ass. This man should be fired. He turned a blind eye during the steroid era. He hasn't yet brought a salary cap to help those with less money. I know for a fact I would come back and watch baseball if I knew it was fair and an even field. Well, that and if I didn't have to hear athletes bitch about their contracts. I guess thats a whole other story. As always thanks for reading.

J Call