Tim McG Posted November 9, 2009 Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 I never buy into the complaints about how much money athletes make. The athletes make what the owners can afford to pay them. The problem in MLB is not the fault of the Yankees but the fault of the league for allowing for the amount disparity between what teams are allowed to spend. However, the teams which pay the most have fanatical fan bases who pack the stadium all season long. They sell merchandise up the wazoo. They charge exorbitant amounts for admission and concessions and fans fork over the cash. In a single season the lowest-paid baseball players make more than I do in five to ten years. They've all got a marketable gift that I don't. Ultimately, the financial situation isn't on my mind when I watch what happens on the field of play. It didn't make Johnny Damon's clutch at bat and baserunning any less exciting to me. It didn't make Chase Utley's homeruns any less historic. It doesn't affect the fact that Derek Jeter is one of the best baseball players I've watched play. I disagree. If you go back in history, the Yankees/Steinbrenner Reich were the most aggressive to throw massive amounts of money, en masse, to keep players or to lure players away from other teams. This issue of paying players big giant wads of cash to play baseball is completely and solely the direct result of what the Yankees have done. In short, they have ruined baseball and turned it into a money game. The Steinbrenners suck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tim McG Posted November 9, 2009 Report Share Posted November 9, 2009 Yankees suck, too. Grrrrrr Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted November 26, 2009 Report Share Posted November 26, 2009 Roger Angell's postseason baseball wrap-up for the New Yorker is out (Nov. 30 issue)--if you're a New Yorker subscriber you can read it right now in the online digital edition. I always look forward to these pieces, and (as you can imagine) I was especially anticipating this year's. Headline and subheading are: "Daddies win: can we love the Yankees now?" And Angell has this to say about A-Rod: The games this fall set him free, at least for now, and in the process released me from the ranks of sullen doubters. I've begun to think that if Alex Rodriguez--A-Rod, of all people--can come such a distance in one season then maybe baseball is coming out of its long funk after all. Beautiful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matthew Posted November 26, 2009 Author Report Share Posted November 26, 2009 Roger Angell's postseason baseball wrap-up for the New Yorker is out (Nov. 30 issue)--if you're a New Yorker subscriber you can read it right now in the online digital edition. I always look forward to these pieces, and (as you can imagine) I was especially anticipating this year's. Headline and subheading are: "Daddies win: can we love the Yankees now?" And Angell has this to say about A-Rod: The games this fall set him free, at least for now, and in the process released me from the ranks of sullen doubters. I've begun to think that if Alex Rodriguez--A-Rod, of all people--can come such a distance in one season then maybe baseball is coming out of its long funk after all. Beautiful! Because of my respect for Ghostie, I'll just say this and keep it civil: I continue to have ZERO respect for ARod, and nothing he has done, or will do, will EVER change my mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted November 26, 2009 Report Share Posted November 26, 2009 Another nice description from Angell's extended recap of Damon's key at-bat and double-stolen-base in the 9th inning of WS Game 4: The switch-hitter Teixeira, batting left here, took Lidge's first pitch for a ball as Damon took off for second. He beat the throw to the third baseman, Feliz, who was pulled over a bit toward first by the peg, and when Johnny spotted him a couple of feet away he bolted for third, all on his own. With Feliz in close pursuit, the pair looked like kids running down an alley. He also says that Clyde Lee reminded him of Hal Newhouser. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave James Posted November 26, 2009 Report Share Posted November 26, 2009 In short, they (the Yankees) have ruined baseball and turned it into a money game. Actually, if you want to blame a person, blame Curt Flood for challenging the reserve clause. If you want to blame an entity, blame major league baseball for not forcing the union to negotiate a salary cap. Sure the Yankees have spent a lot of money, but they have a lot of money to spend. And they haven't done anything that isn't within the rules, they just had the resources to exploit them. In short, the Yanks are just a convenient scape goat for the myriad of financial ills that currently beset the game. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ghost of miles Posted November 26, 2009 Report Share Posted November 26, 2009 (edited) Well, thanks much, Matthew--you of all people ought to have appreciation for a good redemption story, though! Just kidding. I'm still feeling a bit giddy from what a magical postseason it was, and Angell really nails it for me; this year made me fall in love with baseball again. (Some readers may find his concluding para a tad corny, but I thought it was great, a cultural allusion that invoked some of the emotion that I felt watching these games throughout October and early November.) One last thing re: Angell's piece and Rodriguez--he points to that sixth inning in the last game of the regular season as the key to A-Rod's postseason: Home Run #1 Home Run #2 Edited November 26, 2009 by ghost of miles Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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