Do we have competitive balance right now?

[Invader3K]

Sadly, that's the only thing I think the smaller market teams could do to actually effect meaningful change.

[gbpacker40]

My friends and I were all huge football fans back in the day but since they added the cap pretty much the entire group of us have become bored with football and quit paying attention to anything but the Packer games. Players move around too much, too many mediocre teams, season is decided by lucky bounces and injuries more than other sports. To top all that off the more popular/better teams still have all the advantages since they

get to sign players for less where the crappy teams have to overpay to get people to come play for them.

This simply isnt true at all. Teams in the NFL can hold on to players far longer than any team in baseball can. Not only do they have franchise tags, but they also have restricted free agents in which they can assign value (in terms of draft picks) that other teams have to pay to take "RFA" away. On top of that, every team has pretty much the same amount of money they can spend and are not at a competitive disadvantage to sign anyone to a fair contract regardless of the superstar status of that player. If there is a perception of more players in free agency it's because NFL teams have far larger rosters than baseball and that they can release players to upgrade other positions if needed without crippling their future success...

 

Example:

Safety A: Is above average on a team that has no good Linebackers - Salary 5m

Safety B: Average player on the same team. - Salary 2m

 

(A) can be released to clear room to sign a decent LB because (B) is waiting in the wings. This allows the team to not lose much in regards of the safety position and could potentially be a huge boost to upgrading the LB position and the team in general.

In MLB small market teams could never do that because of contract differences, guaranteed vs non. Thats one HUGE difference that makes competitive balance in football far greater. I personally enjoy that system because it mimics a more real world feel, not the elitest feel I get from guaranteed contracts in MLB. No one is guaranteed work in the real world, especially if you arent performing up to expectations. Lets face it, some people don't like it because it leads to less loyalty, but very very few business have guaranteed contracts. Loyalty should not be a issue with this at all. If QB Edward has been on team for 10 years and performs at a HOF level, if in his 11th or 12th season he starts to play like a mediocre QB and is released, its because he wasnt living up expectations. Now some will say it also allows for good players to get released and for owners to get rid of someone they don't want to pay even if the player is still at peak performance level. Well in that case, the player will and should not have problems signing another similiar contract. Albeit, maybe less years. Companies do it all the time, release high salaried employees to sign other employees at a lower salary. Why should sports be any different?

 

Now onto *STAR* FA's. Its not even comparable between the two leagues. EVERY team in the NFL had a chance to sign Albert Haynesworth this offseason and while his contract may have been hard to swallow for teams like Detroit or Kansas City, its not because it would have crippled them, its because it would be a dumb move. They are in rebuilding stages and it doesnt make smart business sense to sign someone to a large contract when you need so many other pieces. If they were a mediocre team like Washington and you think he is one of the last peices you need to get to the Super Bowl, you sign him and they did. Again, Detroit , KC and any other team in the NFL couldve signed him without crippling their franchise for years. It came down to smart business sense and if you wanted one superstar vs 2/3 above average players which alot of teams will always take based on management style and theory. Signing AH on any team with decent cap management, does not mean that team cannot get other decent free agents and compete with even other top notch FA's. Regardless of team.

 

I dont recall the amount of teams interested in CC but I believe it was 3/4, maybe less? In reality the only teams that could afford him are the teams in large markets or else they would cripple their franchise in terms of signing other players and would basically cripple any team not a large market for years to come. They would not be able to pursue other free agents not only for one year, but for many years. It would be dumb for a team like KC or Pitt to sign CC just like I used Detroit and KC as examples for signing AH because they arent close to being able to make a run for it. But when teams like Minn, TB, Colorado, and other teams "close" have ZERO chance, its not competitive.

 

Lets see here...

Ben Roethlisberger(QB)	$0	$7,975,760	$0	$0	$0
Troy Polamalu(S)	$0	$6,824,800	$0	$0	$0
Hines Ward(WR)	$0	$6,705,760	$0	$0	$0
Marvel Smith(OL)	$0	$6,650,300	$0	$0	$0
Casey Hampton(DT)	$0	$6,377,083	$0	$0	$0
Ivan 'Ike' Taylor(CB)	$0	$5,744,800	$0	$0	$0
Kendall Simmons(OL)	$0	$4,975,760	$0	$0	$0
Aaron Smith(DE)	$0	$4,756,720	$0	$0	$0
James Farrior(LB)	$0	$4,503,550	$0	$0	$0
Willie Parker(RB)	$0	$4,092,300	$0	$0	$0
Brett Keisel(DE)	$0	$4,079,220	$0	$0	$0
Larry Foote(LB)	$0	$3,392,300	$0	$0	$0
Sean Mahan(OL)	$0	$2,981,720	$0	$0	$0
Ryan Clark(S)	$0	$2,219,220	$0	$0	$0
DeShea Townsend(CB)	$0	$1,978,260	$0	$0	$0
Jeff Reed(K)	$0	$1,964,093	$0	$0	$0
Lawrence Timmons(LB)	$0	$1,755,470	$0	$0	$0
Santonio Holmes(WR)	$0	$1,744,800	$0	$0	$0
Heath Miller(TE)	$0	$1,726,720	$0	$0	$0
Charles 'Charlie' Batch(QB)	$0	$1,627,428	$0	$0	$0
James Harrison(LB)	$0	$1,550,470	$0	$0	$0
Justin Hartwig(OL)	$0	$1,487,500	$0	$0	$0
Chris Hoke(DT)	$0	$1,481,720	$0	$0	$0
Chris Kemoeatu(OL)	$0	$1,423,720	$0	$0	$0
Najeh Davenport(RB)	$0	$1,209,220	$0	$0	$0
Mewelde Moore(RB)	$0	$1,106,720	$0	$0	$0
Travis Kirschke(DE)	$0	$984,800	$0	$0	$0
Trai Essex(OL)	$0	$933,720	$0	$0	$0
Tyrone Carter(S)	$0	$843,333	$0	$0	$0
Bryant McFadden(CB)	$0	$796,470	$0	$0	$0
Greg Warren(OL)	$0	$792,906	$0	$0	$0
LaMarr Woodley(DE)	$0	$726,720	$0	$0	$0
Nick Eason(DE)	$0	$662,500	$0	$0	$0
Anthony Smith(S)	$0	$625,554	$0	$0	$0
Willie Reid(WR)	$0	$602,754	$0	$0	$0
Andre Frazier(LB)	$0	$566,720	$0	$0	$0
Matt Spaeth(TE)	$0	$564,783	$0	$0	$0
Willie Colon(OL)	$0	$546,220	$0	$0	$0
Daniel Sepulveda(K)	$0	$491,720	$0	$0	$0
Keyaron Fox(LB)	$0	$491,720	$0	$0	$0
Jeremy Parquet(OL)	$0	$451,720	$0	$0	$0
Anthony Madison(QB)	$0	$451,720	$0	$0	$0
Williams Gay(CB)	$0	$412,186	$0	$0	$0
Darnell Stapleton(OL)	$0	$379,386	$0	$0	$0
Gary Russell(RB)	$0	$378,053	$0	$0	$0
Carey Davis(RB)	$0	$376,720	$0	$0	$0
Cody Boyd(TE)	$0	$376,720	$0	$0	$0
Ryan McBean(DE)	$0	$376,720	$0	$0	$0
Grant Mason(CB)	$0	$376,720	$0	$0	$0
Jon Dekker(TE)	$0	$376,720	$0	$0	$0
Dallas Baker(WR)	$0	$301,720	$0	$0	$0
Gerran Walker(WR)	$0	$301,720	$0	$0	$0
Justin Vincent(RB)	$0	$301,720	$0	$0	$0
Mike Lorello(S)	$0	$301,720	$0	$0	$0
Matt Lentz(OL)	$0	$301,720	$0	$0	$0
Jason Capizzi(OL)	$0	$301,720	$0	$0	$0
Jared Zebransky(QB)	$0	$301,720	$0	$0	$0
Billy Latsko(RB)	$0	$301,720	$0	$0	$0
Anthony Trucks(LB)	$0	$301,720	$0	$0	$0
Matt Trannon(WR)	$0	$301,720	$0	$0	$0
Jared Retkofsky(OT)	$0	$301,720	$0	$0	$0
Jeremy Bloom(WR)	$0	$301,720	$0	$0	$0
Scott Paxson(DT)	$0	$301,720	$0	$0	$0
Totals()	$0	$107,844,359	$0	$0

 

 

Roy Williams(WR)	$0	$6,292,834	$0	$0	$0
Jon Kitna(QB)	$0	$5,875,000	$0	$0	$0
Jeff Backus(OL)	$0	$5,523,176	$0	$0	$0
Cory Redding(DT)	$0	$4,983,333	$0	$0	$0
Dominic Raiola(OL)	$0	$4,370,000	$0	$0	$0
DeWayne White(DE)	$0	$3,960,470	$0	$0	$0
Calvin Johnson(WR)	$0	$3,490,158	$0	$0	$0
Mike Furrey(WR)	$0	$2,900,000	$0	$0	$0
Travis Fisher(CB)	$0	$2,750,000	$0	$0	$0
Leigh Bodden(CB)	$0	$2,706,720	$0	$0	$0
Ernie Sims(LB)	$0	$2,605,000	$0	$0	$0
Brian Kelly(CB)	$0	$2,340,053	$0	$0	$0
Dan Campbell(TE)	$0	$2,315,000	$0	$0	$0
Edwin Mulitalo(OL)	$0	$2,256,720	$0	$0	$0
Chartric 'Chuck' Darby(DT)	$0	$2,195,000	$0	$0	$0
Jason Hanson(K)	$0	$2,080,000	$0	$0	$0
Keith Smith(CB)	$0	$2,006,720	$0	$0	$0
Dwight Smith(S)	$0	$2,000,000	$0	$0	$0
Michael Gaines(TE)	$0	$2,000,000	$0	$0	$0
Paris Lenon(LB)	$0	$1,800,000	$0	$0	$0
Shaun McDonald(WR)	$0	$1,675,000	$0	$0	$0
Jared DeVries(DE)	$0	$1,656,720	$0	$0	$0
Tatum Bell(RB)	$0	$1,600,000	$0	$0	$0
Alex Lewis(LB)	$0	$1,456,720	$0	$0	$0
Casey Fitzsimmons(RB)	$0	$1,450,000	$0	$0	$0
Kalvin Pearson(S)	$0	$1,422,386	$0	$0	$0
Nick Harris(K)	$0	$1,291,666	$0	$0	$0
Shaun Cody(DT)	$0	$1,120,000	$0	$0	$0
George Foster(OL)	$0	$1,106,720	$0	$0	$0
Daniel Bullocks(S)	$0	$942,970	$0	$0	$0
Stanley Wilson(CB)	$0	$927,000	$0	$0	$0
Corey Smith(DE)	$0	$806,720	$0	$0	$0
Drew Stanton(QB)	$0	$791,720	$0	$0	$0
Don Muhlbach(OL)	$0	$716,720	$0	$0	$0
Jon Bradley(RB)	$0	$713,386	$0	$0	$0
Brian Calhoun(RB)	$0	$639,970	$0	$0	$0
Ikaika Alama-Francis(DE)	$0	$586,720	$0	$0	$0
Gerald Alexander(S)	$0	$571,720	$0	$0	$0
Alfred Fincher(LB)	$0	$520,000	$0	$0	$0
Jonathan Scott(OL)	$0	$496,054	$0	$0	$0
John Owens(TE)	$0	$491,720	$0	$0	$0
Aveion Cason(RB)	$0	$491,720	$0	$0	$0
Manuel Ramirez(OL)	$0	$487,053	$0	$0	$0
Gilbert Gardner(LB)	$0	$485,000	$0	$0	$0
Anthony Cannon(LB)	$0	$460,954	$0	$0	$0
Frank Davis(OL)	$0	$453,388	$0	$0	$0
Corey Hulsey(OL)	$0	$451,720	$0	$0	$0
Dovonte Edwards(CB)	$0	$451,720	$0	$0	$0
Greg Blue(S)	$0	$451,720	$0	$0	$0
Sean McHugh(RB)	$0	$451,720	$0	$0	$0
Devale Ellis(WR)	$0	$451,720	$0	$0	$0
Paul Ernster(K)	$0	$445,000	$0	$0	$0
Ben Noll(OL)	$0	$445,000	$0	$0	$0
Brandon Middleton(WR)	$0	$376,720	$0	$0	$0
Ronald Bellamy(WR)	$0	$376,720	$0	$0	$0
John Standeford(WR)	$0	$376,720	$0	$0	$0
Ramzee Robinson(CB)	$0	$376,720	$0	$0	$0
John Deraney(K)	$0	$371,666	$0	$0	$0
LaMarcus Hicks(CB)	$0	$370,000	$0	$0	$0
Israel Route(CB)	$0	$301,720	$0	$0	$0
James 'Buster' Davis(LB)	$0	$301,720	$0	$0	$0
Claude Harriott(DE)	$0	$301,720	$0	$0	$0
Derek Morris(OL)	$0	$301,720	$0	$0	$0
Victor DeGrate(DE)	$0	$301,720	$0	$0	$0
Clark Harris(TE)	$0	$301,720	$0	$0	$0
Pacino Horne(S)	$0	$301,720	$0	$0	$0
Jon Dunn(OL)	$0	$301,720	$0	$0	$0
Reggie Ball(WR)	$0	$301,720	$0	$0	$0
Totals()	$0	$95,924,837	$0

 

Is that bad management or unfair advantage to sign players? Detroit has the same resources as Pittsburgh. They just managed it poorly. Both teams have the same starting ground to work from, one made good decisions, one didnt. The system itself didnt cripple Detroit, management did. In baseball, teams dont start from a level playing field and that alone makes for some teams to be completely unable to not only catch up, but to start in the 1st place.

Now lets look at MLB.....

 

Jose Guillen	$12,000,000
Gil Meche	$11,400,000
Coco Crisp	$6,083,333
Kyle Farnsworth	$4,250,000
Ron Mahay	$4,000,000
Zack Greinke	$3,750,000
David DeJesus	$3,600,000
Mark Teahen	$3,575,000
Mike Jacobs	$3,275,000
John Buck	$2,900,000
Miguel Olivo	$2,700,000
Juan Cruz	$2,250,000
Horacio Ramirez	$1,800,000
Willie Bloomquist	$1,400,000
Kyle Davies	$1,300,000
John Bale	$1,200,000
Joakim Soria	$1,000,000
Doug Waechter	$640,000
Alex Gordon	$457,000
Robinson Tejeda	$437,000
Tony Pena	$425,000
Mike Aviles	$424,500
Billy Butler	$421,000
Alberto Callaspo	$415,500
Total:	$69,703,333

Alex Rodriguez	$33,000,000
Derek Jeter	$21,600,000
Mark Teixeira	$20,625,000
A.J. Burnett	$16,500,000
CC Sabathia	$15,285,714
Mariano Rivera	$15,000,000
Jorge Posada	$13,100,000
Johnny Damon	$13,000,000
Hideki Matsui	$13,000,000
Xavier Nady	$6,550,000
Robinson Cano	$6,000,000
Andy Pettitte	$5,500,000
Nick Swisher	$5,400,000
Chien-Ming Wang	$5,000,000
Damaso Marte	$3,750,000
Jose Molina	$2,125,000
Melky Cabrera	$1,400,000

[snyttri]

No one is guaranteed work in the real world, especially if you arent performing up to expectations.

 

People who make the kind of money baseball players do get guaranteed money for doing a bad job.Top business executives and securities traders receive golden parachutes for putting their employers out of business. Entertainment industry talent can negotiate albatross contracts. Most employees don't offer unique services worth paying high salaries and making concessions for.

 

MLB is just so stacked against teams like the Brewers it is basically a joke. The Brewers and other franchises shouldn't exist just to be extended feeder teams for other markets, but that is basically how it is at this point.

 

Middlle salary teams like the Brewers go to the World Series on a regular basis. Didn't baseball have the same big market small market issues when it was the national pastime and players had no rights? There is an old movie called "Damn Yankees" about it. If a supermajority of franchises feel strongly enough about revenue disparity they can change it internally.

[Invader3K]

Let's look at the past ten years:

 

2008: Phillies vs Rays

2007: Red Sox vs Rockies

2006: Cardinals vs Detroit

2005: White Sox vs Astros

2004: Red Sox vs Cardinals

2003: Marlins vs Yankees

2002: Angels vs Giants

2001: Diamondbacks vs Yankees

2000: Yankees vs Mets

1999: Yankees vs Braves

 

Out of 20 possible teams over those past ten years, I'm seeing maybe six appearances by truly small market teams. Tampa, Colorado, Houston, Florida, San Francisco, Arizona. We all know Colorado and Tampa Bay got incredibly lucky getting in. I do not include St. Louis or Atlanta, because I think calling either of those small market is a joke, due to the number of years they each dominated wide swaths of territory.

 

I guess that might fit your description of "regular basis"...but it still means roughly the bottom third of the 30 MLB clubs basically never make the World Series. That is wrong, in my opinion. Everyone should have at least a decent shot on a semi-regular basis.

[trwi7]

Houston and San Francisco are huge markets. Both are top 8 media markets in the U.S.

[Invader3K]

Yeah, that is definitely true, which just furthers my point.

[drezdn]

One thing that seems like it might be possible to get people to agree to without a strike, would be something like franchise players. Ideally, I think a baseball team would need to be able to make at least two players franchise players (say one pitcher and one position player). With the franchise tag, the players would only be able to negotiate with their team, but could seek arbitration if they felt they weren't being payed fairly (just trying to think of a way to make this acceptable to the players). Maybe the tag would also come with an automatic player option no trade clause, to give a player a little control over their future, and to prevent teams from just trying to hold onto their trading chips.

 

The other possibility, considering how much less the MLBPA worries about players in the minors/rookies, would be to make it easier and safer for teams to sign players who are just starting out for terms longer than six years.

[MJLiverock]

It isn't just about a small market team making it either, you notice the small market teams that make it don't often appear again in the playoffs for some time either since for them to make it everything has to go their way and they have to use all their resources for the one shot by trading for a hired gun like CC, or running a deficit payroll like the Marlins and sell off afterwards. The feel good Cinderella's occure each year but not the same team twice because they can't sustain that level year in and year out and fall back to pack rather quickly. Meanwhile the Yankees, Boston, Dodgers, Angels, etc. go on competing for the playoffs.

 

Sort of like college football, sure Boise State/Utah/Hawaii gets into a BCS game now and then, may even wins one, but USC, Florida, Texas, Ohio State, just keep reloading and expecting to be in those games year in and year out not once every 10 years if everything falls their way. The Brewers, Royals, etc. are like mid major teams compared to the Yankees even though they are all supposed to be in the same league.

[Ennder]

Now onto *STAR* FA's. Its not even comparable between the two leagues. EVERY team in the NFL had a chance to sign Albert Haynesworth this offseason and while his contract may have been hard to swallow for teams like Detroit or Kansas City, its not because it would have crippled them, its because it would be a dumb move

 

They wouldn't all have the chance to sign him for the same amount though. If a player were offered $5M a year to play for the Steelers and $7M a year to play for the Lions most of them would play for the Steelers. They can make a big chunk of that extra money back on endorsements, they would rather play for a winning team and being in a winning situation probably will increase the size of their next contract.

 

The NFL is nowhere near as fair as you are trying to make it out to be.

[MJLiverock]

It's not that simple either though ender, sometimes older players will play the chase the ring game and sign with whomever has the best team but they also like that they aren't going to be the key guy and be expected to play every down and carry the team. In the NFL those teams on top rotate however as well. It happens in baseball too, Smoltz picked the Cardinals over a pitching starved team like the Nationals or Brewers or Pedro going to the Phillies have some semblance of looking for a postseason to them.

 

It's not like the Steeler don't lose players in free agency despite being a good team. Alan Faneca, a Pro-Bowl guard, left the Steelers for the money of the NY Jets after the 2007 season where the Steelers were 10-6 and contenders for (and actually going on to win) the Super Bowl the next year. The Jets were coming off a 4-12 season.

 

Even after letting Joey Poter go, he signed with the Miami Dolphins coming of their 6-10 season and not one of the reported many other teams looking at him, because they offered the most money.

 

For the most part I think the NFL players follow the money just like the other sports and have a few veterans chasing a ring just like the other sports.

[DocLuna7]

Invader3K wrote:

One other thing that gets me is that for years, the big market fans would scream at the small market fans "Maybe your team should spend some money!" Well, teams like Milwaukee have, and it seems like they get burned by those contracts more often than not. They gave big money to Suppan and Hall (yes, I realize it was their choice to do so) and those contracts are like mill stones around the neck. A team like the Yankees can just shrug when a contract doesn't work out, and spend more money on someone else.

It seems to me that teams like the Brewers didn't really start spending money on free-agents until it was the Yankees and other big-market teams giving them that money through revenue sharing.

[cwolf2012]

Hockey is worse than the NFL when it comes to people taking discounts for title shots. The contract Marian Hossa signed with the Red Wings last year was criminal. He knew he would get a worse team to sign him long term the next season, so he took a pay cut to play with the heavily favored Wings. The same type of thing can happen with any salary capped sport. It's a risk, but good management should still be able to put together winning teams from nothing. How many teams in the NFL have gone from one of the worst teams in the league to one of the top teams within a year or two. That happens almost never in the MLB (big exception, the Rays in 2008). Usually it's a steady increase, followed by one or two great seasons, and then a return to mediocrity for mid and small market teams.

[Teatoe993]

How many teams in the NFL have gone from one of the worst teams in the league to one of the top teams within a year or two. That happens almost never in the MLB (big exception, the Rays in 2008).

 

2007 Rockies

2006 Tigers

2003 Cubs

[AJAY]

One of the big concerns I have is that I get disappointed when fans, baseball executives, players, and sportswriters often measure competitive balance in what I feel is the wrong way. I have seen a number of articles and statistical presentations that look at how many different teams of high and low payroll teams have gone to the playoffs, won championships, had winning records, had losing records, etc. While I appreciate all the data out there, I think this information is very useless to me.

 

I really believe the true measuring stick of competitive balance is the FAN EXPERIENCE. Instead of looking at data regarding who wins and loses based on payroll, I prefer to focus on how fans feel about the game, how fans are made to feel about themselves and their community, and whether people feel they are being treated fairly by the game. To me, the psychology of being a baseball fan in a small market is a much bigger concern than any statistical review of how many different teams from different payrolls have gone to the postseason. I hate to repeat myself over and over, but I really miss the days when we felt "big league" rather than "small market". Baseball was so much more fun in the past before all this free agency nonsense started.

 

The whole small-market fan experience just completely stinks regardless of what the data shows. I have posted many times on this board before, but I must say it again. I feel like MLB treats the smaller market fans like irrelevant lower-class citizens. The whole system is just incredibly demoralizing. I just want a level playing field more than anything. Even if the Brewers stink forever, I can live with it as long as they are playing on an even playing field. But this system of haves and have-nots is really eating me up inside because no other sport has this. I can't even verbalize how angry I am about all this.

 

I know the world is not fair, but baseball is supposed to be entertainment and an escape from real life. It's a shame what the union and a few owners have done to kill the love for the game in so many cities.

[sveumrules]

let's similarly compare the last ten super bowls...

 

 

08 | PIT vs ARI

07 | NE vs NYG

06 | IND vs CHI

05 | PIT vs SEA

04 | NE vs PHI

03 | NE vs CAR

02 | OAK vs TB

01 | NE vs STL

00 | BAL vs NYG

99 | TEN vs STL

 

so by my count that is 15 of 30 MLB franchises to make the world series in the last ten years and 14 of 32 for the NFL. for you "stat-heads" out there that's a .500 DFAIBG for the MLB vs a .438 DFAIBG for the NFL over the last ten years.

 

 

is baseball's current system perfect? far from it. obviously the large markets have more financial flexibility and the smaller markets have to be extremely careful. with some minor tweaks (the bill james idea brought up earlier in the thread is a perfect example) it could certainly be improved upon further still. at the same time it is exactly this necessary difference of approach that makes following a small market team like the brewers so appealing for me in the first place. it just seems like being a NYY fan would be really boring.

 

it's also worth noting that baseball has by far the most active and exciting trade market/hot stove action of any pro sports league. the caps in the NBA and NFL have essentially killed that for both leagues with every NBA trade revolving around salary as opposed to talent and most NFL trades revolving around draft picks instead of players for player swaps. how long ago was bailey for portis?

 

i also am pretty sure if during negotiations for the next CBA in the NFL that the players came out and said they'd play for minimum wage their first three years and then go to three years of arbys before hitting unrestricted free agency that the owners would have no problem with getting rid of the salary cap.

[snyttri]

2008: Phillies vs Rays
2007: Red Sox vs Rockies
2006: Cardinals vs Detroit
2005: White Sox vs Astros

The Brewers are a small market team but they are also in the middle for salaries. The last four years teams with medium or low salaries have been in the World Series. The White Sox and Cardinals usually pay more than they did in '05 and '06 respectively, but they won spending similarly to how the Brewers are spending now. The Brewers have only been spending in the middle for two seasons but if they can stay competitive in payroll and do not advance in the playoffs it will probably be because they were outsmarted by someone spending about the same.

Also, there seems to be a misconception that there is something new about domination of MLB by the fat cat teams . It has been the rule from the beginning with parity being the exception.

The Brewers have not been one of the best managed teams in baseball since thay had Harry Dalton. They will not get back to the World Series until they are one of the best managed teams again. No amout of scapegoating will change that.

http://content.usatoday.com/sports/baseball/salaries/totalpayroll.aspx?year=2005

[Baldkin]

From http://baseballanalysts.com/archives/2009/03/20062008_payrol.php

 

http://baseballanalysts.com/Payroll%20Efficiency%20with%20Polynomial%20Trendline.png

 

There's the graph of avg wins vs avg payroll. Pretty strong correlation between more money = more wins. 9 of the top 10 in payroll had higher than average win totals, the only one who didn't was the Mariners.

 

You can't go by World Series appearances, as that truly is a fluke.

[snyttri]

There was never any question whether money was an advantage. I think the issue is whether it is so difficult for many teams to win the championship that baseball's free market should be exchanged for Marx-Rozelle absolute parity. World Series appearances have to be considered because that is the point of playing the season, the crux of the discussion and because you have to be good as well as lucky to get there. A team that gets to the playoffs primarily by burning out its ace isn't good enough to advance.

 

The article points out that the Brewers were one of the most efficient spenders from 2006-2008, going to the playoffs the first year they spent competitively. So the current Brewers management has already demonstrated itself capable of getting to the World Series, having required only the luck of a healthy Ben Sheets (in addition to CC's career year) to have been a serious threat.

[Ennder]

Nice graph Baldkin, pretty much shows what I expected. The top few teams still need to be toned down somehow and the bottom few need a leg up but the majority of the league is on a pretty level field. I don't think baseball is perfect yet but the balance isn't anywhere near as bad as people suggest either and I just don't think a cap is the answer, at least not an NFL style cap.

[kramnoj]

I hate to repeat myself over and over, but I really miss the days when we felt "big league" rather than "small market". Baseball was so much more fun in the past before all this free agency nonsense started.

 

Lots and lots of Brewer fans don't share your feelings. They are coming out to the ballpark and they are watching on tv or listening on the radio more than ever before.

[sheethead]

While I still feel the Brewers are Big League, I do feel Milwaukee is fortunate to have a pro baseball team. While fans and residents in Chicago probably feel entitled to have a pro sports team.

[bklynbrewcrew]

Buster Olney speculates today that Fielder will be traded to the Red Sox. This is just another example of how the media treats teams like the Brewers as feeder teams for the Red Sox and yankees. Just more proof that we dont have competitive balance and wont until we have a salary cap.

 

I happen to root for several big market teams in leagues with a salary cap and I prefer it that way. I like the fact that the New York Jets have to draft well and coach well in order to win and cant just buy every player. Sports is supposed to be fair competition where the fans of every franchise feel like they have the chance to compete year in and year out. I feel that way in the NFL and NHL but I feel like the Brewers have to do everything perfectly in order to win a championship. Look at Tampa Bay. They have drafted brilliantly and did make one world series appearance that odds are wont happen again because they have a payroll 25% of the yankees. The system in baseball sucks and will continue to do so until we have a salary cap. The small and medium markets need to band together and shut down the game if necessary in order to gain a cap. The cap should have a floor as well so teams are forced to act in a competitive way.

[endaround]

Buster Olney also said Ben Sheets was going to be traded to the Red Sox every year from 2004 from 2007.

[bklynbrewcrew]

endaround, the point I was trying to make was that the Brewers wont be able to keep Fielder around once he is eligible for free agency. That is a major problem with baseball. Im sure that most of you are Packers fans. Well imagine if Favre was able to leave after 6 years in the league. Without a cap dont you think a team like the Jets or Giants would have offered Favre way more than Green Bay could have ever been able to pay? Wouldnt a system like that make you enjoy football less than you do?

 

I think its a great thing that Green Bay can compete on equal footing with Chicago and as a Jets fan I enjoy the fact that we have to win by solid drafting and great coaching. I dont want to buy championships and I hate watching the Yankees buying championships. Too many teams in baseball have little to no chance of ever winning a championship and that is sad. The NFL is the best league in the world because every team has the chance to win each year.

[AJAY]

How come we never see articles stating that Kevin Youkilis and Jonathan Papelbon are gettting close to free agency and therefore should be traded to Kansas City or Pittsburgh so the Red Sox can start rebuilding?

 

This sport is so screwed up.