Nov 5

Getting back to 100%...

-Was anyone else cold just watching the fans sitting in the new Yankee Stadium last night?

-The New York Yankees are World Series Champions for the first time since 2000 and the 27th time in franchise history.  Congrats and enjoy.  For Derek Jeter and a few others, it's #5...for A-Rod, Teixeria and a few others, it's #1.  The baseball world's Lex Luthor or Darth Vader has the trophy for another year.  The hate-on for the Yankees is obvious, frustrating and motivated - but it's also unjustified.  The only word I come up with when I concern myself with the Yankees is jealousy.  People say New York tries to buy a World Series every year...and they do...but there is nothing stopping them.  Baseball needs a salary cap as much as it needs a diamond to play on.  It is still the only professional league without one and this is what happens when one is not in place.  The Yankees spend 201 million dollars this year on payroll...a number that actually went DOWN from 2008 (their payroll was 209 million)...and why not...no one is telling them they can't.

-If you are given 500 dollars to buy a suit, and someone else is given 100 dollars to buy a suit...who will get the nicer suit?  You, of course, cause you can afford it.  Well...the Yankees can afford a closet full of $500 dollar suits...so why the hate on?

-If you look at the list of MLB teams owners you will see guys who own 18 hotel and resort properties around the world (Oakland's Lewis Wolff) or the former President and CEO of WAL-MART (Kansas City's David Glass) and you'll see men with MILLIONS to spend on their baseball product - but don't. George Steinbrenner isn't the richest owner in baseball...not by a long shot...but he spends all his money on the team.

-You're telling me the guy who ran Wal-Mart from 1984-2000 doesn't have the money to put a decent team on the field?  KCs payroll this year was 70 million (21st in MLB) by the way.

-And paying for Championships doesnt always work.  Look at the Top 10 in the MLB payroll this year:

-Yankees, Mets, Cubs, Red Sox, Tigers, Angels, Phillies, Astros, Dodgers, Mariners.

-Five of those teams made the playoffs...one of them choked their way out of it...and the other four were disasters!

-The Twins were a 65 million dollar team that won the Central this year...last year, the Rays were a 43 million dollar team that went to the World Series.

-But baseball is the only league on the planet which has five or six teams you can write-off once the year begins...because they just can't afford the talent to compete (Pittsburgh, Washington are great examples).

-I don't hate on the Yankees for "buying" a World Series...I hate Major League Baseball...and I've said it a thousand times and I will say it a thousand more:

-Baseball's biggest problem is NOT steroids...it's biggest problem is not having a payroll.

At least my hair is real Andre!!