More dumb kneejerk reactions

Crying for parity is a joke. It just is. Hate the Yanks for overpaying for their inability to develop their own cheap talent all you want, but to cry for salary cap --with NO mention of a salary floor-- is ridiculous. It's also so anti-Labor that only in the context of MLB would outsiders/fans want this to happen.

And just for the record, there is MORE parity RIGHT NOW in baseball than their is in the other salary cap laden sports like football or basketball.

The Yankees' offseason spending spree has sparked renewed talk of a cap, an issue owners haven't brought up in negotiations since the disastrous 1994-95 strike that wiped out the World Series for the first time in 90 years. But not all owners are critical of the Yankees' acquisition of pitchers CC Sabathia and A.J. Burnett and infielder Mark Teixeira.

"I have no problem with what they've done," Kenney said. "They've done it within the rules, within the confines of our agreement.

"And if you look at the reality there, they've got a $1.3 billion stadium coming online," [Cubs Chairman Crane Kenney] said. "They were probably relying on Wall Street to fill a lot of those seats. And they missed the playoffs for the first time in 13 years. So their reaction is probably similar to what I would do, which is, you've got to put a compelling product on the field when you open the doors of that new ballpark, and that's what they did."

Number of times the Yanks have won the World Series the last 7 years: Zero.
Number of times the Yanks have been TO the WS in the last 7 years: One.
Number of teams in MLB who haven't made the WS in the last 30 years: Four.
Number of NFL teams who haven't made the SuperBowl in the last 30 years: Eleven.
Since 1984, only seven different teams have won the NBA Championship (Celtics, Lakers, Pistons, Bulls, Rockets, Spurs, Heat).

In MLB, 2o of 3o teams have made the playoffs since 2003.

From Joe Pos:
20 teams have won a World Series in the last 30 years.
Only 14 teams have won the Super Bowl over the last 30 years.
Only 14 different men have won Wimbledon over the last 30 years.
Only 13 teams have won the Stanley Cup over the last 30 years.
Only nine teams have won an NBA title over the last 30 years.

You set a salary floor at (arbitrarily) $70 million and you will have teams going bankrupt. And there ain't no ceiling without no floor. So set a salary cap/ceiling at some number $125-$150 million, but put a floor out there, too. Then we can all hate owners for raking all the money into their pockets and out of the players' pockets.

Teams with payrolls below $70m in 2008 (payroll rank, team, payroll, average):

• 20. Colorado Rockies $68,655,500 $2,640,596
• 21. Texas Rangers $68,239,551 $2,353,088
• 22. Baltimore Orioles $67,196,248 $2,099,883
• 23. Arizona Diamondbacks $66,202,713 $2,364,383
• 24. Minnesota Twins $62,182,767 $2,487,311
• 25. Kansas City Royals $58,245,500 $2,240,212
• 26. Washington Nationals $54,961,000 $1,895,207
• 27. Pittsburgh Pirates $49,365,283 $1,898,665
• 28. Oakland Athletics $47,967,126 $1,713,112
• 29. Tampa Bay Rays $43,820,598 $1,460,687
• 30. Florida Marlins $21,836,500 $661,712

Hmmmm, the AL Champs are #29. The Twins are consistently competitive. As are the A's. The Marlins are re-emerging. The D'backs have a good squad. The Rockies were the NL Champs in 2007. Where will these teams pick up the revenues to boost their payrolls to meet the salary floor? Won't be from a luxury tax since that would be eliminated with salary cap. The idea that the largest revenue clubs (Yanks, Boston, Mets, Angels, Cubs) will simply hand over all that cash that they generate to help Florida add $50m in payroll is flat out preposterous.

And don't forget this doozy of a "parity" fact: The top THREE payroll teams MISSED THE 2008 PLAYOFFS!!!!

• 1. New York Yankees $209,081,579 $6,744,567
• 2. Detroit Tigers $138,685,197 $4,622,840
• 3. New York Mets $138,293,378 $4,609,779

I'm just too Pro-Labor to want to make old billionaires richer instead of giving the money the guys who are putting the product on the field. And that's what a cap will do.

I need an Exedrin right now. Ridiculously cold temperatures, snow and a crappy drive into work. And whiny owners asking for a salary cap in the name of "parity".

Other "MLB Parity" articles/blogs worth reading:

• MLB Has a Split Personality When it Comes to Parity
• Think MLB is without parity? Just look at these amazing stats ...
• I Hate Parity
• Parity the name of the game in 2008
• The Myth Of MLB Parity From a Market Perspective, 2000-2008
• Enough talk about parity, please
• Has MLB Reached Parity?