George Steinbrenner: Small Market Sugar Daddy?

For the sake of starting a dialogue--especially with those of you who are fans of small-market teams--I would like to bring up some talking points regarding an on-again, off-again topic of heated contention: Major League salary caps (and conversely, the monitoring of the money received by small-market teams who reap the benefits of revenue sharing).

One can argue all day long in favor of or in opposition to salary capping and be entirely correct in his assertions. However, this is a complicated matter with two sides that are equally valid. Consider these facts:

There have been six different world champions in six years--including two relatively recent expansion teams in small markets, and two teams who combined to go more than 160 years without a championship. Looking at this season, you can point to Detroit, who are making a great push toward the postseason (only three years after 100 losses, this will be a remarkable accomplishment no matter what happens from here on out). The Yankees haven't won since 2000, etc., etc. These points seem to indicate that competitive balance has never been better; that there is no dynasty in the MLB.

However, the Yanks have yet to see their decade-long string of consecutive division titles end. Year after year, a competitive, superstar-laden team suits up in pinstripes in the Bronx. And even while teams like Arizona and Florida and Anaheim win the World Series one year, you don't know what you're going to get the next. In the last decade, all 15,000 Florida fans have twice witnessed their world champion Marlins dismantled into the league doormat before they could even turn out the lights at Dan Marino Coliseum (or whatever it's called) for the winter.

While high salaries/payrolls usually indicate that a team will finish near the top year after year, this doesn't guarantee any postseason success--and if Detroit, Colorado, Cincinnati, and, of course, Oakland can all make a serious run at the postseason this year, you'll see further evidence that being smart with your money and developing a great farm system are the most important aspects of running a successful franchise.

Still, there is no doubt that the balance of wealth is out of whack in the MLB, and this contributes to an imbalanced competitive field that potentially eliminates one-third to one-half of the MLB teams from playoff contention in April. Largely to blame are the teams that are spending too little. Just look at that asshole Jeffrey Loria. Montreal had the best minor league system of the 1990s decade, but the Expos became a supermarket of superstars for the rest of the Major Leagues. Now he's destroying the Marlins and poised to potentially move his train wreck to San Antonio. (I give the players and coaching staff a lot of credit for the level of success they've had this year with a $15 million payroll, but how long do we have before Willis and Cabrera are gone, too?)

Some small-market teams spend wisely and competitively (Oakland, Cincy, Minnesota). Others utilize their earnings from revenue-sharing to pocket a profit. This is one of the biggest problems in the MLB, and one of the biggest secrets. Allow me to site "The Baseball Journals" blog from 4/21/06, who in turn used Forbes magazine to compile this information:

Five of the biggest gainers from last year are those that are/have been the lowest in value. The Blue Jays, Royals, A’s, Tigers, Twins, and DRays all posted gains within the top 10. (The A’s and Royals gained more than 20%) Why?… Revenue sharing...

The Yankees posted -$50 million losses, while the Red Sox posted an -$18.5 million loss. Since clubs are not all pouring money back into player payroll (something that has been noted by Donald Fehr and the Players Association), what we’ve got are clubs living on welfare… the Pirates, Royals, and DRays all posted $20 million profits.

This fact sheds a new light on the troubles of the small-market team. It's a complex problem, and we're years from seeing any kind of solution, especially with the attention being paid to the other MLB scandals.