Dan Shaughnessy Article: Boston Globe

[Pomp]

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2004/02/19/over_the_top/

Some absolutely great comments:

From Shaughnessy:

"Sure, we'd all love a salary cap. But the Red Sox are hardly in position to be advocating for the Expos and Pirates of the world. Boston's payroll will be in the $125 million range, the second highest in the majors. Please let's not have the Sox pretend to carry the torch for the have-nots of baseball. It does sound like sour grapes. Imagine Donald Trump making fun of guys who get the best-looking girls only because they are rich. Would Lisa Guerrero do a commentary on beautiful talking heads who get great jobs based on their looks? That's what the Red Sox sound like."

From Curt Schilling:

"I don't believe there should be a salary cap. And Mr. Steinbrenner operates within the rules of the game...I'm not going to complain. I'm on a team with a $130 million payroll."

[NDBoston]

A Dan Shaughnessy article ripping the Red Sox. I'm shocked. A ballplayer saying he's against the salary cap. WOW.

The fact is Boston does have an advantage over smaller market teams. NY has an even greater advantage over Boston, never mind the smaller market teams, if you go by revenue streams.

Here are a few points:.

1) A normal family can't afford to take their kids to a baseball game. That's tragic.

2) Numerous reports(Including USNWR) suggest a league of the future existing only in large market areas that looks similar to what Japanese baseball is today. No thanks. That dosen't sound like America's pastime.

3) One collective set of fans is against some sort of change be it salary cap or luxury tax in MLB. That fanbase also enjoys the biggest advantage the way baseball is structured right now.

John Henry had awful timing and I'm sure he was upset after what happened. HE also realized that he will never be able to come close to what the Yankees spend. Nor will the small market teams compared to Boston. Kill him for when he said it, but this idea hurts him more then almost any other team. time to me.

In fact, Boston should be the 6th to 10th highest in payroll yearly, if you look at the media market they are in . Luckily?, Red Sox ownership enjoys the most rabid fanbase in the game, who will accept paying the most expensive ticket prices for the chance to compete.Once the LA's and Mets of the world get their acts togther, they should have a revenue stream at or higher then the Red Sox and a higher payroll, just like they did last year.

This isn't about the 80's or 90's. It isn't relevant to the conversation. It's about Regional Cable TV contracts and companies started by the teams that are cash cows. This never existed until 5 to 6 years ago.

It's not about having a floor either. IT needs to be a part of the solution, but having the Brewers spending 50 million a year isn't going to mean Kevin Brown or ARod or Schilling will be playing there.They will still be outbid when going for free agents. They might be able to keep their homegrown talent for 6 years, but once on the open market , the player is gone.

The gap betwen the have's and have nots has never been wider. It's also going to kill the game.