Comments on: Mailing it in, Dec. 22 2006 edition

By: jolley16

jolley16 — Wed, 27 Dec 2006 18:19:44 +0000

I almost feel like Caple is turning into CHB with his selective facts and Sox brow-beating. Living in Cincy, I know how it feels to have a “small-market” team. This is a term that our owners adorn us with dispite MLB having no salary-cap. Once every year, some “small-market” team has some success and its thrown back into the fans face, “See what they did in Oakland, Minnesota, or Florida.” Meanwhile none of these teams can really be taken seriously and can’t make that turn into actually contending. Sometimes when I’m rooting for the Sox, I feel like Madonna’s new baby. Like I was rescued from the a poverty with minimal hope to a life of luxery where my parents (John Henry, Theo) actually want me to succeed and have the resources to let me. Man I wish my Dad would stop talking to Pat O’Brien!

By: HFXBOB

HFXBOB — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 17:56:06 +0000

Wow, mailing it in is right. Didn’t anyone tell Caple the ‘ Red Sox are the new Evil Empire’ theme has been done to death? As for the arguments, Seth picked those apart like a turkey drumstick. Enough already about Theo ‘crying poor’ about the Yankees acquisition of Abreu. I think he actually said something to the effect that the Red Sox were blessed with great financial resources, but the Yankees were even more blessed. The fact was that shelling out that much for Abreu would not have been smart when it was highly unlikely he was going to make the difference in them making the playoffs or not.

Personally I think the whole Evil Empire thing should be put to rest. Unless money itself is evil, the Red Sox aren’t evil and neither are the Yankees. They have a lot of money and they are willing to spend it, and the MLB system doesn’t oppose it. When it comes to success, just spending a lot of money doesn’t assure it. As the subtitle of Seth’s book says, you also need the smarts and the nerve. While the $51 million bid for Matsuzaka may have seemed excessive at the time, when you look at how it all worked out and the market in which it was done, it seems like a very nice combination of money, smarts and nerve.

By: maineiac

maineiac — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 17:19:48 +0000

Sorry about the math in my previous post. The Sox only have to generate $15 million in new revenue in Japan for their bid to equate to the Yankees (not $25 million!).

By: maineiac

maineiac — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 07:34:29 +0000

It still amazes me that there are people that feel the Red Sox $51 million posting fee was ridiculous but the Yankee $36 million posting was reasonable. The Yankees are/were the No. 1 team in Japan as well as Asia. They generate $10-$20 million per year in the far east. YES is carried almost nation-wide in Japan. There is almost NO potential for expanding their market in Japan.

The Red Sox were a reported No. 5 most popular team in Japan. The Red Sox had to mend fences with many people in Japanese baseball just to feel like they could bid on Dice-K. Now all the Red Sox need to do is drum up $25 million in “new” revenue during the 6 years of Dice-K services and its a wash. I can’t imagine that should be very difficult - Dice-K is a national treasure! NESN will be everywhere over there, cripes there are already Red Sox shirts in Japanese.

If Caple made the point after the Red Sox stupidly signed Barry Zito or Gil Meche (thank God they didn’t) than that would be understandable because they wouldn’t start a new revenue source for the organization. I can’t say it enough, Dice-K is a bah-gin! Theo couldn’t have done better at Filenes Basement on that crazy wedding dress sale day!!

By: jthewes

jthewes — Sun, 24 Dec 2006 01:16:11 +0000

Jim Caple has some competition for lazy story of the day. Check this out.

How was this even a headline?

http://thesportshernia.typepad.com/blog/baseball/index.html

By: carnett

carnett — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 15:52:16 +0000

Seth, thank you very much for your response to Caple’s article! Like yourself, what really pisses me off is the lack of work and preporation that goes into an article such as that.

Sure I would love to see the Sox win at a $90 million payroll, but the Sox play in the AL east! The Sox don’t have the luxary of playing in the Central or the West.

Mr.Caple completey forgot baseball is a business after all. You spend money to make money. Caple actually says it best, ” (the Sox) Have the highest ticket prices in the game. Over the top fans seemingly everywhere.”

For us fans to pay the highest ticket prices, the team has to remain competitive!? The bold moves of the Henry ownership group has insured that those “Over the top fans seemingly everywhere” will remain fans?! (I’m I the only one getting this?) More fans = More money?

Mr.Caple’s just a pissed off White Sox fan because of Garcia trade!

By: tinisoli

tinisoli — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 05:07:51 +0000

The interest in payroll among fans and writers seems to take two forms:
1) Does a team surpass the luxury tax threshold? If not, then all is good. Let’s talk about something else. But if it does, then that team is repulsive. And that’s how a nickname like the Evil Empire sticks: because a lot of fans think that teams should try to stick below the luxury tax threshold, and that the game is purer somehow if a lineup is not loaded with All-Stars. The Yankees are loathed, the Sox are forgiven because they at least try to stay under, and the Marlins are beloved for being poor.
2) Does a team spend a ton of money, period? If you think this way, as Caple does, then you’re not interested in the difference between a $51.1 million posting fee that doesn’t count a payroll and a $52 million contract that does. To you, it’s all money, a dollar is a dollar, and you don’t like how rich these athletes are getting. The ‘04 Sox spent more than any other WS champion, therefore, they bought the title. The Yankees spend the most, so they’re the most evil; the Sox spend the second most, so they’re maybe getting a little bit evil. Blah blah blah…