09-29-2010, 08:02 AM
(vikm) wrote: I'd hate a hard salary cap but if there ever is one... so long bought championships. It really makes what teams like Tampa, the Marlins, D-Bags, etc. even more impressive when they can put together a championship team without spending $200M
Any team can strike lightening. You would have a stroke if you could see who the Pirates have had to let go because they simply can't afford to sign them. If they had the payroll of an upper midmarket team, they would have won a WS in the 00's. Everyone talks about how good the Rays are, but they conveniently forget that the Rays sucked for so long their high draft picks finally reached the majors.
Most people think the big market teams like the Yankees, Mets, Red Sox, and Phillies use their money to buy championships. And they do. But the biggest advantage of having the big checkbook is being able to survive mistakes. If the Yankees sign someone to $10M a year for 6 years who turns out to be a bust, they can simply swallow the contract and get what they can for him. 22 other teams will be handicapped by that contract for the duration. Two contracts like that and the team is screwed.