July 28, 2012
Baseball owners
Edward Bennett Williams, now deceased, was president of the Washington Redskins and later the owner of the Baltimore Orioles. Williams once opined that "the only thing dumber than the dumbest NFL owner is the smartest baseball owner."
Williams and Bill Veeck had a lot in common. They wanted "NFL socialism": revenue sharing in Major League Baseball. Why? Because it would give meaning to the old refrain in the NFL, that "on any given Sunday any NFL team can win." And because there is no competition in the NFL for stars because all teams get an equal share of revenue, win or lose, any team can win the Super Bowl. But it would be a miracle if the Brewers win the World Series because they cannot keep great players like C.C. Sabathia or Zack Greinke.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's headline writers wrote, "Greinke (was) one of the great ones, but he had to go." Whoa Nelly! The JS writes, "Baseball is not set up for a small market franchise to have more than one $100 million contract on its payroll." So the Brewers and their apologists who write for the JS must now feed us BS about some minor league players traded to Milwaukee who just might turn out to be greats. Left unsaid is that if one of the minor leaguers becomes great he too will go elsewhere!
There is a statue outside Miller Park of Bud Selig. Everyday, pigeons have an opportunity to let Selig know that his system is a disaster. The pigeons ask, before unloading on Selig's head, "Why do the Yankees get all the best players?" Answer: Because they keep all the New York TV and cable money.
I was reminded of Williams' analysis when I read the story of the Brewers losing perhaps the best pitcher in all of baseball because they cannot afford to keep him. Take a look at Green Bay. Without revenue sharing they would never have won the Super Bowl.
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I don't follow baseball much anymore since Whitey Herzog left, but it was amusing watching Pujols and the Cardinals last year. I don't ever recall seeing so much venom from fans directed towards Albert because he took the better deal. The Cards wouldn't negotiate in good faith and they lost their future Hall of Famer on that one. Who knew the Angels' owner was getting enough tv revenue to afford twelve Alberts. ;) Hah!
-Mad Hemingway | Heart of Wisconsin | July 28, 2012
Tell Mad Hemingway that the Cardinals did bargain in good faith. They realized that Pujols was not worth what teams like the Angels were willing to pay. As a result they signed Beltran...who is doing better than Pujols and gave Yadier Molina a long term contract. Smart team, those redbirds.
-Fred Redbird | Bainbridge Island, Wa | July 29, 2012
Oakland is winning with a payroll half of the Brewers. The Brewers management has been the worst in the league for 20 years, maybe 30.
Bud Selig is the worst commissioner in baseball history. The collusion scandal, the steroids scandal. Both put many millions in the pockets of owners while defrauding the players and the public.
Milwaukee journalists are the ultimate "homers." The Brewers, of which I am a fan, are a sad, pathetic joke of a team.
-Fritzpatrick | Milwaukee, WI | July 30, 2012
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