I would like to see a salary cap in baseball. Forget the concept of a luxury tax, because thats a fucking joke. The Yankees, Rangers, Dodgers, Redsox etc. make so much money off their local networks broadcasting games on various cable networks that they can afford to pay the luxury tax. We all know you can buy a world series ring when you want to (especially when Dwight Gooden runs out of peruvian nose powder).
The reason this is on my mind ? The Mets trading for Santana. Why did the twins give up one of the best pitchers in baseball, and the ace of their staff ? Its not because they are in a rebuilding mode, or they felt they received a deal that they couldn't pass up, but because they knew that they couldn't afford to keep him on their payroll and still make money. The Twins play in a small market, unlike the Yankees, or the Redsox. They really don't have a solid fan base outside of the land of the ten thousand lakes. Sure there is the oddball who moved for a job or college, or that stuff they call love, but lets be honest, people only go on long term vacations from Min. They don't move away. The Twins also haven't had a very storied history in baseball like the Redsox, or the Yankees, or for that matter a team like the Packers or the 49ers, or the Cowboys who seem to have an oddly larger number of fans in upstate New York. I'm rambling here, but my point is that the Twins don't have the large economic engine to pay for players that other teams have. This makes it much more difficult for teams like the Twins to stay competitive. Sure they made it to the playoffs and using Billy Bean, the A's made it too with a small payroll, but those aren't teams that can grow into a dynasty because they are split up as soon as everyone becomes a free agent.
We also must comment on the greed of the players who make so much money. Let me tell you, if you got offered 5 million dollars or 10 million dollars, you tell me, in a serious voice, that you will accept the five million because you love the game. Bull shit. You are taking that ten million and putting it in the bank, because with ten million a year for 3 years, you won't have to work ever again. You can live off the interest. You can fucking coach little league with your kids everyday, because you are rich, doing something you love. I could also dig into my college notes and look up the Cognitive dissonance theory and apply it to such people as Barry Zito
| 2001 | Oakland Athletics | $240,000 | |
| 2002 | Oakland Athletics | $295,000 | |
| 2003 | Oakland Athletics | $1,000,000 | |
| 2004 | Oakland Athletics | $3,000,000 | |
| 2005 | Oakland Athletics | $5,600,000 | |
| 2006 | Oakland Athletics | $7,900,000 | |
| 2007 | San Francisco Giants | $10,000,000 |
This is a snapshot of Mr. Zito's earnings as a baseball player.
Lets take a look at his Win Loss record.
2001 17-8
2002 23-5
2003 14-12
2004 11-11
2005 14-13
2006 16-10
2007 11-13
Really what this data shows is that as soon as Mr. Zito started earning the big bucks (over a million dollars that is), he started shitting the metaphorical bed. Now lets travel back to that long named theory that I mentioned early. When you apply this theory to a persons job, it basically states that if you earn to much money for something that you enjoy that you wouldn't be motivated internally anymore and that it would destroy the very reason that you love doing the job. Basically Barry Zito felt that he was getting paid to much for a job that he used to love doing, but since he decided to be a bit greedy (And I would to, I'm not faulting the guy here) that he isn't doing so hot any more.
This of course isn't taking into account other factors such as the rest of the team he was playing with, or the fact that he how had to step up to the plate 62 times last year as a hitter in the NL. Things like that can tire a man out. I'm just drawing conclusions from two pieces of data that totally ignore the rest of the possibilities. Yes Stephen A. Smith, I'm a horrible blogger.
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