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December 29, 2002
Scott Gleason
Yanks-Suck.Com
The Limits of Fiscal Sanity
It seemed that the Red Sox were a lock to get Jose Contreras. They hired his former Cuban pitching coach to work as the team’s bullpen coach. They already had two other high-ranking Cubans in the organization. From all reported speculation, this was part of a plan to build a support structure for the 31-year old hurler. The hope being to avoid the well-documented problems that some of the other Cuban defectors have faced adapting to pitching in America.
So what went wrong? Did the Red Sox hiccup at some point in the negotiations? How did they let a guy that they had made no bones about being their prize pursuit of the offseason get away? Well, to hear it from GM Theo Epstein’s mouth, the team “went to the limit of fiscal sanity with (the offer).”
Let’s say for a minute that Epstein is right. The team went to the limit of fiscal sanity. They put an offer on the table that was one step away from not making sense financially. They did that and someone decided to do just a little bit more. If we are to believe what Epstein said then that little bit more would be fiscal insanity, right?
Think for a minute about this offseason. This has been the first non-collusion year where salaries have, at least by some indicators, dropped. Other than a couple big names like Jim Thome and Tom Glavine, it seems that the money just isn’t there for free agents. Teams are looking to slash payroll and will trade guys like Kevin Millwood, Javier Vazquez or Bartolo Colon for the slightest package if you’ll just take on some salary. In a time where it seems we’re finally getting the “market correction” that the new agreement was predicted to cause, it should be a time to rejoice as an owner, right? Who during a salary renaissance would, to use Epstein’s words, go beyond the limits of fiscal sanity?
George Steinbrenner.
Before the Contreras signing, the largest contract for a Cuban pitcher came three years ago; a four-year, $14.5 million deal to Danys Baez. The pitcher finally produced in the majors last year, his third contract year, pitching mostly in relief. Contreras deal is for more than double the amount of money, and with the differing economic climates, comparing salaries from three years ago is fair. So why pay nearly the same amount that the Mets paid for two-time Cy Young award winner Tom Glavine? What is the sense in paying such money for an unproven commodity?
The sense is purely winning no matter what the cost. Steinbrenner’s win at all costs attitude might seem just great if you’re sitting in Lombardi’s eating a slice of clam pizza, but if you’re ANYWHERE else in the country it sucks. The cost, in this case, is not merely the hit to his wallet, which is substantial since he’ll pay a large percentage on top of that salary to the luxury tax. The cost comes in his divisive stance that he takes towards the game. The game is attempting to get back on financial track by implementing a system where multiple teams can compete. Gentleman George, however, is of the opinion that he plays under his own set of rules. By the time he is done this year his payroll will be nearly $160 million. No other team will likely be over $110 million, and certainly none over $120. Let us all hope that the Yankees win. They deserve it. They spent the most money.
Scott
Gleason, a former writer for RotoWire.com, shows
his hatred of the New York Yankees through song with
the band BenderX. Download
their aptly titled song Yankees
Suck.
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