The Ol' Ballfield

Baseball Is A Business. Repeat. Baseball Is A Business.

I promise I'll keep myself in check before this turns into a full-scale rant, but I am a little peeved at the sentiment that is floating around about the Red Sox' astronomical $51.1 million bid for the negotiating rights to Daisuke Matsuzaka. To summarize, many BoSox fans (most recently Bill Simmons) are bitching about how their team used to "do things the right way", or a personal favorite from Simmons, "play by the rules". And now they're just another free-spending team like the Yankees.

Whether you want to criticize the Yankees for overspending is one thing. I think it's been two years straight they've lost money, and that's not a good strategy no matter what your business is. But this idea that paying less money for a good team somehow morally elevates you above the competition strikes me as completely naïve and ludicrous.

Baseball is a business. The owners seek to make money. Money is made by making customers happy. Customers need a good product, i.e. a good ballteam. Now, in sports, so-called "brand loyalty" is obviously much more common. The Pirates still have fans and the management has been actively dismantling that team for years. But why, WHY in God's name are Red Sox fans feeling "dirty" because of an agressive off-season strategy? You can criticize the logic to it, you can criticize the figures. But don't criticize the sentiment. Would you honestly rather have Jeffrey Loria running your team, having firesales every five years and ending up with a payroll less than $15 million? Would you rather be Billy Beane circa 2001, and be told "we are spending exactly this [small amount] much. Have fun." Why not be thankful that your team is committed to putting money into the product? I've always felt that this is how Yankee fans should view Steinbrenner; whether or not he's a raging lunatic, he cares about the Yankees winning, which is more than can be said for a lot of other owners out there.

Spending conservatively is not "moral high ground" in baseball or any other business. It is an anti-progressive strategy that, unless you've got some great prospects in the wings (which the Red Sox don't), will not bring your team success without some help. Be happy to root for a team that cares about its team and therefore its fans.

If you want something to be angry at the Red Sox for, be angry that box seats are over $100 for regular season games. That is a legitimate gripe. "We're just like the Yankees now" is not. The Yankees have won the division every year since 1998. There's a reason for that.

posted by Carnival @ 11/17/2006