Moving this reply from Philosophy (where it was part of a Political rant anyway) to where the proper discussion belongs...
Do you really think you're going to get a lot of sympathy from me?Originally Posted by koØm
I had to endure 20 years, yes, 20 years of losing baseball in another small market. Coupled that to be married to a rabid Pirates fanatic, who raised our daughter to be one as well.
So the Reds are having a lousy year. And they're likely to have another one next year. Big deal. It happens to everyone, and especially to small-market teams. This is a side effect of the ownership "going for broke" and over-extending themselves for the playoff runs a few years back; as a result, they can no longer afford the high profile players that they signed to large contracts to keep (some of whom aren't that good any more, as happens to almost everyone sooner or later). They can't afford to bring in first-tier free agents to bolster the team, at best they're bringing in second- and third-tier players and hoping to get lucky. And they traded away too many top prospects a few years back for short term (ie "rental") players to bolster their playoff run, now that they need those guys, they're in other organizations.
I've seen it first hand.
Unless MLB adopts some form of major revenue sharing, akin to the NFL model, that guarantees each team a minimum and maximum payroll... which in turn allows the players to move around, since contracts are only guaranteed for a year under most circumstances... you're going to continue to see disparities between the small, medium, and large market teams.
The Yankees, Mets, Red Sux, Dodgers, Giants... they bring in enough revenue that they can absorb payroll from poor choices, and still afford to field a quality team. The Reds, Brewers, Mariners, Pirates, and other small market teams do not have that luxury.
So either your team cycles between good teams for a few years, and poor teams for a few years... which the Reds & Brewers are going through right now... or you continuously field a mediocre team and hope to strike it lucky once in a while... or you plan very carefully, and stick to the plan.
I have had my complaints about the current Pirates ownership (Nutting family) over the last few years, especially since they started as part of the previous ownership group (McClatchy). The previous ownership group exhibited gross mismanagement, and in fairness, was doomed from the start because of what they inherited. That said, the Nuttings tightened the screws, financially, and rode out a few more bad years to straighten the finances out. Now they're reaping the rewards... but even so, are being very careful on who the sign and for how much.
For example, consider former Pirates starting catcher Russell Martin. He was a free agent after last season. The Nuttings made him what they considered a fair offer, both in terms of annual salary and years under contract. Other teams topped that offer and then some; the Nuttings didn't counter offer, they walked away. Which is why Martin is now on the Blue Jays... and in about 2 years, the Blue Jays may be regretting the contract that they are stuck with, as Martin will by then be near or at the end of his career.
I could go on ad infinitum ad nauseum.
Suffice to say... either the Reds ownership & front office plan and scout very carefully, or they will continue to cycle through a few good years, a few bad years.
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