Red Sox Owner Henry Calls for Salary Cap

[bobby jr]

This just came out today. Not sure if this is posted elsewhere on the forum, but this is big news.

 

http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/29266476/

 

FORT MYERS, Fla. (AP) -Boston Red Sox owner John Henry renewed his call for a salary cap on Wednesday after an offseason in which the New York Yankees added three free agents for $423.5 million....

A salary cap, Lucchino said, is "as inevitable as tomorrow.''....

 

The Yankees ownership and even major league players might agree to a salary cap, Henry said.

 

"It depends on the overall picture,'' he said. "How does that relate to revenue sharing? We've gone as far as we can go with revenue sharing at this point."

[BoSox21]

It's not really big news cause it isn't the first time he's called for one before. In one sense, I agree he should be calling for it cause his franchise does have deep pockets and thus, it has a bigger impact that if say the Pirates kept calling for a cap. In another sense though, it sounds kinda petty cause he's a direct rival to the Yankees.

[BSN07]

I think there should be a cap, where there is a minimum and a maximum that has to be spent on the team.

[Dojji]

Dunno bout a cap. At least not a hard cap. There should be a floor though. The Marlins loophole needs closed.

[ORS]

There absolutely should be a cap. Yeah, yeah, it's business, but the business is a sport too. Sports, in every sane person's mind, are played a level playing field. There's nothing level about the current system. Of course, the only way to level it is to expand revenue sharing, and with expanded revenue sharing there should be floor.

[italstallianion]

I agree with the general consensus. I think there should be a price cap as well as a price floor. The Marlins are just as guilty of cheating the system as the Yankees are...

[BoSox21]

Selig will argue that there is as much parity in baseball as there is in any sport so there doesn't need to be a system to control how much the Yankees spend but deep down, he wants to give the Yankees every advantage to succeed because the Yankees doing well on the field is good for baseball in general in a money-making sense.

 

But succeeding in baseball is still about developing a farm system that can consistently feed your major league team, not spending ridiculous amounts in free agency. Face it, that strategy has yet to work for the Yankees.

[ORS]

I would say it has worked. They are a constant fixture in the playoffs. Anything can happen in a short series, especially in a sport where the most successful teams only win about 60% of the time. Eventually, they'll win in the postseason again if they keep getting there.

[diony]

Selig will argue that there is as much parity in baseball as there is in any sport so there doesn't need to be a system to control how much the Yankees spend but deep down, he wants to give the Yankees every advantage to succeed because the Yankees doing well on the field is good for baseball in general in a money-making sense.

 

But succeeding in baseball is still about developing a farm system that can consistently feed your major league team, not spending ridiculous amounts in free agency. Face it, that strategy has yet to work for the Yankees.

 

Depends what you mean with succeeding. Winning a WS?

[BoSox21]

Pretty much, yea. But I know where this is going, the argument as to whether the post-season is a crapshoot or whether it depends on if your team is built for the post-season and that really isn't the point here.

 

The Yankees have succeeded just as much as the Twins in this decade and there are enough examples that can be provided by Selig about small-market teams reloading with their own prospects to fight any argument about whether there should be a salary cap in baseball.

 

Personally, I would love a salary cap. I love watching how GMs creatively manuever through a cap in every other sport every off-season.

[rician blast]

But succeeding in baseball is still about developing a farm system that can consistently feed your major league team' date=' not spending ridiculous amounts in free agency. Face it, that strategy has yet to work for the Yankees.[/quote']

 

I'd say that the Yankees philosophy HAS worked. The first step in winning a championship is getting to the playoffs, and recently no team has done that with the frequency of the Yanks. Like ORS says, if they keep getting there they'll eventually win.

 

The league likes to point out that the Rays went to the WS last year, or the Marlins have two world championships, or that the Twins made the playoffs 'x' times, but the fact remains that those cases are not representative of the norm...generally the teams that spend make the playoffs more frequently.

 

MLB is far from a state of parity.

[BSN07]

Pretty much, yea. But I know where this is going, the argument as to whether the post-season is a crapshoot or whether it depends on if your team is built for the post-season and that really isn't the point here.

 

The Yankees have succeeded just as much as the Twins in this decade and there are enough examples that can be provided by Selig about small-market teams reloading with their own prospects to fight any argument about whether there should be a salary cap in baseball.

 

Personally, I would love a salary cap. I love watching how GMs creatively manuever through a cap in every other sport every off-season.

 

Can't argue with that.

[diony]

Pretty much, yea. But I know where this is going, the argument as to whether the post-season is a crapshoot or whether it depends on if your team is built for the post-season and that really isn't the point here.

 

The Yankees have succeeded just as much as the Twins in this decade and there are enough examples that can be provided by Selig about small-market teams reloading with their own prospects to fight any argument about whether there should be a salary cap in baseball.

 

Personally, I would love a salary cap. I love watching how GMs creatively manuever through a cap in every other sport every off-season.

 

Most small market teams don't succeed without the cap, how are they're going to succeed with a cap and without any revenue sharing and luxury taxes?

 

Henry wasn't bitching about one before he lost out on Texeria. He also bitched about it back when they failed to get A-Rod too.

[BoSox21]

Ideally I think, you make a floor of $50 million and a cap of $80 million but the PA would never agree to that and the cheap owners would never agree to that

[BSN07]

50M is a good minimum. I wouldn't mind if they went close to 100M on the upper end.

 

 

 

BTW I'd love to see the Yanks try and get under a salary cap where Arod might account for 27% of the total payroll, if not more:lol:

[Dojji]

 

1) Henry wasn't bitching about one before he lost out on Texeria.

 

2) He also bitched about it back when they failed to get A-Rod too.

 

These two statements are completely contradictory.

 

Do you ever actually preview what you write for internal consistency or are we just your dumping ground for verbal diarrhea?

[diony]

These two statements are completely contradictory.

 

Do you ever actually preview what you write for internal consistency or are we just your dumping ground for verbal diarrhea?

 

Yeah okay. Now if you don't have anything to add, then go f*** yourself.

[Dojji]

You're a fine one to talk about non-contributions, my trollbaiting friend.

 

My point stands though. You'll have to pick one of those statements to tease the tiger this time. You can't have both.

[BoSox21]

its amazing how many threads these days are just descending into back and forth insults

[ORS]

Pretty sure there's a common denominator to those threads.

[bobby jr]

As an Orioles fan, I'm strongly for a salary cap. I'm so tired of looking at the preseason predictions and seeing the NY Yankees favored to win the AL East. I feel that the other teams in the AL East are at a disadvantage for being in the same division with the 500LB gorilla.

 

The revenues from the new Yankee stadium will only increase the Steinbrenners spending and they will stop at nothing until their team totally dominates MLB. Of course that pretty much has already happened they have been in the playoffs 13 of the last 14 years, and they will continue to buy thier way in until they are stopped.

[Keeper]

A salary cap would be good for the game, but at the same time you'd have a lot of fans bitching about it.

[CrespoBlows]

These two statements are completely contradictory.

 

Do you ever actually preview what you write for internal consistency or are we just your dumping ground for verbal diarrhea?

 

His point wasn't that hard to get.

 

There's a minor contradiction, but that's if you read it 100% literally.

[BoSox21]

Right, he complains only after Yankee money beats him out on a big time free agent/available player and that's the problem I have with Henry being the spokesperson about a salary cap, everytime he does it its done at a time when 90% of people will dismiss it as sour grapes.

[rician blast]

As an Orioles fan' date=' I'm strongly for a salary cap. I'm so tired of looking at the preseason predictions and seeing the NY Yankees favored to win the AL East. [b']I feel that the other teams in the AL East are at a disadvantage for being in the same division with the 500LB gorilla[/b].

 

The revenues from the new Yankee stadium will only increase the Steinbrenners spending and they will stop at nothing until their team totally dominates MLB. Of course that pretty much has already happened they have been in the playoffs 13 of the last 14 years, and they will continue to buy thier way in until they are stopped.

 

 

Actually I feel for you, Bobby Jr.

 

Even though the lack of a cap allows the Sox to gain an advantage over other teams...i.e. the Sox spent more $ than all but 3 teams last year...it's got to suck to be pretty sure you have no chance each year.

 

Despite the Sox spending, you are correct to focus on the Yankees...if the 500lb. gorilla wasn't spending $200m+ per year, would the Sox be in the range of $130m? Would Toronto be at $100m? Probably not.

 

In 2000, the Orioles were 3rd in MLB payroll at $83m. In 2008 they were 22nd at $67m. While there are likely a host of reasons for their P/R decline, part of it, I'm sure, is that they're not going to go out and spend another $30-$40m to finish in third place...the 500 lb Gorilla has seen to it that, with the exception of relatively few years (like the Rays 2008 campaign) you can't compete in the AL East being outspent by $100m.

 

A cap (I'm being totally arbitrary here) that set team payrolls within a range, say, from $50m to $100m would result in a hell of a lot more parity than the current system. While it would HURT the Sox, IMO, I'm ok with it...I think the Sox would place those resources into scouting and player development and remain successful.

[BoSox21]

It's the fact that the Sox do scout, draft and develop players so well that would lead me to believe they'd be successful even if there was a cap on payroll

[Keeper]

Exactly. Look at the Cubs. Big payroll. But a horrible farm system.

[rician blast]

It's not a "bitch" by Henry it is simply a statement as to the state of the game now and, more imortantly, where the game may be headed.

 

The very mention of "sour grapes" being his motivation is a bit insulting to the man, and you'd have to be deaf, dumb, blind and a Yankee fan to think his point doesn't have merit...actually he's being quite factual. Plus, when you consider that the Sox ARE a team that benefits from the current system, how could it be sour grapes?

 

As a businessman, Henry would seek to maximize profits. As a BB team owner, he seeks to win. What the current system does NOT allow in many cases is for a FO to balance those two ends.

 

Sour grapes? Nope.

Bitching? No.

Frustration that he's got to spend $130m to compete within the division or win a wild card because the Yankees, a franchise not currently run as well as the Red Sox, spend $200m+ ? Yup, that dog'll hunt.

[BoSox21]

Yup' date=' that dog'll hunt.[/quote']

 

[BSN07]

It's not a "bitch" by Henry it is simply a statement as to the state of the game now and, more imortantly, where the game may be headed.

 

The very mention of "sour grapes" being his motivation is a bit insulting to the man, and you'd have to be deaf, dumb, blind and a Yankee fan to think his point doesn't have merit...actually he's being quite factual. Plus, when you consider that the Sox ARE a team that benefits from the current system, how could it be sour grapes?

 

As a businessman, Henry would seek to maximize profits. As a BB team owner, he seeks to win. What the current system does NOT allow in many cases is for a FO to balance those two ends.

 

Sour grapes? Nope.

Bitching? No.

Frustration that he's got to spend $130m to compete within the division or win a wild card because the Yankees, a franchise not currently run as well as the Red Sox, spend $200m+ ? Yup, that dog'll hunt.

 

I tend to think this as well.

 

Love the hunting dog reference:thumbsup: