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"May have..." This just in, Bob Saccamano is reporting the Indonesian National Team has won the bid with 65 Trillion Rambitan (~ $0.32 US Dollars) and a lifetime supply of Cheetos. Seven rumors, seven amounts from $15M to $45M, seven winners. Am I stuck in the Die Hard with a Vengence phone scene with Samuel L., Bruce Willis, and Jeremy Irons?

I hope I didn't upset you with that, it was tongue in cheek. That said, it does surprise me that you'd still give them a hard time about that if they show they are willing to commit money to a quality product (which is what you want them to do), even if the quality added is a gamble.

No, Petey doesn't look like a good investment right now, but neither does his replacement. In '05 one of the problems was SP and Petey would have helped. Last year one of the problems was the leadoff spot/CF and Damon would have helped. My point about it blowing up in their faces is that their decisions to save some money in the future have hurt the team right now, so, no matter what happens from this point forward, it did blow up in their faces to some degree because they wasted two years of Big Papi/Manny. I know I've come out in favor of the LT plan, so I'm not trying to waffle here, but the results are hard to dispute.

I think he let them walk for about $25.5M. Petey got the extra year at $13.5 from the Mets, and Damon got $12M more over 4 years. And, the results blew up in their faces. Maybe they've learned a lesson. Speaking of which, 700, I figure that if they do spend this that it would be right up your alley. You'll just look like a bitter old coot if you keep harping on those two moves after they've changed course to agree with your view of roster construction (if they do it).

Spread Category : Date & Time Favorite................. Spread............. Underdog 11/12 1:00 ET Kansas City................ -1 ........................At Miami 11/12 1:00 ET At Jacksonville ..........-10.5 ......................Houston 11/12 1:00 ET San Diego ..................-1.5 ................At Cincinnati 11/12 1:00 ET At Atlanta ...................-7.5 ...................Cleveland 11/12 1:00 ET Baltimore ...................-7 .................At Tennessee 11/12 1:00 ET At Indianapolis ..........-12 ..........................Buffalo 11/12 4:15 ET At Pittsburgh ..............-4 ..................New Orleans 11/12 1:00 ET At Philadelphia ...........-7 ....................Washington 11/12 8:15 ET At NY Giants ...............-3 .........................Chicago 11/12 1:00 ET At Minnesota ..............-5.5 ...................Green Bay 11/12 1:00 ET At New England .........-10.5 .......................NY Jets 11/12 1:00 ET At Detroit ....................-6 ................San Francisco 11/12 4:05 ET Denver .......................-9 .....................At Oakland 11/12 4:15 ET At Seattle ...................-4 ........................St. Louis 11/12 4:15 ET Dallas .........................-7 .....................At Arizona Monday Night Football Point Spread 11/13 8:30 ET At Carolina ..................-9.5 .................Tampa Bay Straight Category : Date & Time Favorite.......................................... Underdog 11/12 1:00 ET Kansas City.............................................At Miami 11/12 1:00 ET At Jacksonville .........................................Houston 11/12 1:00 ET San Diego .........................................At Cincinnati 11/12 1:00 ET At Atlanta .............................................Cleveland 11/12 1:00 ET Baltimore ........................................At Tennessee 11/12 1:00 ET At Indianapolis ..........................................Buffalo 11/12 4:15 ET At Pittsburgh .....................................New Orleans 11/12 1:00 ET At Philadelphia ....................................Washington 11/12 8:15 ET At NY Giants .............................................Chicago 11/12 1:00 ET At Minnesota .........................................Green Bay 11/12 1:00 ET At New England .........................................NY Jets 11/12 1:00 ET At Detroit ........................................San Francisco 11/12 4:05 ET Denver ................................................At Oakland 11/12 4:15 ET At Seattle ...............................................St. Louis 11/12 4:15 ET Dallas ..................................................At Arizona Monday Night Football 11/13 8:30 ET At Carolina ..........................................Tampa Bay Monday Night Football Total Points Scored : ............___44_____

Oh, I see. While I admit the tangents are a distraction, I really don't have a problem with them. You seem to. Nobody is stopping you from starting said thread and emploring the users to discuss that topic there. Generally, as a rule, if you want something done the way you like, you need to do it yourself.

Two guys with supposedly reliable access to info over at NYYFans.com both heard from different sources that the Yankees won with a bid of $27M. SSDD.

Who said you had to read it? Skim over it until you find some discussion about Mussina, who, as you can see, isn't that interesting right now. Every thread goes off on tangents, and yes, many times they are repeated tangents. That's because they are obviously hot topics. I agree that it would be nice if we had separate threads for those topics and that people would keep the discussion there. However, that doesn't happen because idiots from either side introduce those topics in just about every thread. Crespo made a one line joke about payroll and Gom opened a can of worms in his rant. Where are people supposed to reply if they take issue?

Well, I missed whatever can of worms your original post may have opened, but it looks like you've opened another. Please explain our foolishness.

Why is it ridiculous for me to want my team, and every other team, to be on a level playing field? It's not like I'm saying "The Yankees spend too much but we don't". I've been very consistent about how I ackowledge our role in it and think it's unjust. Learn to read, sock-boy. Look at the url in case you were confused as to why these things happen. If you don't like the things said about the Yankees here, that's your fault. Stop expecting this place to be user friendly for Yankee fans who only want to come and bait Sox fans. It won't ever be that way. If you want to go to an unbiased site, I suggest Baseball-Fever.com. Otherwise, deal with the reality of this being a Sox site. I don't know the specifics, but it wouldn't surprise me if the NYM surpassed the Sox in revenues with their new network and the much bigger NY market. Either way, does it really matter if the Mets were 2 or 3? The point remains, two of the big three are about to stop chipping in, so the system will only get worse. You took that entirely too literally. Nobody has the resources of the Yankees, so while they may have been "able" to do it, it probably would have put them in an uncomfortable financial position, a position that didn't exist for the Yankees. Thus, they were the only ones with the financial muscle to make the deal. Put two and two together son.

Oh, I agree. I've passed through and that was enough for me. I just thought I'd show some support in your choice of language.

Yeah, and besides, why would they want to stay in Oakland? That place is a pit.

It was a very good move. Of course, it was a move that nobody else was willing to make due to the salaries involved. Therein lies the root of the problem. When only one team has the financial muscle to absorb that type of move and no constraint on the usage of it, the system has failed. I'm sure several other offers involving those two put a package of better prospective talent on the table, but Philly wasn't interested in the talent return as much as they were in jettisoning salary.

They got about a month and a half out of Abreu before either of those two returned. I'd say that is a significant period of time. Let's not forget Lidle too, who helped offset the unwise acquisition of Pavano. That was a move made solely because of financial capability, and it was a difference maker.

There certainly aren't any guarantees. Although, it's pretty evident that if you spend a lot, spend it wisely, and aren't befallen by injuries (or in some cases able to buy your way around them), then you will be one of the few that has a shot via the postseason.

And all that matters to you is that we are #2. You think that puts us in a position from which we cannot complain. You would be right if we didn't acknowledge that we do have an advantage over the rest of the league, but we do. Nobody is claiming poverty for the Sox, that is another one of your fabrications. The lost cause is you. You actually think the current system is A-Ok. Well, that shouldn't come as any surprise, only one group of people thinks that way, and, coincidentally, they all root for the team that benefits from it most. Who would have seen that happening?

I'm not saying that the revenue sharing hasn't leveled the playing field some, but in the end it just looks like a token gesture to me. The top teams are still raking in the money and elite talent that hits the market, and they still make a substantial majority of the teams that able to make the playoffs. Saying "7 years, 7 champs" doesn't address the blantant inequities in the system. EDIT: To add, and this is important, the biggest contributors to the revenue sharing pool are about to be exempt from it. NYY and NYM won't have to contribute while making new stadium payments, which could take decades, so the farce of "fairness" is about to take a big hit.

Irrelevant. Only one team has been in the post season each of those 7 years.

I don't think there is an industry standard, but most go by whether or not the player still has rookie status. Hansen lost his due to spending enough time on the 25-man roster. I suppose you could consider whether or not a player still has options and where they will play next year - Hansen needs more time in AAA, IMO. Either way, it's a non-issue.

Do you have any clue as to revenue sources for these two teams? Any? Where have I denied that the Sox have an advantage or claimed that they don't use it? I'm well aware of their advantage, and, see if you can follow here, since they are #2 in payroll, they obviously use it. What I'm saying is sweeping the Yankee payroll under the rug with the "well you are #2" comment is a non-sequitor. Call it whining if you want, but I happen to think that a defining characteristic of sports is a level playing field. Care to rebut that notion? Go ahead and try. Baseball does not have that now. And, even though I know it would make things tougher for my team, it won't have one until there is complete revenue sharing and a salary cap/floor. Your comment about being a football fan instead is another throw-away comment. I am a football fan, but I like baseball better. How dare I want some legitimacy for the sporting aspect of the game I love. Are you that naive to think that either of these teams lost money? Their major source of revenue is the TV networks they own. Fortunately for them, those are separate entities where profits can be hidden, taking money from the revenue sharing pool (of which the Yankees and Mets will not contribute to after the 2009 season when they start deferring money to the payments for their new stadiums - in other words it's only going to get worse). This is where the Yankee's advantage comes into play. They NY media market is in excess of 10,000,000 viewers, with virtually everyone of them being forced to subscribe to the YES network via the fact that YES is provided on the major cable carriers. The New England market is ~3,000,000 viewers. I don't know what kind of math you took in school, but 10M =! 3M, so your comment that the Sox could spend like the Yankees if they wanted to is a fabrication. Given the lack of understanding you have shown for this process, it's very funny that you question my intelligence. Continue to insult me all you like, but please continue to show us that path to "enlightenment" you promised by sharing your take on things, because every time you do, you reveal more and more of your ignorance. I understand what the WC has done for baseball. It does give the smaller market teams a chance, but only marginally so. And, in the end, the playoff appearances are dominated by big market teams because their financial advantage is more impactful over 162 games than it is in a small series. The Blue Jays? Hahah, keep throwing that in our faces. It does nothing for your argument. Of course, I don't expect it needs to in your mind, because your only intent there is to try and piss us off. Pathetic. End the end, I'm not whining about payroll, I'm merely stating a fact. The system is inequitable. The only ones whining on the subject are Yankee fans with their knee jerk reaction whenever anyone mentions the advantage they hold over the entire league. If you care to, please explain how the current system is fair. This should be fun.

It's not only innings, but also time on the 25-man roster. I'm pretty sure Hansen lost his prospect status.

I love it when Yankee fans revert to the #1 vs. #2 argument. They think it makes the difference negligible despite the fact that it ignores the most important aspect of the discussion, the magnitude. The Yankees spent in excess of $80M more than the #2 team. That's more than the league average. We are well aware that the Sox have an advantage over most of the league, but when the difference is that large, everyone has a right to complain. Deal with it. Yeah, these really support your point. Just another example of your true intent here. Keep fishing, Cap'n.

They look alive to me. Roethlisberger, while horrible last week, had a couple of really good games against KC and Atlanta. He looks like he's continuing to turn the corner today also. They could get hot and run off some wins (including today).