TheKilo

Because they were free agents, and signed as such. Pettitte, Rivera, Jeter, and Posada all signed lucrative free agent contracts to stay with the New York Yankees.

$1.3 billion $100 million Guess the net worth of George Steinbrenner, and guess the net worth of Fred Wilpon. And you tell me who got f***ed by Madoff.

Yes. Baseball was gaining in popularity for the exact reasons I mentioned, and they operate in the largest media market in the country. Hell, the Red Sox had NESN over 20 years ago...in the midst of their World Series drought, in a media market that is maybe top 10 in the country. No doubt the Yankees could have started up the YES network eventually.

The Yankees are not filled with homegrown talent. They have Cano, Robertson, Chamberlain, Cabrera, Gardner and Hughes. That's it.

Is baseball a capitalistic society? If it was, would teams revenue share? If it was truly capitalistic, all of the small market teams would die out, in particular the Tampas, Floridas, and Kansas Citys of the world.

Posnanski refers to it in the article, and it's really very well said. And for all of the talk about how money doesn't buy championships, it did get the Yankees into the postseason every year since 1995 and achieve the best record in the AL in 2002, 2003, 2004, 2006, and 2009. Spending more money than anyone else, even unwisely, got the Yankees into the final 8 more times than anyone else. Speaks even further to the huge advantage the team plays with.

How much of the record setting revenues do you honestly think the Yankees are directly responsible for? I mean, hell, how much credit are you suggesting they get? Is it enough to outspend the second richest team by over $60 million?

Dipre referenced it in the World Series thread, but if this article was a woman I would make sweet, sweet love to it all day long. Posnanski couldn't hit the nail harder on the head if he tried. http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2009/writers/joe_posnanski/11/05/yankees.payroll/index.html?eref=sihp

Sure, they get credit for establishing the YES network. But again, it's not something they are capable of doing if they are in a market like San Diego or Kansas City. Just like the Sox wouldn't have NESN if they were in those same markets.

I'd like to see a list of cap hit dollars for goaltenders, then. Thomas still has to be in the top 10, and has not done anything to deserve it. At least Ward and Giguere have won a Cup.

How the f*** did you decipher that from my post?

As ORS said the Yankees should not be given much credit simply because they operate in the world's largest media market. I also do not believe that the Yankees are the sole driving force behind the record revenues that the league is raking in. A combination of a tremendous financial advantage and luck from operating in the largest media market, in addition to having the taxpayers foot the bill for an unnecessary new stadium allowed them to drop half a billion dollars on free agents, all of which were key contributors to the world championship this season. "The Red Sox do it too, although not as much" is not an excuse that holds water with me and yet it is the crutch most Yankee fans turn to when discussing this topic.

Not even close. [table]Team|Goalie|Salary Vancouver|R. Luongo|$7,500,000 Calgary|M. Kiprusoff|$7,000,000 New York Rangers|H. Lundqvist|$6,875,000 Buffalo|R. Miller|$6,250,000 Anaheim|J.S. Giguere|$6,000,000 Boston|T. Thomas|$6,000,000 Minnesota|N. Backstrom|$6,000,000 San Jose|E. Nabakov|$6,000,000 Florida|T. Vokoun|$5,700,000 Chicago|C. Huet|$5,625,000 Dallas|M. Turco|$5,400,000 New Jersey|M. Brodeur|$5,200,000 New York Islanders|R. DiPietro|$4,500,000 Washington|J. Theodore|$4,500,000 Phoenix|I. Bryzgalov|$4,250,000 Toronto|V. Toskala|$4,000,000 Edmonton|N. Khabibulin|$3,750,000 Ottawa|P. Leclaire|$3,600,000 Carolina|C. Ward|$3,500,000 Pittsburgh|M. Andre-Fleury|$3,500,000 Atlanta|K. Lehtonen|$3,000,000 St. Louis|C. Mason|$3,000,000 Nashville|D. Ellis|$2,000,000 New York Islanders|D. Roloson|$2,000,000 Colorado|C. Anderson|$1,500,000 Philadelphia|R. Emery|$1,500,000 Detroit|C. Osgood|$1,450,000 New York Islanders|M. Biron|$1,400,000 Anaheim|J. Hiller|$1,300,000 Colorado|P. Budaj|$1,250,000 Columbus|M. Garon|$1,200,000 St. Louis|T. Conklin|$1,200,000 Atlanta|J. Hedberg|$1,175,000 Tampa Bay|M. Smith|$1,167,000 Minnesota|J. Harding|$1,100,000 Buffalo|P. Lalime|$1,000,000 Dallas|A. Auld|$1,000,000 Florida|S. Clemmensen|$1,000,000 Phoenix|J. Labarbera|$1,000,000 Tampa Bay|A. Niittymaki|$1,000,000 Vancouver|C. Schneider|$984,000 Philadelphia|B. Boucher|$925,000 Atlanta|O. Pavelec|$850,000 Boston|T. Rask|$850,000 Columbus|S. Mason|$850,000 Montreal|C. Price|$850,000 Ottawa|B. Elliott|$850,000 Washington|S. Varlamov|$850,000 Chicago|A. Niemi|$827,000 Toronto|J. Gustavsson|$810,000 Montreal|J. Halak|$800,000 Detroit|J. Howard|$750,000 Los Angeles|E. Ersberg|$750,000 Nashville|P. Rinne|$725,000 New York Rangers|S. Valiquette|$725,000 Edmonton|J. Drouin-Deslauriers|$700,000 Buffalo|J. Enroth|$635,000 Anaheim|J. Pogge|$605,000 Carolina|M. Leighton|$600,000 Los Angeles|J. Quick|$570,000 San Jose|T. Greiss|$550,000 Pittsburgh|B. Johnson|$525,000 Carolina|M. Legace|$500,000 Calgary|C. McElhinney|$500,000 New Jersey|Y. Danis|$500,000 Vancouver|A. Raycroft|$500,000[/table] Players making top 5 salaries at their position are in no way, shape, or form making "middle of the road" money. Add in the fact that Thomas is 35...and has won a grand total of 1 playoff series... I digress. That horse is long dead.

The luxury tax is worthless because it is clear it's not a deterrent to spending.

In terms of what? I'd like to see a cap but I know it's not realistic. I'd simply like tpo hear a Yankee fan say that their advantage is so prevalent, so massive, that it allows them to play on a level no one else can achieve. I'd like a Yankee fan to simply admit that yes, the system benefits their team more than any other, and it's not even close.

But that's exactly the f***ing point, Gom. To the Yankees, the Red Sox might as well be the f***ing San Diego Padres. I mean, holy s***. How hard is this to grasp? No one is saying the Yankees aren't playing by the rules. All people are saying is the Yankees benefit the most from the rules that are currently in place, and will continue to do so. The Yankees do not play on a level playing field with anyone else. The Red Sox have peers at their salary level. The Yankees cannot say that. Because of this fact, I feel that the championship the Yankees just won could feel hollow to some Yankee fans, which is why I asked the initial question. You're not going to get any argument about the Yankees are willing to spend theory. The Red Sox benefit from no salary cap. I'd like to you acknowledge, just once, that the Yankees advantage is so significant, so profound, that it renders the Red Sox advantage over most of the teams in this league irrelevant. I mean, the Sox could take on the salaries of the entire Colorado Rockies team and still be less than New York. How does that strike you as OK? Honest question. How about you go read my posts at the time the Yankees acquired Tex last offseason, and tell me what I think about the Sox not spending money. I'll wait. Gom, did you just hear the bolded expression for the first time the other day? It's not funny, will never be funny, and people who think it's funny are f***ing retarded. I'll wait for you to tell me how it's OK that the Yankees spend money because they dropped payroll slightly last season.

It really is f***ing hilarious. No one can expect Yankee fans to have any sense of perspective, at all.

Hey SOTK, do you smoke weed?

It's one thing to let in snipes. It's another to get caught so badly out of position multiple times like Thomas did tonight. And news flash? That's why he'll never be elite., even though he's getting paid elite money.

What I find hilarious is that you simply gloss over the fact that the Red Sox are closer to San Diego than New York in payroll. B-b-b-but the Red Sawx had the 2nd highest payroll! So that makes it OK!!! IF you can't acknowledge that you're not objective!!! :(:(:( f***ing pathetic.