Gom

Ok, so we have 1 for, and 1 against. I think three others are just pissed at the Yankees. That's about par for this board.

I have never, ever stated that my team doesn't have an advantage. However, I find it hysterical that Boston fans complain when you guys do it 28 other teams. I must say, the only one who responded that he liked or disliked this current system is ORS. I'm surprised that no one else has responded to the question.

If the Yankees can close that gap to 3 games by the All-Star break, they will run away with it again. The Sox are hitting on all cylinders right now. The Yankees are starting to ramp up. What happens with Beckett has a blister, Shilling's back gives him issues, etc. Injuries are not only a part of the game, but a very big part of both of these teams considering their respective ages on the roster. The Yankees are better than .500 ball, and the Sox won't win 2 out of 3 games the rest of the year either. I realize sweeps can go in either direction, but if the Yankees are on a roll when Boston comes to town, and if we return the favor, it's a brand new race.

ORS, we realize that you would rather see a hard cap in baseball and all teams have the same revenue and resources. How about some others? Considering who you root for, do you like baseball's system or not?

Valid points. For once. (Couldn't resist the dig) However, do you really want a level playing field? Realize, with your money advantage, you only have to outsmart one team, albeit that team has an advantage. Would you rather compete with 29 other teams on an even keel, or have an advantage over 28 and a disadvantage with one? No one is debating the fairness issue.

On a more intellectual note, someone please explain to me this. Seriously. Why does anyone care whatsoever what a team pays a player? The only reason I can see anyone caring is that the funds could be allocated better if the money is better managed. Do you really care what your team payroll is? No matter what team you root for, the Yankees or the Red Sox? These are the two richest teams in baseball. I don't care what my team spends. I care what they do on the field. I don't sit there and analyze what Arod makes per at bat, or what Mussina makes per pitch, or whether a player is "worth" the money. I mean, who really gives a s*** that the Sox are 18 cents over the luxury tax, or the Yankees signed Pavano to a 19 year extension? This is part of what I mean by 99% of you buying into the media hype. I am disappointed in you guys because have any of you really stopped and asked yourself this question: "Does it really matter to me what my team spends?" Like I said, with a finite amount of money, the better the funds are allocated, the better your team will perform. Fine. However, realize that this number is set by management, and we don't know what that limit is. I mean really, did any of you think you would spend over $200 million on Lugo, Matsuzaka, and Drew in ONE OFFSEASON? Do you really care? What difference does it make to you? Who cares if Lester is a better value than Clemens, or that Matsuzaka is overpaid, or if Papelbon is a bargain? The only increase any of you may see is in your ticket prices. However, that percentage increase is so minimal to nearly everyone who goes to a game as compared to the funds we each allocate to our entertainment, does it matter? If you go back and read this thread, or nearly any thread when it comes to money, in retrospect, it's idiotic. It's not OUR MONEY. The team, whether it is the Yankees or the Red Sox, or any other team, spends the money they can based on their revenues. We don't actually know what that revenue is, because none of us are privy to our respective teams finances. The media has harped on the big bad Yankees for spending this and that. So what? They make the money. They spend it. The Red Sox [please educate me on this point, since I don't live up there] either have their own network, or are planning to. They added numerous seats over the Green Monster to increase revenue. You claim that part of the money spent on Matsuzaka is to open up revenue streams in the Far East. Fine. So go ahead and spend that money. After all, it's not our money. It belongs to Henry or Steinbrenner. This whole money thing is ridiculous. Please, just stop and ask yourselves....outside of the better allocation of funds, in other words, as long as the money being spent is strongly correlating to my respective teams performance, do I really care what they spend? In fact, would any of you care how much your team spends, as long as it spends it on good players who perform well? I'd love to hear intelligent discussion about this point.

So basically what you are saying is that at his best, he might be as good as Mussina was in his fourth best season. I'll buy that. In other words, like I said. A poor man's Mussina. Reading is fundamental. Next.

Selling used cars...I have to admit that was funny. There may be hope for you just yet. The fact that you really think that Mussina in his prime isn't as good as Matsuzaka is funny. Now realize, I am not counting his Yankee years, just the years he has had with the O's. On what planet do you live on, ORS? Mike Mussina is a border-line Hall of Famer. This guy you are talking about is your fourth best pitcher at this point, behind an aging Schilling, a resurgent Beckett, and a timeless Wakefield. In fact, when healthy, I think Lester is a better pitcher than this guy. Realize that one of two things happen with Matsuzaka. Either he figures it out, and he is no rookie, or the rest of the league figures him out. You have a 50-50 shot here. Personally, I think he is a quality starter, in the class of a Pettitte, but so far, he is no Beckett or Wang. Those guys are the unqualified aces of their respective teams. His control isn't nearly as good as advertised, his velocity is not as good as advertised, but he has what I call moxie, and this guy can win even without his best stuff. Like I said, a poor man's Mussina. Do any of you, ever think that Matsuzaka will ever have a season, lets say where he goes 19-9 with a 3.21 ERA, lets say 187 hits in 221.2 IP? Guess what? That's Mussina's FOURTH best season. 1995. In other words, Moose had three seasons with better numbers, for people who are confused, like ORS. This is not a love of my team's players, this is just pure objective analysis, something you aren't remotely capable of doing. Go back to sleep. In his prime, Matsuzaka couldn't hold Mussina's jock. Actually, come to think of it, it's no different between us. You couldn't hold mine either. Now I am waiting for your snappy comeback that has no basis in logic. Still waiting...and while you are at it.... Why don't you go on believing another press clipping? You guys actually think this guy makes any sense? Pathetic.

Thank you. Finally, someone else who gets it. Thank you for showing more class than 95% of the posters here. It's ironic how the same people who were jumping for joy when you signed Matsuzaka are crying in their soup over Clemens. Thanks for taking the high road, a700. Yankees Sox, one game playoff for the AL East title, loser out of the playoffs because the Tigers got the wild card wrapped up. Clemens versus Matsuzaka. Can you imagine?

My personal belief is that Clemens is a better pitcher for this season. Dice-K has shown me nothing so far to think he is an elite pitcher. A 5.45 ERA with a 1.32 whip is nothing to be excited about in my book. I see Clemens as a 3.90-4.10 ERA pitcher over 6 innings, so basically, he will give up 2.5 runs a game for the Yankees in 5-6 innings. I'll take that over Matsuzaka's 4 runs over 6-7 innings any day.

I don't have an answer for it myself. I'm just wondering what you guys think. I'm sure all of you would take Beckett and Schilling over Clemens, but I wonder if you would take Dice-K over him. As for Clemens being a savior, that's a little extreme. However, the Yankee bullpen is better than it's shown so far, since it is so overworked. Given rest [now that is funny, considering Torre is the manager], they are a very strong bullpen. Their rotation should be able to help the bullpen take a day off and rest up a bit. I'm not sold on Hughes yet, but if he is the real deal, that injury may have been the best thing that happened to the Yankees. It sped up the process of Clemens, and when he comes back, there is no reason to pace Hughes since he already missed two months of the season, and he would be right in line with his innings allotment the Yankees have set for him. I still think, even with a 5.5 game lead, the Yankees are the better team when it comes to the Red Sox. Conventional wisdom states that all teams should expect three major injuries over the course of a season. Not counting Pavano, the Yankees have had two, Hughes and Karstens. I figure their luck should be getting better, and yours to come down a bit.

The truth is that most of this is just sour grapes from most of you guys. Here is a better question. For this season, and this season only...Clemens or Dice-K? I'm curious as to what you guys think about this one.

So when the Yankees signed Matsui, that was suppsoed to the gateway to the East for the Yankees. What about the Mariners with Ichiro? I don't buy it. Sounds nice, but its a posting thing. Whoever wins it, and we both have, claims they new market is the investment. I didn't buy it when we did, and I don't when you won Matsuzaka. Your money is off, but yes. It's the same thing. This is why I think you are the sharpest person on this board. It's not even close. You actually get it. Look, I will be real upfront here. I don't care that my team has more resources than anyone else. I actually like it. I don't care that my team has the highest payroll in baseball, or that they can afford to buy the best players, or throw money at the problems they have, or can sign busts and fix them by spending more money. I put my money into the team by buying three season tickets every year. So in essence, I support their free spending ways. Baseball's system isn't fair. Agreed. No questions or qualms about it from my end. Baseball is a business, owned by business men who make a killing, financially, by owning these teams. They have a right to run their business as they see fit. However, these arguments run hollow from you guys. You get up in arms about this when the big, bad Yankees outspend your team. Get over it. You do it to every other team in baseball except for us. You think the Blue Jays and their fans don't bitch about it? They beat you guys last year, then you go and spend over $200 million to upgrade three positions in Mats, Lugo, and Drew. You think the Twins, Tigers, etc., don't bitch that their teams can't compete with the Red Sox financially? They have a legitimate gripe. You don't. Stop dishing out this crap about payroll, etc. You guys are just as guilty. This offseason finally proved that your team can compete with us from a financial standpoint if you really wanted it. Henry is just as rich as George, maybe even richer. The Yankees make more, they spend more. That's life. The Sox make more than anyone else except for us. Guess what? You spend more than everyone else, except for us. See the pattern? You know something else too? I'll tell you something most Yankee fans won't admit to, but I would guess they agree with me. I don't care about payroll. I never did. I don't care about how much they spend. It doesn't bother me. Although Matsuzaka hasn't pitched all that well, I wish the Yankees bid $55 million for him so we could have got him instead of you. I'm glad we signed Roger Clemens, and I don't care what the contract is. I wanted Barry Zito too. If they raise ticket prices, I don't care. I would rather pay $5 bucks a seat more, or whatever, to see them win, rather than lose and save it. Be honest here. How many of you guys were upset when you lost Damon for the extra cash he signed with us? How many of you guys would shell out, lets say $100, for 2004? Imagine if 2004 never happened for your team unless every Sox fan threw in $100 bucks. Would you do it? To feel the joy of they greatest comeback in post-season series history, and to do it to your hated rivals? My guess is 99% of you guys would. I'm glad we have an owner who wants to win more than anything else. I'm glad he was willing to spend the money on Clemens, and whoever they may get at the All-Star break, if they need it. We're the worst. Fine, I'll accept that. You guys are second worst. 28 teams bitch about you. 29 bitch about us. Fair? Only football has any semblance of fair with their hard cap. Not the NHL, not the NBA with their exceptions and their soft cap, etc. When you talk about payroll parity, it's kind of ridiculous to say that you wish the Yankees would come down to earth, so to speak. What about everyone else? Do you really want to see all teams with a hard cap in baseball? I know some of you would like that, but I think the great majority of you really don't. You have an advantage over 29 teams, and a disadvantage against one. The odds are stacked in your favor over everyone else but us. Baseball, with seven different champs in seven years, seems to get it right. Is it fair that you can go out and sign a pitcher who's never pitched in America for $103 million, which is more than the payroll for all but 3 or 4 teams, one who's untested and unproven, or for us to sign a 45 year old pitcher for 28 million prorated, when the Twins can't keep the best pitcher on the planet for less than that annually? Better yet, if it meant Santana going to the Red Sox, would you care? Is there a Sox fan on this board who would complain if you signed Santana, and the only reason you got him was because the Twins couldn't afford him? Ask yourself one question, and be honest with your answers. Deep down inside, when it comes to your beloved Sox, do you really care about your team's payroll? After all, it's not your money. You may wish for a better allocation of your team's funds, but do you really care? Do you want them to turn a profit rather than throw the money into the team? Would it make you feel that much better to have the Epstein announce "We may have only won 84 games this year, missed out on the post-season again, but we turned a profit of 86% over last year"? The truth is, we are the two biggest and baddest bullies in baseball, financially. I like it that way. Would you like to be even with the other 28 teams? I'll at least be honest and say absolutely not. If you agree with me, which I believe most of you do, it's time to put this money/payroll thing to bed.

That's what makes this so great.

Umm...you are talking about the post-season where he out dueled Schilling in game 7 in Arizona? You guys give Schilling this god like status, he went 1-1 against Jon Lieber, I believe. Wake up. Game 7, Yankees vs. Red Sox ALCS. Who do you take Schilling or Clemens? Obviously, the Yankee hitting is better, so dismiss that. Who would you rather see pitching for YOUR team.