harmony

Where is the proof that the revenue sharing and tax benefits go directly "to their wallets" of the poorer clubs? Each franchise has distinct revenues and distinct expenses that are not limited to player payroll.

Or two for the past four seasons.

With all their spending it's incredible that the Los Angeles Angels have MLB's longest current streak of consecutive losing seasons. Not the Pirates. Not the Orioles. Not the Tigers. Not the Rockies. The Angels.

Conversely, let the owners put on a show with no players and see how much money the owners make.

From FanGraphs two days ago: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/picks-to-click-who-we-expect-to-make-the-2023-top-100/ From Red Sox beat reporter John Tomase last November: https://www.nbcsports.com/boston/red-sox/red-sox-prospect-noah-song-could-resume-career-2022-heres-why-matters

In soccer the substitute does not get a series of warmup kicks and the goaltender does not adjust his gloves each time the ball is touched. Baseball is a slow, cerebral game while the action in soccer is relatively nonstop.

The atmosphere at a typical MLS match is far more energetic than the atmosphere at a typical MLB game. Save baseball, football and basketball for folks whose continence issues require frequent commercial breaks.

Opening Day occurred on Saturday when the New England Revolution secured a 2-2 tie at the Portland Timbers in Major League Soccer play. Last year the Revolution posted the league's best regular-season before losing in playoffs. Portland had an inconsistent 2021 regular season before advancing to the MLS Cup where the Timbers lost at home in the title match. Major League Soccer could provide at least a temporary diversion during the MLB lockout.

The Red Sox land three prospects among the top 30 on the FanGraphs list of Top 100 prospects: https://blogs.fangraphs.com/2022-top-100-prospects/

And if MLB owners are dissatisfied with their money-making machines, let them invest in a different enterprise "out in the real world."

Perhaps "many wealthy individuals [are] willing to own a baseball franchise" under the current structure but a payroll floor would likely increase expenses without a guaranteed corresponding increase in revenues. The pool of potential buyers would almost certainly shrink.

From Wednesday's chat with The Athletic columnist Keith Law on his farm system rankings: https://theathletic.com/3115040/2022/02/07/live-qa-keith-law-discusses-his-2022-mlb-farm-system-rankings/ Subscription required.

If the goal was to make a point the undermining informaton would have been withheld. Objectivity is a heavy cross to bear.

It's evidence that this poster provides relevant information but is rarely here to make a point.

The Athletic columnist Jim Bowden writes that the first Red Sox move after the lockout should be to sign infielder Carlos Correa to a 10-year, $300 million contract: https://theathletic.com/3112423/2022/02/08/bowden-the-first-move-each-al-team-should-make-when-the-lockout-ends/ Subscription required.

Curiously, the 2021 Worcester WooSox as a team had nearly identical home/away splits: https://www.milb.com/worcester/stats/team?split=h https://www.milb.com/worcester/stats/team?split=a

Perhaps the evaluators gave less weight to Jarren Duran's Triple A numbers because of his extreme home/road splits: Home: 112 AB, .304/.391/.679/1.070 Away: 132 AB, .220/.329/.379/.708 Playing nearly half of his games at Worcester's bandbox likely inflated his numbers. wRC+ is a valuable statistic that, at the MLB level, is adjusted for league and park. However, at the minor league level, wRC+ is adjusted only for the league. In a December comp of Duran and Seattle outfielder Taylor Trammell, one conclusion was that "Each enjoyed some success hitting at Triple A this year, although Duran had the edge" based on Duran's wRC+ of 132 and Trammell's wRC+ of 104. https://www.talksox.com/forum/threads/18170-Should-Jackie-Bradley-Jr-be-traded?p=1446206&highlight=trammell#post1446206 Of course, those wRC+ were league-adjusted only, not park-adjusted. The pitcher-friendly Triple A East (International League) boosted Duran's wRC+ while the hitter-friendly Triple A West (Pacific Coast League) lowered Trammell's wRC+. But wRC+ does not take into account that Tacoma's sea-level, heavy-air ballpark is among the pitcher-friendliest in the Triple A West. Trammell's home/road splits reflect the difference: Home: 126 AB, .238/.331/.389/.720 Away: 148 AB, .284/.388/.514/.902 The discrepancy between the 2021 Triple A wRC+ of Duran and Trammell should have been less if the numbers had been park-adjusted. Or not.

The Red Sox reportedly have signed a minor league contract with 27-year-old first baseman Roberto Ramos, who in 2020 posted a .278/.362/.592/.954 line with 38 homeruns in 494 plate appearances in the Korean Baseball Organization: https://www.masslive.com/redsox/2022/02/boston-red-sox-sign-roberto-ramos-38-homers-in-kbo-during-2020-to-minor-league-contract.html https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=ramos-004rob&utm_campaign=Linker&utm_source=direct&utm_medium=linker-

FWIW according to Baseball Reference, Jonathan Arauz lost his rookie status in 2020 and therefore did not qualify for prospect status when Arauz played for Worcester in 2021. https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=arauz-000jon

https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/mariners-postseason-hopes-brighten-with-no-1-farm-system/ https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/all-time-baseball-america-no-1-farm-systems/

Keith Law's three-sentence explanation may push the limits of copyright's fair use, but here goes: https://theathletic.com/3112765/2022/02/07/mlb-2022-farm-system-rankings-keith-law-grades-all-30-teams-on-prospects-with-the-dodgers-at-no-1/

The Red Sox remain at No. 20 in farm system rankings by columnist Keith Law at The Athletic: https://theathletic.com/3112765/2022/02/07/mlb-2022-farm-system-rankings-keith-law-grades-all-30-teams-on-prospects-with-the-dodgers-at-no-1/ Subscription required.

"Since Yaz joined the Sox in 1961, here are the fWAR leaders since then (51 years):" FWIW 1961 was 61 years ago.