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DDDDave · 02-17-2006, 10:22 AM

At the root of this argument is the fact that MLB does not have a real commissioner. Bud Selig is the owners' 'boy'.

The game needs a commissioner to do what is right for the league, not just for the owners. In any real negotiation, nobody gets what they ask for. I agree that the game needs a salary cap ala the NFL, but the players don't want that. OK, if you have a cap then you should have a floor too. I think this was discussed but Selig didn't have the cahones to stand up to the owners. I am a Rays fan. Most of you fans know that Vince (Do you know who I am?) Naimoli no longer owns the team. A young guy named Stuart Sternberg now owns the team. He is committed to trying to win. That is really all fans can ask for. We will never compete for the pennant in the AL east against NYY, BOS, TOR, and BAL. Naimoli was what was wrong with baseball. He 'wanted' to win, but made no real effort to. The Rays had the second lowest payroll, and were the second most profitable team. WTF? They received +/- $25MM in luxury tax money and their profit was $ +/- $23MM. He took the luxury tax $$ and put it in his pocket. The fans hated him for it. I used to have season tickets and then stopped buying them just because of this.

If the league had a real commissioner who would make an owner 'do the right thing', IMO the league would be so much better off. As has been said, it doesn't take the largest payroll to make the playoffs or even go .500. Baseball needs to understand that they are in the entertainment business. People come to watch a competition. Americans like to root for an underdog. A Yankee friend of mine says 'so what if we have the best team and you always don"t?' . Because this is not a game of world domination, it is not a war, it is a baseball league. They have rules against monopolies don't they.

Sorry to go off on a rant there but I played baseball for close to twenty years and love the game but after the steroid scandal they better do something to get the fans back on their side or baseball as we know it may disappear in the next 10-15 years.

02-17-2006, 10:22 AM	#5 (permalink)
DDDDave Addict Location: Sarasota	At the root of this argument is the fact that MLB does not have a real commissioner. Bud Selig is the owners' 'boy'. The game needs a commissioner to do what is right for the league, not just for the owners. In any real negotiation, nobody gets what they ask for. I agree that the game needs a salary cap ala the NFL, but the players don't want that. OK, if you have a cap then you should have a floor too. I think this was discussed but Selig didn't have the cahones to stand up to the owners. I am a Rays fan. Most of you fans know that Vince (Do you know who I am?) Naimoli no longer owns the team. A young guy named Stuart Sternberg now owns the team. He is committed to trying to win. That is really all fans can ask for. We will never compete for the pennant in the AL east against NYY, BOS, TOR, and BAL. Naimoli was what was wrong with baseball. He 'wanted' to win, but made no real effort to. The Rays had the second lowest payroll, and were the second most profitable team. WTF? They received +/- $25MM in luxury tax money and their profit was $ +/- $23MM. He took the luxury tax $$ and put it in his pocket. The fans hated him for it. I used to have season tickets and then stopped buying them just because of this. If the league had a real commissioner who would make an owner 'do the right thing', IMO the league would be so much better off. As has been said, it doesn't take the largest payroll to make the playoffs or even go .500. Baseball needs to understand that they are in the entertainment business. People come to watch a competition. Americans like to root for an underdog. A Yankee friend of mine says 'so what if we have the best team and you always don"t?' . Because this is not a game of world domination, it is not a war, it is a baseball league. They have rules against monopolies don't they. Sorry to go off on a rant there but I played baseball for close to twenty years and love the game but after the steroid scandal they better do something to get the fans back on their side or baseball as we know it may disappear in the next 10-15 years. __________________ I am just a simple man trying to make my way in the universe... "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you have imagined." - Thoreau "Nothing great was ever accomplished without enthusiasm" - Emerson