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MLB 2023

#81
No salary caps.

People tried to get the Wilpons to sell the Mets for decades. There were email campaigns, billboards, posters, even the early 7 Line merch was anti-Wilpon. They finally sold a couple of years ago and even bungled that.

The new CBA makes for new rules and discourages teams from spending over certain amounts. But at the end of the day, every team is owned by a billionaire. Pay the players and field a competitive team, or sell.
 
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#82
HelpImaRock said:
No salary caps.

People tried to get the Wilpons to sell the Mets for decades. There were email campaigns, billboards, posters, even the early 7 Line merch was anti-Wilpon. They finally sold a couple of years ago and even bungled that.

The new CBA makes for new rules and discourages teams from spending over certain amounts. But at the end of the day, every team is owned by a billionaire. Pay the players and field a competitive team, or sell.
Click to expand...

1. There are not enough men wealthy enough to do what Cohen does. His bottom line is obscenely large compared even to the second richest owner.
2. There are not enough markets as big as NYC.
 
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#83
buldog5151bass said:
1. There are not enough men wealthy enough to do what Cohen does. His bottom line is obscenely large compared even to the second richest owner.
2. There are not enough markets as big as NYC.
Click to expand...

The Phoenix Suns just sold for $4 billion. This makes the Mets deal of $2.4 billion (for 95% of the team) seem quaint. And the significant rise in valuation immediately impacts all franchises positively. Billionaires make money no matter what.
 
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#84
HelpImaRock said:
The Phoenix Suns just sold for $4 billion. This makes the Mets deal of $2.4 billion (for 95% of the team) seem quaint. And the significant rise in valuation immediately impacts all franchises positively. Billionaires make money no matter what.
Click to expand...

You miss the point. Compare Cohen's net worth to the other owners. Also compare the population, average income, and TV deals for places like the NYC or LA metro area to places like Detroit or Cincinnati. No comparison.

Look at the NFL. They make the most money per team. No other US league can compare. They also have more turnover for what teams make the playoffs. What do they have that baseball (and other sports) doesn't have? A TV deal that is divided equally among all teams, and a hard salary cap.
 
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#85
buldog5151bass said:
You miss the point. Compare Cohen's net worth to the other owners. Also compare the population, average income, and TV deals for places like the NYC or LA metro area to places like Detroit or Cincinnati. No comparison.

Look at the NFL. They make the most money per team. No other US league can compare. They also have more turnover for what teams make the playoffs. What do they have that baseball (and other sports) doesn't have? A TV deal that is divided equally among all teams, and a hard salary cap.
Click to expand...

I'm not missing the point at all, I simply disagree with you. My position is that no league should have a salary cap. Owners will make money no matter what market they're in. And NFL players need a stronger union. Hopefully the headway made in baseball with the new CBA, and now the unionization of the minor leagues, will make it to other sports.

You do bring up a good point. Baseball needs a single national broadcasting agreement. They're locked up in RSNs which by their nature limit the reach of every game. Every team having national exposure for every game, past the subscription service available on MLB.tv, and having that money split equally, would put more money in every owner's pocket.

There's a great article in The Athletic today about how baseball owners collude to suppress salaries, and the ramifications of this offseason. It probably won't change your opinion.
 
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#86
Unfortunately, I doubt baseball will ever have a national contract. It's much more regional than any other sport. Basketball fans tend to cheer for a favorite player, regardless of where they play. Football fans tend to pick a favorite team regardless of where they are. I would bet over 95% of baseball fans either cheer for their local team, or their childhood team.

Over the years, I've gone to between 2 and 30 Mets games per year, and I've always lived at least 80 minutes away from the stadium. I've been to two NFL games (one a gift from my in laws, and one a gift to my son. I've never been to an NBA games, and only one NHL game.
 
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#87
buldog5151bass said:
Unfortunately, I doubt baseball will ever have a national contract. It's much more regional than any other sport. Basketball fans tend to cheer for a favorite player, regardless of where they play. Football fans tend to pick a favorite team regardless of where they are. I would bet over 95% of baseball fans either cheer for their local team, or their childhood team.

Over the years, I've gone to between 2 and 30 Mets games per year, and I've always lived at least 80 minutes away from the stadium. I've been to two NFL games (one a gift from my in laws, and one a gift to my son. I've never been to an NBA games, and only one NHL game.
Click to expand...

A new platform is coming sooner than you think. Diamond/Bally Sports is failing and this article implies MLB, NHL, and NBA are waiting to pick up the pieces after the group finally declares bankruptcy.

MLB, NBA and NHL unlikely to save TV regional sports networks: sources
 
#89
HelpImaRock said:
The Phoenix Suns just sold for $4 billion. This makes the Mets deal of $2.4 billion (for 95% of the team) seem quaint. And the significant rise in valuation immediately impacts all franchises positively. Billionaires make money no matter what.
Click to expand...
Turning $100 into $110 is hard work. Turning $100 million into $110 million is inevitable.
 
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#90
buldog5151bass said:
Here is a list of the net worth for MLB owners. Not that I weep for any of them, but Cohen alone has more $$$ than the bottom 12 owners combined.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Click to expand...

Not a great article. The Padres are listed as the second poorest owners. One is worth $500 million, and the other is of unknown value. So if the valuation were true, why did the team offer record breaking contracts to Aaron Judge, Trea Turner, Carlos Correa, and finally signing Xander Bogaerts for $100 million more than anyone else was offering? Because Peter Seidler is actually worth $3 billion.

Any owner crying poor should sell.
 
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#92
buldog5151bass said:
Nice of you to tell an owner how to handle their business. Unlike Cohen, many of them only own a team for the profits.
Click to expand...

And that's why the majority of fans in the stands at A's, Marlins, Pirates, and Rockies games are there for the visiting team.
The Mets have the same concerns about Correa. This could get ugly.
Click to expand...

The Mets may not be able to back out because Cohen commented publicly. I expect they restructure. Would be a disaster for everyone for there to be no deal.
 
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#96
slobake said:
As a SFGiants fan I am handling this situation rationally and maturely. :spit:
Click to expand...

The more I think about it, I don't think it's the Giants who wouldn't renegotiate, it's Boras/Correa.

The Giants won't be great this year. But they could sneak into the wild card if everything breaks right. Not sure how plausible that is, regardless of my undying adoration of Wilmer Flores.
 
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#98
Correa is healthy right now. But no team wants this to turn into a Pujols contract. Remember how in the wake of that deal and the charred remains of the steroid era, teams stopped offering contracts with big money for players in their late 30s, because they kept blowing up? The fact is most players peak in their late 20s, and continue to decline through their 30s. For every Nolan Ryan and Justin Verlander, there are hundreds of stars who age like Ken Griffey and Jacob deGrom (if not younger).

But I agree with @HelpImaRock. There is no doubt that Boras was looking to get the Mets back in the deal.
 
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#99
yodedude2 said:
rumor has it the issue relates to a broken bone injury from 2014. it didn't seem to cause any qualms for the astros or twins. then again, they weren't signing contracts over a decade in length ...
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Seems the timeline is that his ankle was repaired in 2014 with a metal plate. Last year, while playing for the Twins, he was hit on that plate and left a game. Speculation is that both Giants and Mets doctors think the plate is fine right now, but it will cause arthritis down the line. Which would be bad if you've signed Correa to a fully guaranteed 12 or 13 year deal. If the Mets deal falls through, the Twins, Astros, and anyone else will want to see the medicals up front. It may not have been an issue for them before. But it's the determining factor since the Giants stopped communicating.

I could see the Mets restructuring for 5-7 years with vesting options and insurance. The question is, what will insurance cover and at what point do the Mets walk away? This isn't the Wilpons signing Mo Vaughn. The Cohens actually want something for their dollar.
 

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