First off they would have to make all entryways much larger to allow their big heads into the respective rooms ….But of course money is no object is it ????

They do what all fanbases want their organization to do: they spend money on players. So they have more money to spend than everybody else. Does that make them different? No. Our beloved Cubs are no different. I bet everybody here would jump for joy if we had to money to get Teixeira and Sabathia.

not anymore

They went out and nabbed Catfish and Reggie.

It IS possible to buy a title. Lots of teams have done it. The Marlins did it twice.

I disagree with your premise. “Most” fans do not hate the Yankees. That’s just you projecting.

would go to a basketball type of salary cap. Baseball, as a whole, would be so much better to watch.

carefull hank.buying a world series ring has,nt worked for 8 yrs.

26 World Championships speaks for itself, to include 6 since George Steinbrenner bought the team. How can you make fun of an organization who enters every season with one mission, to win a World Series? I sure can’t.

..really. I feel myself becoming more disinterested with baseball by the day as this offseason unfolds. Face it- for the 2009 season, baseball will only matter to you if you’re a Yankees or Red Sox fan. One of these teams, I assure you, will have bought themselves a championship this coming fall. If the yanks add Ramirez and the Bosox add Texieria? Everyone else will be competing for 2nd, I fear. I feel bad for Tampa; I know they’re still young, etc., but I wonder if they had their one shot this past fall. It was a year when they unexpectedly were up, and the Yanks, for one season, were down. I don’t see em making the playoffs again next year, as both teams are reloading in their anger. Too bad, really.

And I hate to be negative, but I fear the Cubs had their shot this year too, and they blew it. I expect them to win their division again, but this was the year to win it all, with a strong team on our side and the other contenders not as strong.

I just hate the Yankees and Red Sox so much, I can’t even put it into words. Jealousy? Of course. I sure hope someone else picks up Ramirez and Texieria, or I will lose much of my interest. It’s so ridiculous, the arms race between these teams that never ends, and which makes the other teams increasingly irrelevant coming into this season. I wish baseball could change this system, but it’ll never happen.

Am I the only one who feels this way?

I enjoy following all the teams to some degree.

Furthermore, I’d add a few notes -

Yankees payroll is actually coming down.

Our payroll is actually going to be fairly close, probably within 30-40 million of the Yankees. If we aren’t a top 3 payroll, I’ll be stunned. Hard for me to hate the Yankees for spending when we aren’t that far behind. I’d have to look at the numbers again, but assuming we spend on a bat and the Red Sox miss on Tex (which I doubt as of now), I think there’s a chance we have a higher payroll than Boston, or are right there with them.

Red Sox do it right. Yes, they use their financial power, but they have one heck of a system. If you’ve got the financial power, use it, but be smart about it, and they have. The Yankees are trying to follow (or go back to the Yankees of the 90’s) by developing the system, but are a bit behind the Red Sox.

The 2009 season isn’t over yet. The Rays will have some staying power in the AL East, as they have the best pitching staff in the division, particularly with David Price set to step into the rotation and other young pieces coming up. Another power bat and they are intriguing. Let’s not write off the Blue Jays yet either, although they’d be more of a spoiler. That said, with Snider in the bigs, the lineup should be solid, if healthy, and the rotation still could be solid (Halladay, McGowan, Marcum). The Yankees offense is a bit iffy, and without Joba in the pen, I have my doubts on how good their pen will be, unless Melancon really emerges.

I would do the same thing if I were them- agreed, better to see it go to the players than the owners. But the inequity of it all is amazing. When you take into account the Yankees TV network , I think I heard the franchise is worth like $4 billion. Admittedly, some teams like Fla take in more than they’re spending yet adhere to spendthrift ways, but c’mon, there’s no way that any team can compete with the Yanks dollar for dollar. To me, that’s unfair.
The size of your media market, in my opinion, should have little if any bearing on your team’s competitiveness, ala the NFL, NBA, etc. A salary cap, by far, is the best way to address this inequities, but it’ll never happen. I think the current system sucks as it is, and I can’t believe I’m one of the only ones on this board who thinks this way. I think much of it is that we’re large market fans ourselves, and as such have little sympathy for those small market teams that stand in our way.

And one more thing: our payroll won’t be close to NY. Isn’t their payroll going to be up to $300 million or so this year? If that’s the case, we’re not even in the same ballpark. Besides, we have salary constraints now and we’re at our ceiling. There is no salary ceiling for the Yankees.

I know- many, many examples can be given of small market teams competing. But c’mon, isn’t it obvious that spending money increases your chances dramatically?

True, a small market team can indeed compete, if not win the world series, but in order for this to occur, almost EVERYTHING must go right, and there is little margin for error. Your young players must peak at the right time, all together, before they’re too expensive to keep. Lose a few big names (example: Milwaukee this coming year) and you might as well blow the team up and start over since you can’t use free agency to fill the holes. I really am the only one who sees a problem with this system?

Further, if a small market team were to go out and sign a full boat free agent, they certainly could from time to time, but just one bad $100 million signing would set back their franchise for years. If the Yanks go out and sign an Igawa or a Pavano, big deal- they eat the contract and sign another pitcher. Small market teams have no such luxury.

Is it hypocritical for me, as a Cub fan to say this? perhaps. But even the Cubs have their limits and can’t keep up with this East coast arms race.

When you see the obscene amounts of money being thrown around MLB, with the salary inflation that gets bigger every year, doesn’t that bother you, even a bit? Doesn’t it stick in your craw, just a little bit, when you have pitchers making more in one inning than you make all year? When a lifelong Cub like Wood has to be shown the door over dollars, doesn’t that seem a bit sad? I wish we could go back to the days of old, when you rooted for teams more than you rooted for a certain kind of laundry.

Again, I’m not blaming Boston or New York for their annual arms race- I wish I was a Red Sox fan! But when you see Boston and New York being the only teams that can afford a Sabathia or a Texieria, doesn’t the system strike you as being a bit unfair? Don’t you sometimes wish it was a level playing field for all teams involved?

but that I find the current system unfair? I guess it’s kinda like when a wrong call is made against your opponent- as a fan of your team, you’ll take it, but you’ll admit it was the wrong call. I think it’s possible to be a Cub fan, hope they spend every last dollar to win a World Series, yet also be able to recognize the inequities and shortcomings of the current system. In the interest of fairness, I’d change it if I could, and at the end of the day, a fair system would benefit all baseball fans.

Maybe my NY and Boston hatred just comes from the East Coast bias/second city complex/jealousy as a long suffering Cub fan. Combine that with the increasing bandwagon jumping that I see running amok for the Yanks and bosox across the country, and you can bet I will find fault with everything those two teams do.

I feel less stupid now