The Death of Baseball: NYY trade for AROD

[AJWatson3]

I am not a huge baseball fan. More of the football type. Baseball is pretty slow, and I can't get into it unless it is the O's, sometimes the Red Sox. When I heard about both the Red Sox and Yankees pursuing a trade for AROD it made me feel sick to my stomach. Then the rumors died when the MLB players union rejected the terms of a TEX-BOS trade because it would diminish the value of the contract, although it had AROD's blessing.

Now it seems that the Yankees have made a trade for AROD. WTF!?! Giambi, Jeter, Posada, Bernie, Sheff, Matsui, and now Rodriguez. The thought of George Steinbrenner spending more than Tampa, Toronto, Milwaukee, Pittsburgh, KC, and San Diego, COMBINED is scary (http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/teams/salaries?team=nyy). There are these teams, like so many others, that start a baseball season knowing they won't win. Of course there will always be the Marlins of the world. Luck always has a place in sports, but you can't rely on it.

Now I don't think this will affect the baseball fan that has a team he/she loves and follows regardless. You will watch on TV, go to a game or two, if possible, and cheer. But what about the casual fan? What is to get excited about? I guess they can always just wait until October, when it matters most. But I believe baseball will suffer, greatly, by the acts of GStienbrenner. The casual baseball fan will be impressed that one team can employ such a talented roster, but should be disgusted that they are allowed to spend TWICE as much as the FOURTH highest payroll in baseball to do it. What's the point in watching or investing your time following a season when odds are you already know who is gonna be in the playoffs? It's sad, really. Is there anyone out there who doesn't believe that the Red Sox and Yankees won't be in the playoffs? And that one of them will represent the AL in the World Series? And not just this season, but for years to come.

Until baseball institutes a salary cap nothing will change. As the saying goes, "the rich get richer..." and it will hold true in baseball. Sadly enough, it seems like many teams don't have any intention of fielding a competitive team, because they know they can't get the kind of talent it takes to win with the Yanks and Sox outspending everybody. Look at the way the cap has affected football. Every team in the NFL (except for ARI), every FAN in the NFL has the excitement in knowing that they have a shot of winning the big one! Worst-to-first and back again. Some people can't stand that there aren't any dynasties, but is that really good for the game? It's good for the casual bandwagon POS, who discards favorite teams like batteries. When they are good and powerfull you keep them, when they are used up you throw them out. For any true fan of any sport the salary cap, an even playing field, is what is needed to preserve the game. Until such time we'll just have to wait for the postseason and the hope of some incredible upset to make the season worthwhile...

[pr11fan]

Baseball had died long ago. As much as I like to complain about the salary cap in football since it hurts the skins with Snyder's habits, it makes teams like the pats and carolina have a chance where otherwise they would have none. Baseball used to be my favorite sport as a kid but when you realize only a handful of teams can realistically compete on a year to year basis it really does ruin the game, which is why I gave up on it a few years ago.

[SlickNick]

i love baseball, and this sucks. selig needs to step up and reject the deal. a salary cap and increased revenue sharing would help level the playing field a bit more. we need a yankees suck smiley face for all the O's fans here

[atloldskin]

Pitching is still a big part of the game, especially come playoff time. The Yankees are weaker here then they have been in recent years. Still, the Yankees getting A-Rod, the best player in baseball, does seem unfair!

[jaxskins]

This deal is absolutly absurd. The free spending Yankees are ruining baseball.

I love this game and the O's and I will always watch the birds play no matter what but going into each season knowing that the yankees already have multiple leg ups on every team each year gets very tiresome and simply pathetic. Their free spending has to come to an end or they will be dotted as the team that ruined baseball forever.

If I were a yankee fan and I wish that all yankee fans hear this I would boycott the team. Never watch one of their games or go to one of their games or buy any yankee memorbilia that can bring revenue to the team.

It seems like the only way to stop the madness of this team is to stop its incoming revenue and only we the people as a whole can make that happen.

[Rypien 91]

There is nothing we can do until Selig puts a salary cap in place and makes revenue sharing higher. The richer get richer, the poor get poorer. That is the way it is in baseball. Every once in a while you have teams like the Marlins and Angels who surprise people, but most teams know going into spring training, they have a very slim chance to win. That is the way it is.

[dblsldyllwlne]

this is absolutely horrible for any team that doesn't root for the yankees..the great thing about football is there is no dynasty...every single year you get a different team who wins it..and almost every year the team that wins it...doesn't end up going to the playoffs the next...baseball you get almost the same teams each year goin to the playoffs...w/ an excepted anomoly as anahiem and arizona...i love baseball...i love playing baseball..but w/out a salary cap...watching baseball jsut isn't interesing

GO O'S

[bulldog]

For all the moves the club has made the fact remains the Yankees have not won the Series since 2000 against the Mets.

Arizona, Anaheim and now Florida has won. Florida had one of the lowest payrolls in baseball. Arizona's roster was put together for a short run and now the club is breaking up.

The Yankees will always make news because of their resources in going after players, but let's remember that from 1965-1990 the Yankees won TWO world series folks

It's not only how much you spend but WHO you spend it on.

Rodriguez is a baseball machine. There aren't any holes in his game.

The one potential achilles heel of this team is the pitching staff.

Kevin Brown is 39 years old and has been brittle in recent seasons. He is a shell of the player he was several years ago.

Trading Pettite and Clemens for Brown and Vazquez in the starting rotation to me is a net loss for the club.

It will be interesting to see if the Red Sox adding Curt Schilling and Keith Foulke to a staff that has the benefit of the #1 offense in the AL will be enough to lift the club over the Evil Empire.

The Yankees will be a 90 plus win club, but I wouldn't pencil them into the record books as a Series winner just yet.