worth mentioning that in the case of Chicago, there are actually 2 teams in chicago too.
as for "surrounding" area, Milwaukee is pretty darn close to Chicago and they have their own team. add in the fact that Chicago is not as populated as New york and there is still a gap.
The other areas can defend themselves if their fans want to talk about their geography and local makeup.worth mentioning that in the case of Chicago, there are actually 2 teams in chicago too.
as for "surrounding" area, Milwaukee is pretty darn close to Chicago and they have their own team. add in the fact that...(more)
we almost made it through another of these without someone bringing up the other half of the necessary step.. thankfully Pat slipped it in. it is not enough to have a salary cap to bring Yanks payroll down.. we then have to also have a salary floor to make everyone spend on their team.
I think a cap of $125 million is fine. and the floor should $ 90 million. however, there should be a mechanism in place to punish teams who try to ride the edges, especially the lower edge. for example, if the Yankess outspend the Royals for 10 years in a row (which royals could block at any point by maxing out for a few years), then the Royals owners should be fined $20 million to come out of their own pockets and also forfeit their vote at the next owner's meeting or some other massive body blow to the owner themselves.
This would make necessary another change that must be forced on baseball. Find a way to break up their ability to block the best potential owners for any new opening. If KC can't afford to spend with Steinbrenner than let their owners go under and force them to sell to guys like Cuban.
All of this would lead to what needs to happen-- every team in the majors should be over $75 million already and the owners should all be able to cover any loss out of their own pockets.
Yes, covering it out of their own pocket runs risk of a long-term loser team crippling its owner.. but frankly, if they keep losing for that long, bring in fresh blood, and that means more than just the players.
I also sometimes fiddle with a system where any team that does not make it to the playoffs for 10 years, its ownership rights become vunerable and if a suitable buyer can be found, the owners are ousted. But I am still working out the kinks in that one.
Most of this boils down to a simple doctrine. Owners need to be in it to win.
I do have one other loophole I would allow. If an owner looks at his team in the offseason and honestly believes it is a winner but his payroll is still under the floor, he will not be forced to spend the money to get up to the floor. BUT if his team does not make the playoffs that season, he is gone as soon as a replacement buyer can be found.we almost made it through another of these without someone bringing up the other half of the necessary step.. thankfully Pat slipped it in. it is not enough to have a salary cap to bring Yanks payroll down.. we then have to also have a salary...(more)