Friday, October 31, 2008

Nobody Watched the World Series

It was the "My Mother the Car" of championships.

Let's resist the urge to cackle. If we were in it, we'd have pulled higher numbers, much in the same manner that people with tubes in their crotches watch Barney Miller and Matlock. They view Derek Jeter as comfort food.

So why didn't anybody watch Tamp and Philly's rising stars? Good grief, they missed Evan Longora, Chase Utley and, uhhhmmm, that guy Price... and Shields.... and Yarnell... and all those Phillies, stars every one them... Don't they still have Lenny Dykstra?

Listen: For a long, long time now, MLB has been sitting on a bubble of public support, much like the housing and fantasies: The people on top figure it would last forever.

These days, it's funded by the taxpayers, who fork up new stadiums, while our schools and roads fall apart.

Let me repeat that.

Taxpayers fork up new stadiums, while our schools and roads fall apart.

We're about to break the bank in pursuit of CC Sabathia, Mark Teixteira, AJ Burnett and/or Manny Ramirez. The claim is that we'll be flush with cash, thanks to Rudy Giuliani, who finagled these stadiums a long time ago in a universe far, far away.

We'll have money, while other teams rattle the cup for their own taxpayers.

So? For starters, we should still chase Teixteira. But as we let our own bloated salaries walk -- so long, Jason, Moose, Bobby, Andy -- we might be seriously wise to let our payroll level fall below the luxury tax level.

When that happens, they'll start squirming.

If we launch a spending binge, we better be prepared to carry Tampa, Kansas City, Pittsburgh, et al, on our shoulders.

The philosophy of having the rich pay higher taxes is likely to spread into baseball. (All this talk about socialism? The owners -- billionaires, all -- sound like Karl Marx when they talk about big market spending.)

This is no time to trade cheap young starters -- Phil Hughes comes to mind -- no matter what happens in Arizona. Yeesh, he's throwing innings and developing pitches, not auditioning.

Folks, a bubble is about to burst. Yank ticket prices will be way too high. By midseason, MLB revenues will be suffering enough to make Bud Selig's hairpiece burst into flames.

At that point, it'll be far wiser to have money in the bank and openings on the roster.

The best deals might be for those who wait.


Anonymous said...

A baseball "bubble?" You are predicting a " baseball bubble " in 2009?

Irrational Exuberance?

If I can't get caviar and watercress on trimmed white bread when I want it, I'm not going to stand up for the 7th inning stretch.

BernBabyBern said...

Wait ... they played the World Series already?