I’m not a doomer about the “inequity” or “lack of parity” in Major League Baseball but at this point I do believe the current era of the Los Angeles Dodgers is the best run and arguably most dominant organization in the modern game and things could start to get really skewed.
Still not sure dynasty’s can exist in today’s game but they’re sure gonna give it a shot.
I think the challenge is, when you have the Dodgers running like a combo evil empire/Rays like start up, it’s getting harder and harder to find competitive edges. Sure they are out there still, but if a small market team finds one the Dodgers are copying it and doing better eventually anyways. But things can also change quickly in baseball, perhaps the amount of money they have tied up in guys over 30 comes back to bite them.
It seems there are a couple teams still that don't even care about the luxury cap. Since that is the case, maybe they need to make they need to make the percentage even higher.... but also require the small market teams receiving that money to increase their spending.
It's all bribe money, to get the Nuttins of the sport to look the other way while Manfred rigs everything to ensure as many NY/LA world series as possible.
I think they are certainly going to enter the post-season with a more fresh pitching staff then any wild card team they might be playing. With that kind of talent, they have the opportunity to rest their pitching staff more than other teams. In fact last year,the Dodger pitcher with the most innings only had 140, while they only had 2 pitchers with over 90. It reminds a little of how dominating NBA teams approach the regular season.
True, they excel at everything, not just spending money. Development, scouting in every area, including breaching new markets. Shit, a 6’7” kid from Sudan who already throws 95? In a way, that’s scarier than them getting Sasaki. What’s next?
I think it is worse than the Yankees because of the way they are bringing in international players. They didn't need money to bring in Sasaki. Yamamoto did the recruiting. I can see more star players from Japan choosing the Dodgers in the future. (I would personally like to see MLB follow a model similar to what the NBA does when it comes to international talent.)
We can only hope the Dodgers actions will cause the other large market owners to change their opinion of the economic system in the sport. Maybe there is a sliver of hope the next labor agreement will look different/better for us fans.
The big problem I see is, do small markets get left out in the cold for whichever system they design to replace the current one? It’s very possible a new system that constrains the Mets and Dodgers simply makes the Yankees more profitable, while still screwing small market fans. I’m thinking in terms of a more prohibitive luxury tax that acts as an even harder cap, but is still ridiculously high: say $300 million.
One out of leftfield idea is to break MLB into 2-3 leagues based on payroll and vary number of playoff teams based on league, with the higher payroll league(s) getting more spots. It's a little bit like what the Champions League is based on--the Premier League gets more spots than, say, the Dutch league.
For example, say league one has the top 10 teams in payroll and they get 6 spots in the postseason; league two has the next 10 highest teams and they get 4 spots; and league three has the 10 lowest payroll teams and only gets 2 spots. There would still be interleague play, and there could be the requirement that a team must have a winning record to make the postseason else their league's spot goes to one of the other leagues.
This incentivizes teams to spend more, which the union will like, while ensuring that low revenue/payroll teams get spots in the postseason.
I know it will never happen, I'm just filling time on a cold, gray afternoon.
The Orioles, Tigers, and Royals all get a bad deal as they had better records than the Mariners and Cardinals, but the union would just say those clubs should have spent more to, literally, increase their playoff odds.
Doubtful on the last point. The union likes the basics of the sport’s structure as much as the owners — all of them — do. The Dodgers are there to give out record contracts. The Pirates are there to give ML contracts and service time to veterans who belong in AAA. “Competitive balance” is for suckers.
Irony is, a lot of players are getting screwed by the current system, but being sold a bill of goods by the union so all the dollars keep floating to the top.
I wouldn’t say they had nothing of substance to say. Their answers on more strictly baseball questions were enlightening. Finance, management, free agent and trade related questions leaned more into substance free talking points.
Reading the three articles referenced, it seems clear that there was a lot of frustration expressed at PiratesFest. I don't know how there couldn't have been, given the lack of progress in the past five years. Noah Hiles wrote that when Cherington and Shelton were on stage, " few punches were held when it came to addressing the team’s lack of success in recent years." I guess even in this setting, the frustration is evident.
Oh well, at least Travis Williams assured us fans that they "want to win"!
The "executing mentality" is what the fans have and not the executing that deals with making things happen! I read Stumpf as often as possible because he is a good writer. Maybe a MOTO hitter would get that catch phrase in motion - sort of money where your mouth is type of stuff!
Newbies Spencer Horwitz will start at 1B, Endy Rodriguez will alternate at C, and we will be a year into the best starting pitching EVER for the Pittsburgh Pirates. But we still have holes - the MI is "iffy" at best, does Ke'Bryan Hayes return with something that resembles his 2023 self, and can we find a power hitting RF to add to the lineup?
Ke'Bryan - 2023 EBH - 31 doubles/7 triples/15 HR; 2024 EBH - 9 doubles/0 triples/4 HR. 40 less EBH leading to about 35 less RBI. This is a huge need
RF - Spend the $20+ mil and act like a team that wants to do more than just coin cutesy sayings!
MI - Play for the now and the future. My MI would be IKF to start at SS. Peguero 24, starts at 2B, Yorke 23, also gets starts at 2B and Peguero also gets starts at SS. IKF traded at the deadline unless something very strange happens. Peguero/Yorke are the MI to finish 2025. Yorke is a key because we traded to get him so I guess BC wants him to play somewhere, and 2B is his natural position. Peguero played SS for the Pirates in 2023 (Cruz injured), fielded well for a 22 year old, and had 7 HR in less than 200 AB.
A 26 year old in 2025 with a .709 OPS on a part time basis. Yorke is 23 - let's take a shot that he is better. And, No. 1 from 2022, Termarr Johnson is going into his age 21 season at AA. NG could have a few takers now.
The stumpf article makes it sound like the players are drinking the kool-aid too. Cutch saying something like they could have won 15-30 more games, if it weren’t for some little things here and there. How many games did they win that they shouldn’t? Probably the same number. This is what separates good teams from bad, and if this is the level of analysis they are relying on to improve, then it’s gonna be a long year.
Interested on how many teams have academies in Africa. Is it just one for that massive continent? Would be cool if teams of entire cities (Rangers, Yankees, Giants, Knicks, ect) set up sports complexes there. Provide access to all sports. Could be a non profit thing. Just a random thought. They could set up running academies here.
Mutual friendships.
Speaking of Africa. This dude used to post on the old site. Little busy now.
I just wish we had an Owner, President, and Management team who is more concerned with the scoreboard at PNC Park, than the scoreboard Nutting’s Banker looks at.
Right! It's sad that this org. could be on the verge of something positive and yet we have an ownership that could care less and puppets at the top that peddle the same garbage when questioned.
Deep thoughts...
If Bubba Chandler sports a similar mustache and wins ROY... does Skenes and Chandler dress up as Dr. Evil and Mini Me for Halloween???
I’m not a doomer about the “inequity” or “lack of parity” in Major League Baseball but at this point I do believe the current era of the Los Angeles Dodgers is the best run and arguably most dominant organization in the modern game and things could start to get really skewed.
Still not sure dynasty’s can exist in today’s game but they’re sure gonna give it a shot.
I think the challenge is, when you have the Dodgers running like a combo evil empire/Rays like start up, it’s getting harder and harder to find competitive edges. Sure they are out there still, but if a small market team finds one the Dodgers are copying it and doing better eventually anyways. But things can also change quickly in baseball, perhaps the amount of money they have tied up in guys over 30 comes back to bite them.
It seems there are a couple teams still that don't even care about the luxury cap. Since that is the case, maybe they need to make they need to make the percentage even higher.... but also require the small market teams receiving that money to increase their spending.
Yeah this seems like a tale of two stories: 1.) an ineffective luxury tax, and 2.) an ineffective revenue sharing formula.
It's all bribe money, to get the Nuttins of the sport to look the other way while Manfred rigs everything to ensure as many NY/LA world series as possible.
I think they are certainly going to enter the post-season with a more fresh pitching staff then any wild card team they might be playing. With that kind of talent, they have the opportunity to rest their pitching staff more than other teams. In fact last year,the Dodger pitcher with the most innings only had 140, while they only had 2 pitchers with over 90. It reminds a little of how dominating NBA teams approach the regular season.
True, they excel at everything, not just spending money. Development, scouting in every area, including breaching new markets. Shit, a 6’7” kid from Sudan who already throws 95? In a way, that’s scarier than them getting Sasaki. What’s next?
Tanner Scott to the Dodgers for 4 years $72 million.
They are really reminding me of the early 2000s Yankees
I think it is worse than the Yankees because of the way they are bringing in international players. They didn't need money to bring in Sasaki. Yamamoto did the recruiting. I can see more star players from Japan choosing the Dodgers in the future. (I would personally like to see MLB follow a model similar to what the NBA does when it comes to international talent.)
20 million deferred.
It's their thing lol
We can only hope the Dodgers actions will cause the other large market owners to change their opinion of the economic system in the sport. Maybe there is a sliver of hope the next labor agreement will look different/better for us fans.
The big problem I see is, do small markets get left out in the cold for whichever system they design to replace the current one? It’s very possible a new system that constrains the Mets and Dodgers simply makes the Yankees more profitable, while still screwing small market fans. I’m thinking in terms of a more prohibitive luxury tax that acts as an even harder cap, but is still ridiculously high: say $300 million.
One out of leftfield idea is to break MLB into 2-3 leagues based on payroll and vary number of playoff teams based on league, with the higher payroll league(s) getting more spots. It's a little bit like what the Champions League is based on--the Premier League gets more spots than, say, the Dutch league.
For example, say league one has the top 10 teams in payroll and they get 6 spots in the postseason; league two has the next 10 highest teams and they get 4 spots; and league three has the 10 lowest payroll teams and only gets 2 spots. There would still be interleague play, and there could be the requirement that a team must have a winning record to make the postseason else their league's spot goes to one of the other leagues.
This incentivizes teams to spend more, which the union will like, while ensuring that low revenue/payroll teams get spots in the postseason.
I know it will never happen, I'm just filling time on a cold, gray afternoon.
And just for fun, if that system was in place this past year, the playoff teams would have been (in decreasing order of wins):
High payroll: Dodgers, Phillies, Yankees, Braves, Mets, Astros
Middle payroll: Padres, Diamondbacks, Mariners, Cardinals
Low payroll: Brewers and Guardians
The Orioles, Tigers, and Royals all get a bad deal as they had better records than the Mariners and Cardinals, but the union would just say those clubs should have spent more to, literally, increase their playoff odds.
Doubtful on the last point. The union likes the basics of the sport’s structure as much as the owners — all of them — do. The Dodgers are there to give out record contracts. The Pirates are there to give ML contracts and service time to veterans who belong in AAA. “Competitive balance” is for suckers.
Irony is, a lot of players are getting screwed by the current system, but being sold a bill of goods by the union so all the dollars keep floating to the top.
I think the agents, especially Borass, have way too much influence in the union.
So Moe, Larry and Curly did not have anything of substance to say. Who knew?
I wouldn’t say they had nothing of substance to say. Their answers on more strictly baseball questions were enlightening. Finance, management, free agent and trade related questions leaned more into substance free talking points.
Reading the three articles referenced, it seems clear that there was a lot of frustration expressed at PiratesFest. I don't know how there couldn't have been, given the lack of progress in the past five years. Noah Hiles wrote that when Cherington and Shelton were on stage, " few punches were held when it came to addressing the team’s lack of success in recent years." I guess even in this setting, the frustration is evident.
Oh well, at least Travis Williams assured us fans that they "want to win"!
AKA Travis the Who
The "executing mentality" is what the fans have and not the executing that deals with making things happen! I read Stumpf as often as possible because he is a good writer. Maybe a MOTO hitter would get that catch phrase in motion - sort of money where your mouth is type of stuff!
Newbies Spencer Horwitz will start at 1B, Endy Rodriguez will alternate at C, and we will be a year into the best starting pitching EVER for the Pittsburgh Pirates. But we still have holes - the MI is "iffy" at best, does Ke'Bryan Hayes return with something that resembles his 2023 self, and can we find a power hitting RF to add to the lineup?
Ke'Bryan - 2023 EBH - 31 doubles/7 triples/15 HR; 2024 EBH - 9 doubles/0 triples/4 HR. 40 less EBH leading to about 35 less RBI. This is a huge need
RF - Spend the $20+ mil and act like a team that wants to do more than just coin cutesy sayings!
MI - Play for the now and the future. My MI would be IKF to start at SS. Peguero 24, starts at 2B, Yorke 23, also gets starts at 2B and Peguero also gets starts at SS. IKF traded at the deadline unless something very strange happens. Peguero/Yorke are the MI to finish 2025. Yorke is a key because we traded to get him so I guess BC wants him to play somewhere, and 2B is his natural position. Peguero played SS for the Pirates in 2023 (Cruz injured), fielded well for a 22 year old, and had 7 HR in less than 200 AB.
And what about Nick Gonzo
A 26 year old in 2025 with a .709 OPS on a part time basis. Yorke is 23 - let's take a shot that he is better. And, No. 1 from 2022, Termarr Johnson is going into his age 21 season at AA. NG could have a few takers now.
The stumpf article makes it sound like the players are drinking the kool-aid too. Cutch saying something like they could have won 15-30 more games, if it weren’t for some little things here and there. How many games did they win that they shouldn’t? Probably the same number. This is what separates good teams from bad, and if this is the level of analysis they are relying on to improve, then it’s gonna be a long year.
Interested on how many teams have academies in Africa. Is it just one for that massive continent? Would be cool if teams of entire cities (Rangers, Yankees, Giants, Knicks, ect) set up sports complexes there. Provide access to all sports. Could be a non profit thing. Just a random thought. They could set up running academies here.
Mutual friendships.
Speaking of Africa. This dude used to post on the old site. Little busy now.
https://youtu.be/odANiAYhxJU?feature=shared
https://x.com/wrldbaseballdev/status/1758672129103471017
The pitcher from Sudan
https://x.com/gallegos_fam/status/1880780957042766104
Remind d me for some reason of this fella. But they are even taller.
https://www.google.com/search?gs_ssp=eJzj4tTP1TcwN8gryzZg9OJPSS3Pz1NIKkqsSs0pyc8DAHpLCV0&q=dewon+brazelton&oq=dewan+bra&gs_lcrp=EgZjaHJvbWUqCQgFEC4YChiABDIGCAAQRRg5MgkIARAAGAoYgAQyCQgCEAAYChiABDINCAMQLhivARjHARiABDIJCAQQABgKGIAEMgkIBRAuGAoYgAQyCAgGEAAYFhgeMgoIBxAAGAoYFhgeMgoICBAuGAoYFhgeMggICRAAGBYYHjIICAoQABgWGB4yCAgLEAAYFhgeMggIDBAAGBYYHjIICA0QABgWGB4yCAgOEAAYFhge0gEINDU3MWowajeoAhSwAgE&client=ms-android-tmus-us-rvc3&sourceid=chrome-mobile&ie=UTF-8#ebo=0
I like this, even if it is getting a jump on the "best shape of his life" theme (from Stumpf):
"Bednar -- who is noticeably trimmer -- is aiming for a big bounceback."
I just wish we had an Owner, President, and Management team who is more concerned with the scoreboard at PNC Park, than the scoreboard Nutting’s Banker looks at.
Right! It's sad that this org. could be on the verge of something positive and yet we have an ownership that could care less and puppets at the top that peddle the same garbage when questioned.
Any info on Mahoozi?
Ma who’s he?
He is a big fan of Shaboozey. Not yet old enough though to get tipsy at the bar.