Still Going

         I wished I could have gone with him.  Tony Sherry pulled up in front of my apartment a few minutes before six.  I had to catch a flight tonight, so I forked over both of my tickets.  As I handed him his tickets I could see all of his gear right next to him.  He reverted back to the Yankee t-shirt with “Go Yankees” written in Japanese with the Japanese flag on it.  He was pretty juiced for his boy to be back on the team and producing.  He didn’t get any hits tonight, which is unusual, as it might be the first game Tony has been to in which the Ferocious Lion didn’t do something huge.  I think it would probably be reasonable to expect him to take a bit of time to get going.  I know he came out yesterday blowing people’s doors off, but adrenaline and a little luck, with a dash of flair for the dramatic thrown in, will take you a long way.  And now Sheffield officially says he’s ready.  No rehab start, no nothing.  I don’t know how fair it was for the Trenton Thunder to have the Ferocious Lion in the lineup for the playoffs, but if he can do it, why can’t Sheffield get a few starts in as the Staten Island Yankees play in their playoff series?  Play him at first while you’re at it.  See what happens.

         People were calling me today telling me that Chris “Mad Dog” Russo, in a fit of sour grapes, was railing against the Yankees today on WFAN radio in New York; whining about how ridiculous it is that they now have a $10 million player at almost every position.  Yawn.  There are really two intertwined gripes in there.  I don’t put any stock in either of them.   The first is that the players make too much money.  The second is that the Yankees unfairly spend too much.  I’ll take each one separately.

          The players make too much.  One of Big Joe’s buddy’s was screaming about this the other day.  People scream about it all the time.  Okay.  Let’s say you pay them less.  Who do you think is going to pocket that money?  I’ll give you a hint.  Not you and me.  The revenue will be there for a team like the Yankees.  Robust ticket sales, merchandise, TV revenue, etc. will get you your profit.  And ticket prices, concession prices, parking, etc. are part of the free market.  The market will find the price level that it will bear.  People will pay the higher ticket prices that the Yankees and Red Sox command, because they want to see those teams play.  You can make Royals tickets as inexpensive as you want.  People don’t care.  So they don’t go.  Why would a team like the Yankees charge less than they could?  It wouldn’t make sense.  You could argue that they should charge less because your ordinary average Joe can’t go to a game anymore.  But I have news for you.  I go to games all the time, and there are plenty of average Joe’s.  And the Yankees are averaging 52,000 a game.  People are willing to pay to see that team play.  And bleacher seats are still really cheap, if cost is the primary driver for somebody.  So why is everyone so quick to say that the players make too much?  That’s who the fans are paying to see.  That’s who is driving all of that profit for the teams.  Why shouldn’t they get what they’re worth to the team?  How much revenue do you think Allie boy and Jeter make for the Yankees from people buying their jerseys and coming out to see them?  And if you’re not paying them, who keeps all of that revenue they generate?  The Boss, that’s who.  Still think they get paid too much?

         And the Yankees spend too much.  Yawn.  I’ve been down this road a few times in the BPS.  The Yankees have spent a considerable amount of money building their team and their brand.  And they’re reaping the rewards.  All of these other teams whine that they can’t spend the money the Yankees can.  Baloney.  The Boss isn’t even in the top half of the richest owners in baseball.  The other owners really whine because they can’t spend money and turn an immediate operating profit.  Nope.  I would say you can’t.  You have to address it like any other business.  Draw up a plan whereby you start spending, put a better product out there, and expect to lose money for five or so years.  If your team is consistently competitive, the fans will come out.  Ad that’s the only way they’ll consistently come out.  It’s been shown time and time again, in every sport.  Easier said than done, I know.  But doable.  The city of Boston is a tiny little city.  It’s a decent size TV market, admittedly, but not in the top 5 in the U.S.  Yet that team has built a brilliant brand.  And that was while being baseball’s ultimate losers! 

         Enough about that.  If things really get weird, we could clinch this weekend against the Sox.  Well, we did it last year on their turf, so I think this year it would be fitting for them to witness our AL East coronation in their least favorite place.  So close I can taste it…