WARNING!! Annual Off-Topic Baseball Thread. Esteemed Members BEWARE!!

[Dan_ref]

Originally Posted by ChuckElias

So they would love to win a World Series, but their chances are so slim (due in large part to their own choices, admittedly) that they gauge a successful season by a lesser standard.

Well, not to beat this dead horse too much further but they obviously would not LOVE to win the WS. If they would LOVE to win the WS they would invest to do so. What they do LOVE to do, apparently, is to focus on eliminating as much expense out of their business as possible by limiting payroll.

I'm merely suggesting that King George recognize that his chances of winning a World Series are also slim (although greater than KC's, obviously) and so set a secondary -- more realistic -- goal, such as making the playoffs, by which to gauge the success of the season.

I guess you can send King George a check to take an ownership stake and then your opinion of what his business goals should & shouldn't be will have some value.

[M&M Guy]

Originally Posted by Dan_ref

Well, not to beat this dead horse too much further but they obviously would not LOVE to win the WS. If they would LOVE to win the WS they would invest to do so. What they do LOVE to do, apparently, is to focus on eliminating as much expense out of their business as possible by limiting payroll.

I guess you can send King George a check to take an ownership stake and then your opinion of what his business goals should & shouldn't be will have some value.

Looking at from a strictly business standpoint, if I'm going to write my check for my stake in the Yankee franchise, I'm happy with how things ended up this year. How much extra would have ended up on the 2006 bottom line if the Yankess had gone on and won the World Series? Possibly the revenue from 5 or 6 more home games? Over the course of a 81-game home season, that's not much. Will the franchise now be worth less overall because they didn't win this year? Not really. Would the franchise be worth more if they had won the WS this year? Over the long term, not really. Will the television revenue go down next year because they didn't win? Nope. Did the team get less publicity because they didn't win? Uh, nope. Will the sales of Yankee merchandise go down because they didn't advance past the first round? Most likely not.

Sucess is a part of the value of a franchise, but not the whole. All I have to do is say "Cubs". You can't say they have a valuable franchise because of all the winning. There are many other factors that go into a good business. George is passionate about his business, and that's good. But it appears as though he might be too emotionally wrapped up in it, which is bad from a business standpoint. You have to be a little detached to make the right decisions. How much of going after A-Rod had to do with emotionally sticking it to Boston, as opposed to just making the right personnel move for the team? So coming out and saying that the team was a "sad failure" so soon smacks of emotion, not sound business thinking. I haven't heard about all the bad managerial decisions Torre made, so why is his job supposdly in jeopardy?

[Jurassic Referee]

M, the basic difference is that Steinbrenner puts the bulk of his profits back into his team; the Cubs don't. I wouldn't be surprised if the Cubs actually netted more each year than the Yankees, if someone could ever nail their accountants down and get an accurate figure.

[Dan_ref]

Originally Posted by M&M Guy

So coming out and saying that the team was a "sad failure" so soon smacks of emotion, not sound business thinking. I haven't heard about all the bad managerial decisions Torre made, so why is his job supposdly in jeopardy?

We're talking about an owner who once got into a fist fight in an elevator after a WS loss. Just saying it was "a sad failure" shows quite a bit of restraint & maturity.

[rockyroad]

Originally Posted by Dan_ref

We're talking about an owner who once got into a fist fight in an elevator after a WS loss. Just saying it was "a sad failure" shows quite a bit of restraint & maturity.

Yeah, but wasn't that fight with Billy Martin? That doesn't really count as a fight. does it? More of a slap-fest...

[Dan_ref]

Originally Posted by rockyroad

Yeah, but wasn't that fight with Billy Martin? That doesn't really count as a fight. does it? More of a slap-fest...

Nope

1981 World Series
During the 1981 World Series, Steinbrenner provided a colorful backdrop to the Yankees' loss of the series. After a Game 3 loss in Los Angeles, Steinbrenner called a press conference in his hotel room, showing off his left hand in a cast and various other injuries that he claimed was earned in a fight with two Dodgers fans in the hotel elevator. Nobody came forward about the fight, leading most to believe that he had made up the story of the fight in order to light a fire under the Yankees. Additionally, after the series, Steinbrenner publicly apologized to Yankee fans for the team's defeat.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Steinbrenner

[rockyroad]

Originally Posted by Dan_ref

Nope

1981 World Series
During the 1981 World Series, Steinbrenner provided a colorful backdrop to the Yankees' loss of the series. After a Game 3 loss in Los Angeles, Steinbrenner called a press conference in his hotel room, showing off his left hand in a cast and various other injuries that he claimed was earned in a fight with two Dodgers fans in the hotel elevator. Nobody came forward about the fight, leading most to believe that he had made up the story of the fight in order to light a fire under the Yankees. Additionally, after the series, Steinbrenner publicly apologized to Yankee fans for the team's defeat.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Steinbrenner

Oh, 1981...I was like two years old then!

[mick]

Torre is workin' the same dugout.

[M&M Guy]

Originally Posted by Jurassic Referee

M, the basic difference is that Steinbrenner puts the bulk of his profits back into his team; the Cubs don't. I wouldn't be surprised if the Cubs actually netted more each year than the Yankees, if someone could ever nail their accountants down and get an accurate figure.

I believe the Cubs are owned by the Tribune Co., so it would be hard to find statements on just the Cubs franchise. But I would bet there's a lot of inter-connected businesses with the Yankees, just as there are with the Cubs. The Cub radio broadcasts have always been on WGN in Chicago. WGN, by the way, stands for "World's Greatest Newspaper", because it's also owned by the Tribune Co. Isn't the YES network owned somehow by the Yankees as well?

Anyway, that's part of my point - if George wasn't so emotional, maybe the Yankees would actually be more successful, both as a team and as a business. If he could find a way to be just as successful on the field, with a MN/DET/OAK - type payroll, his bottom line would be that much better.

[tjones1]

Originally Posted by mick

Torre is workin' the same dugout.

I saw the press conference, it was at a far distance, and I was wondering if he got canned. Finally, I was able to go closer and saw the headline was reading he will return -- as he should, IMO.

[M&M Guy]

Ok, I just heard another Chuck-type factoid - do you know what happened last night that has never happened in the history of post-season baseball?

It was the bottom of the fourth or fifth inning, and Oakland had runners on 2nd and 3rd with no one out. Robertson then proceeded to strike out the side. Apparently that's the first time in major league post-season history that the side had been struck out with runners in scoring position.

[ChuckElias]

Originally Posted by M&M Guy

Robertson then proceeded to strike out the side. Apparently that's the first time in major league post-season history that the side had been struck out with runners in scoring position.

I remember that he did it. I even said out loud that he'd struck out the side. Didn't realize it was a first. Leyland came to the mound after the second hitter reached base. After the 3rd K, the announcer said, "Man, I wonder what Leyland said to him out there!"

[M&M Guy]

Originally Posted by ChuckElias

I remember that he did it. I even said out loud that he'd struck out the side. Didn't realize it was a first. Leyland came to the mound after the second hitter reached base. After the 3rd K, the announcer said, "Man, I wonder what Leyland said to him out there!"

I heard a post-game interview with Leyland where he was asked that, and all he said to Robertson was "to basically ignore the runners on base and just make your pitches. If you try to pitch too carefully, you'll give up the big inning, but if you just concentrate on the hitters, the worst that could happen is two runs score, and we're still ahead."

Sounded like he knew what he was talking about.

[Dan_ref]

Cory Lidle dead in aircrash

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/10/11/plane.crash/index.html

[M&M Guy]

Originally Posted by Dan_ref

Cory Lidle dead in aircrash

http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/10/11/plane.crash/index.html

Wow.

That's all N.Y. needs.