Why do bad teams lose? It’s their own fault.
Last Saturday, the Pittsburgh Pirates lost to the New York Mets by the final score of 5-1. A few days later, the Baltimore Orioles lost 7-5 to the Chicago White Sox. Seemingly unrelated, these two losses represented the constant futility of these organizations. Each one was the 82nd loss for the team, guaranteeing the Pirates their 18th straight losing season and the Orioles’ 13th. The storied franchises have 8 World Series titles between them, including facing one another in both 1971 and 1979. Yet for over a decade, they have been rendered irrelevant. Many fans ask why. Many wonder how once proud franchises lose for nearly twenty consecutive years.
Often I hear fans of these teams suggest that MLB should institute a salary cap to insure smaller market teams cannot lose based solely on a relative dearth of financial resources compared to those of the Yankees and Mets. However, the blame often lies not on the competition, but on the management of the smaller franchises. Recently leaked documents have shown small market teams, such as the Pittsburgh Pirates, pocketing huge profits based on the MLB’s revenue-sharing policy related to its luxury tax. With a payroll of about $50 million, the Pirates still managed to book $15 million in profits in 2009. For a comparison, the New York Yankees’ payroll will be over $200 million in 2010, while the middle third of teams fall in the $70-100 million range. An unwillingness to spend money hinders teams more than the larger markets’ advantages. The MLB needs to install a salary “floor” making it necessary for teams to spend more money on payroll, especially if the owners of those struggling teams continue to make money off a city’s misery.
Success in the MLB has not been concentrated in only large markets. Many see the Yankees as the dominating force with unprecedented revenues and payrolls, yet they have won only two titles in the past decade. The Boston Red Sox have two championships as well, but smaller markets have notable success in baseball, due to smartly investing in player development and evaluation, using minor leagues and drafts to cultivate prospects. The Florida Marlins are regularly near the bottom of the league in payroll, but they still won the 2003 World Series against the Yankees. The Tampa Bay Rays have built a successful team without the finances of a New York or Chicago franchise, leading to a World Series appearance in 2008. The Minnesota Twins have faced threats of contraction and relocation due to a lack of financial viability, but they are well on their way to reaching the playoffs for the sixth time in nine years. These teams have spent money with a purpose, and still managed to piece together successful teams with smaller payrolls.
Meanwhile, the NFL may give the impression that every team has a chance in any given year. However, the same problems of futility exist even with a salary cap. The Detroit Lions and the Buffalo Bills have not made the playoffs since 1999. The Cincinnati Bengals have not won a playoff game in nearly twenty years. Poor ownership and management lead to a poor on-field product. Meanwhile, a level playing field for NFL owners and GMs has still turned some teams into consistently successful without the financial advantages of MLB powerhouses. The Patriots won three Super Bowls this decade with a salary cap, more championships than any MLB team can boast. The Colts have made the playoffs for eight straight seasons. No MLB team has an active streak of more than three playoff appearances.
A salary cap does not guarantee league-wide parity and competitive teams. Ownership and management are ultimately responsible for the product based on their willingness to spend money (and spend it wisely) rather than focus on turning a profit. Teams such as the Minnesota Twins have shown that small market teams can thrive by shrewdly evaluating talent and spending money accordingly within their limited budget. The fans of the Pittsburgh Pirates and Baltimore Orioles need to be storming their front office demanding ownership change their business formula. Otherwise, next year will only mark one more in a never-ending string of losing. And they will only have themselves to blame.
MLB Power Rankings: Week of August 23rd
1. New York Yankees (77-48): After a couple of weeks of mediocre baseball, the Yankees picked it up last week, winning five of seven from the Tigers and Mariners. The Bronx Bombers share baseball’s best record with the Tampa Bay Rays in a dead heat for the AL East title. Still, the Yanks are comfortably in the playoffs, but major concerns loom over the rest of the season. The back end of the rotation has been shaky, with A.J. Burnett and Javier Vasquez combining for a 0-5 record and an ERA of 6.85 in the month of August. With C.C. Sabathia and Phil Hughes pitching well at the top of the rotation, the Yankees could really benefit from the return of Andy Pettite to serve as the third starter in the playoffs. Pettite is recovering from a strained left groin, and is expected to return in September.
2. Tampa Bay Rays (77-48): Last week, the Rays swept the Rangers in a potential playoff match-up, then split a four-game set in Oakland. This week, the Rays continue their West Coast trip with a three-game series in Anaheim, where they took two of three from the Angels back in May. The Rays will look to improve their major league best 37-24 road record. After returning home, the Rays will host the Red Sox in a weekend series, as they try to protect their 5.5 game lead in the Wild Card over Boston.
3. San Diego Padres (74-49): The Padres return home this week after a crucial ten-game road trip, going 7-3, including a key series victory over division rival San Francisco Giants. This week, the Padres will take on the last-place Diamondbacks and then the surging and recently healthy Philadelphia Phillies. The key to the Padres’ success continues to be their pitching, led by Cy Young candidate Mat Latos (13-5, 2.33 ERA, 144Ks). The Padres lead the majors with only 423 runs allowed; meanwhile, no other team has allowed less than 460.
4. Minnesota Twins (72-53): Two weeks ago, the Minnesota Twins were .5 behind the White Sox in the AL Central. After four consecutive series victories, including two against Chicago, the Twins now lead the White Sox by 4.5 games. Now, Minnesota travels out west to face the AL West leading Texas Rangers and last-place Seattle Mariners. Against the AL West, the Twins have had success this year, compiling a combined record of 17-6, including a 3-0 record against the Rangers.
5. Atlanta Braves (73-52): The Braves have a 2.5 game lead in the NL East, thanks in large part to a fantastic August. In this month, Atlanta has won all six of their series so far, amassing a 14-7 record. The Braves will look to continue that success as they travel to Denver for a three-game set against the Rockies, then they host the Marlins in a weekend series. The Braves are poised to make the playoffs for the first time since 2005 because of their superb pitching. Atlanta is 3rd in the NL in team ERA (3.43) and 2nd in the NL in opponent’s batting average (.244).
6. Cincinnati Reds (72-52): The Reds have won eight of their last ten games to stretch their division lead to 2.5 games over the St. Louis Cardinals. Only twelve days ago, the Reds looked overmatched as the Cards swept the Reds in Cincinnati, as tempers flared and players brawled at the Great American Ballpark. Yet, the Reds bounced back to sweep the Marlins and Diamondbacks. Now, the Reds travel to San Francisco hoping to push towards a NL Central title and their first playoff appearance since 1995.
7. Texas Rangers (70-54): The Rangers continued their struggles with the AL East, going 5-7 in their last 12 games, including being swept in Tampa Bay and only splitting a four-game series with the lowly Orioles. Even with those woes, Texas enjoys the largest division lead in baseball with a comfortable 8.5 game lead over the Oakland Athletics. The AL West title seems locked up, but the Rangers will be looking for something else new: playoff success. The Texas Rangers franchise (including their years as the Washington Senators) has only reached the playoffs three times. In those previous three appearances, Texas won only one game, losing all three series to the New York Yankees. And if the season ended now, the Rangers would be matched up with…yeah, you guessed it, New York.
8. Philadelphia Phillies (70-54): The month of August has been very kind to the Philadelphia Phillies. The Phils have won all six of their series and winning a total of 14 of their 20 games. Not only have the Phillies won, but they have done so without their star players. Ryan Howard just returned after missing the first 16 games of August, Shane Victorino missed the first 9 games of August, and Chase Utley played for the first time since June when he returned to the field on August 17th. Now that the Phillies are healthy, they have a real chance to challenge the Braves for the NL East title. Currently, they remain 2.5 games behind, but let’s not forget this is the two-time defending NL champs. They lost Cliff Lee, but the additions of the Roys, Halladay and Oswalt, have made Philly a force to be reckoned with, come playoff time.
9. St. Louis Cardinals (68-54): After sweeping the Reds and seemingly taking control of the NL Central, the Cardinals have given back several games to the surprise challengers and find themselves 2.5 games behind. St. Louis trails Philadelphia by only 1 game for the NL Wild Card, and a trip to a couple of last-place teams should help the Cards challenge for a playoff berth of their own. First, St. Louis makes the trip to Pittsburgh against the major-league worst Pirates, then to our nation’s capital to face the NL East’s last-place Washington Nationals. The Cardinals have a combined record of 8-1 against the Nats and Buccos.
10. Boston Red Sox (72-54): The Red Sox’s bad luck has seemingly doomed their season, yet Boston continues to win without their star players. Unlike the Phillies, the Red Sox have not gotten these players back. Dustin Pedroia, who won the 2008 AL MVP, has played only two games since June. Their captain Jason Varitek has not played since June 30th. Kevin Youkilis, perhaps Boston’s best hitter, went on the disabled list on August 3rd and plans to have season-ending surgery for a thumb injury. Young speedster Jacoby Ellsbury may miss the rest of the season with a rib injury. The Red Sox always have a chance, but a 5.5 game deficit may be too much for a depleted Boston team to overcome against formidable division rivals New York and Tampa Bay.
On deck: San Francisco Giants
In the hole: Chicago White Sox
Soccer Fever – Could it stick!?!?!
It was pretty rough to spend an entire month completely surrounded by the sights and sounds (BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ) of theWorld Cup and not get swept up in the “this is the year that soccer will be here to stay” hype that happens every four years. But I held out. I wanted to see how well it’d stick when America’s heart rate got back down after Donovan’s late winner against Algeria, and after the tears dried up after that heartbreaking exit to Ghana.
I must admit, I’ve been pretty pessimistic about soccer sticking in American culture for some time now. It’s not how we work. We can barely watch TV shows without DVR anymore, because the two minutes of commercials is too much of a break from the action we’ve come to need from our televisioning experience. So how can we be expected to watch 90+ minutes of soccer. Yes, soccer, that sport where any team has a chance, so long as you play 100% defensively and hope for a miracle (2010 Switzerland et al. v Spain). That boring ol’ game. It’s just unrealistic.
But if New Meadowlands stadium had a vote in this, it’d say that soccer is here to stay! Oodles of fans, and 11 unlucky American soccer players packed the not-yet finished stadium to watch Brazil put on a clinic. And if you think it still might be a quick remission from World Cup Fever, I suggest you start taking a look at the side stories that ESPN is running on their website.
Sure, Lebron and Favre will always produce enough news to keep an entire newspaper staff busy, and they’re always going to take the front page story, but have you noticed that you can now find news reports and opinion articles about the goings-on of some of Europe’s best leagues? Every once in a while, headlines will pop up – “Fabregas to Barcelona?”, “Robinho wants out of Man City”, “Liverpool resign Torres” “Fabregas to Barcelona? The saga continues”, “Mourinho eyes treble in Spain”. Now, I don’t know how much of this is driven by actual fan support, or how much of it is ESPN trying to impose its will upon America, trying to make some money by tapping into what can be a very very large market for them. But the fact remains, soccer isn’t fading away so slowly just yet.
And MLS seems to be picking up some steam. I recently saw a Real Salt Lake game against Philadelphia Union – on TV. Now that would never have happened in years past. First, the game wouldn’t have even been on TV. And also, as a self-respecting soccer fan, I wouldn’t have been able to watch the crappy MLS teams perform the comedy of errors that I’ve grown to so fondly associate with MLS. But I did it. Yeah, I’ll admit, its not the same as watching Man U face Chelsea, but it wasn’t all too bad. Better yet, the fans seemed to be LOVING it. Over the microphones you could hear the swell of emotion as a team was nearing the goal, the jeers at the ref for blowing a call, and the pure orgy of excitement when a goal was scored. People weren’t just watching – they were caring! It wasn’t a soccer game – it was a soccer experience.
I guess only time will tell, but from what I’ve been able to see, I think soccer is making deeper and deeper inroads in American culture. People know and care about what the UEFA Champions League is. People watch the Euro competition and the Confederations Cup now, not just the World Cup and a Premier League game or two every once in a while. You don’t ‘follow sports’ without having something to say about soccer; without having seen a game or two recently.
People are starting to ask better soccer questions. No longer are people watching games and asking, “why didn’t he shoot?”, “can’t he just score it?”, or “isn’t there basketball on?”. People ask questions that are actually worth asking. “Why did they start Ricardo Clark instead of Fielhaber?”, “Why do our defenders just boot it up, haven’t they heard of possession?” etc.
Now that we’ve got a strong(er) fan base – Americans made up the majority of the travelers to South Africa this summer – it seems there’s only one thing left to do: win something. That’s what will glamorize soccer and really catch the nation’s attention, and capture its imagination.
“No way, nobody will ever care!” Really? Lets take a look at an example that’s a bit of a gamble for me, but that I think makes a decent example… hockey. Following “The Miracle on Ice”, hockey became a mainstream sport for a good while. I remember growing up (in South Florida, mind you) playing hockey on the street with the neighborhood kids. This was all part of the aftermath of that resulted from Team USA’s historic win over the Soviet Union and eventual Gold in the Winter Olympics of 1980. Unfortunately for hockey the bureaucracy and the NHL falling apart ruined their hot streak. But they’re getting back on track and things are looking good again.
This sort of thing can happen with soccer. If we knock off a superpower (Spain, Brazil, the Netherlands) and actually win something big, we can make sure soccer stays. Then we can start thinking about the scenarios in which the sheer athletic talent we produce in this country can turn to soccer. People have long asked, “Could you imagine if Lebron or Adrian Peterson played soccer?!” But only after a big win can we start asking, “Why did Reggie Bush pick football instead of futbol?”
Soccer’s day is finally here, now we need someone to carpe this diem…
MLB Power Rankings: Week of August 9th
1. New York Yankees (69-41): The defending champs lead the tough AL East by 2.5 games over the Rays. Phil Hughes will try to continue his good year (13-4, 3.96 ERA) and secure a series victory against the Red Sox. The Yanks will travel to Texas for a two-game series against the division-leading Rangers, before heading off to Kansas City for another four against the Royals. The lineup is healthy and swinging the bats well with a ML-leading 591 runs scored.
2. Tampa Bay Rays (67-44): A five-game losing streak has the Rays 2.5 games behind the Yankees, but still 4.5 games ahead of the Twins and Red Sox for the AL Wild Card. The Rays’ offense is potent (3rd in ML with 555 runs), but streaky. On Sunday, they were almost no-hit for the 3rd time this season. A trip to Detroit to face the banged-up Tigers, followed by a home series against the Orioles, should help the Rays right the ship. The Rays swept a four-game set against the Tigers at the end of July, and they have won seven of nine against the O’s.
3. Texas Rangers (64-47): With a seven game lead in the AL West, the Rangers are cruising to a division title and a playoff berth. After a nine-game road trip, the Ballpark at Arlington will be a most pleasant sight for the Rangers. Texas has a solid 36-21 record at home, with the Yanks and Red Sox coming to visit this week. However, Texas has struggled against the AL East with a combined record of 9-16. Something’s gotta give.
4. Cincinnati Reds (64-48): Leading St. Louis by two games in the NL Central, the Reds prepare for a showdown in Cincinnati as the Cards come into town. The Reds are playing very well, having won 15 of their 22 games since the All-Star break. Thanks to ace Johnny Cueto and rookie surprises Mike Leake and Travis Wood, as well as an offense that leads in the NL in runs scored, Cincinnati is a legitimate contender. Ochocinco and T.O. need to watch out; the Reds could steal the show by October.
5. San Diego Padres (64-46): There is a lot to like about the Padres, considering they have the best record in the NL. They lead the majors with the fewest runs allowed (382) and the best run differential in the NL (+98). However, their offense is anemic, scoring only 480 runs (20th in the majors). The Pirates come into San Diego for a three-game set, before the Padres head off for a crucial ten-game road trip, including a weekend series in San Francisco to face the second-place Giants who only trail by 2 games.
6. Atlanta Braves (64-47): The Braves lead the Phillies by 2 games in the NL East, after taking three of four from the Giants over the weekend. The Braves have the best home record in baseball at 39-15, but have struggled mightily away from Turner Field at 25-32. They are the only division leader with a sub-.500 road record, and it begs the question of whether they can win on the road in the playoffs. This week, the Braves make a quick trip to Houston before returning home for a series against the Dodgers.
7. Minnesota Twins (63-49): The Twins trail the White Sox by .5 games in the AL Central, but that could all change in the next two weeks. Six of the Twins’ next nine games come against the White Sox, including a match-up at U.S. Cellular Field in Chicago starting tomorrow. I put the Twins ahead of the White Sox for two main reasons: they are playing well even without one of their best hitters, former AL MVP Justin Morneau, and second, the Twins have a significantly better run differential (+97 compared to only +60 for Chicago).
8. San Francisco Giants (63-49): The Giants trail the Padres by 2 games, but still lead the NL Wild Card by half a game over the Phillies. Dropping three of four against the Braves didn’t help their cause, but they return home with a golden opportunity to improve their chances. First, a four-game series against the struggling Chicago Cubs, who have just one win in their last twelve games. Then, a weekend series against the NL West leaders, as the Padres travel up the coast for three games. San Francisco is second in the majors in fewest runs allowed with 405 runs, trailing only the Padres.
9. Chicago White Sox (63-48): The White Sox lead the Twins by just .5 games in the AL Central, and that lead could be in serious jeopardy. Chicago has dropped two of three to the resurgent Orioles, and they will look to salvage a series split when their newest acquisition Edwin Jackson takes the mound tonight in Baltimore. The White Sox will return home for a crucial series against the Twins, and then they will face off against division rival Detroit Tigers over the weekend. Chicago drops to ninth in my rankings because of a poor performance in Baltimore, and more importantly, they have the worst run differential of any division leader at +60 runs.
10. Philadelphia Phillies (62-49): Two games back of Atlanta in the NL East, and .5 games behind the Giants for the NL Wild Card spot, the Phillies have been making a strong run for a playoff berth over the past few weeks. Despite injuries to Chase Utley, Ryan Howard and Shane Victorino, the Phillies have won 14 of their last 17 games to rise up the standings. The Dodgers come into town for three games starting Tuesday, then a quick drive up to Citi Field to face the New York Mets over the weekend. If the Phils can get back Utley, Howard and Victorino, look for them to challenge the Braves for the NL East title.
On deck: St. Louis Cardinals
In the hole: Boston Red Sox