The Good Times: Over?

In these tough times, everyone is cinching their belt. Even Chevrolet has been reduced to using a smarmy Howie Long to push their godforsaken cars, over and over again. Baseball teams are no different.

Close to half the teams in the league have cut back their payroll, according to USA Today.

The average salary saw a modest 4% increase, to $3.26 million. But even the New York Yankees and Boston Red Sox have cut payrolls, based on documents obtained by USA TODAY from the Major League Baseball Players Association, clubs and MLB’s central office. The Yankees still lead with a $201.4 million payroll, but despite committing $423.5 million on three new free agents, their payroll is down $8 million. The Red Sox lowered theirs by $12 million to $121.7 million, dropping them behind the Yankees, New York Mets ($149.3 million) and Chicago Cubs ($134.8 million).

This is why the accusations of collusion to cut veteran salaries were, in retrospect, funny. Ain’t nobody got money.

Source.

Rick Vaughn business, payroll, usa today

Jose Canseco's defensive woes could have impacted his net worth in the developing market.

Eric Neel has a great article on the developing world of defensive sabermetrics at ESPN. He details how GMs around the league are all warming up to run differential as a way of evaluating a player’s overall contribution to a team.

Neel drags out all the usual suspects: He mentions Bobby Abreu’s fear of padded walls, Derek Jeter’s range to his left and the giant hole in Adam Dunn’s glove. He also talks about how more front offices are adopting stats like WARP and UZR to determine how much they’re willing to spend on a player.

Of course, baseball is steeped in tradition, for better or worse, so this new renaissance of glove work is born less out of progress and more out of precedent, namely the 2008 Rays:

In 2007, Tampa Bay had one of the worst defenses in modern history; according to BP’s calculations, the fielders cost the pitchers 117 runs compared with a league-average defense. But a few smart moves turned it all around: switching B.J. Upton from second base to centerfield; trading Delmon Young, who had been playing some center; and establishing Jason Bartlett, acquired in the Young deal, as the starting shortstop. Then, two weeks into the season, Evan Longoria came up from the minors and solidified third base. The collective result was one of the best defensive teams in baseball, saving 59 runs in the field. The net turnaround, from –117 to +59, accounted for almost 20 wins.

It’s hard to argue with that.  I doubt baseball will start throwing record-breaking contracts at the Christian Guzmans of the world, but in an era where power numbers are in decline, teams will need to find new metrics to be successful.

Source.

Joe Blancato adam dunn, bobby abreu, christan guzman, derek jeter, eric neel, espn, statistcs

Pictured: Wall Street, Present Day

In perhaps an omen of things to come–all owners should kiss their teams goodnight and maybe linger in the doorway a little–two minor league baseball teams are ceasing operations. The Atlantic City Surf and the Ottawa Voyageurs of the Independent Can-Am league will be no more, says the AP.

Miles Wolff, the league’s commissioner, said Monday that a deal to sell the Surf last week fell through. Without strong ownership and the money to back it, Wolff says it made no sense to continue to operate the club.

“We are tremendously disappointed that the Can-Am League will not be in Ottawa and Atlantic City in 2009,” Wolff said. “These are two cities that we believe can be strong members. However, without solid ownership and the financial commitment behind these teams, it is in the best interest of the league to go with six clubs.”

While neither team seems to have been strong financially, as firm devotees of minor league baseball, we are tremendously sad to see two teams go, though one does have to wonder about the implications for the future of all baseball.

Source.

Rick Vaughn AP, business, minor leagues

"Brother, can you spare a dime? How about a pitcher?"

Every industry is suffering in the economy, especially those you might call discretionary. And baseball might not be in the best shape to weather the current depression.

The U.S. sports league faces a drop in attendance of 5 to 10 percent this year, while revenue generated by sales of tickets, food and souvenirs to fans, and suites and sponsorships to companies could also suffer, baseball officials said. It would mark the second straight year of lower turnout.

The first test of the recession’s impact is season-ticket sales, with many teams reporting lower numbers.

However, the extent of the impact remains to be seen. 2008 was one of the best seasons for baseball, but the economy crashed to earth like it was tied to a hundred anvils, and nobody has money anymore.

From my perspective, living in a three-sport town, baseball is the best value going, especially if you’re fortunate enough to have a minor league team or two kicking around. For a 50  bucks at my local MLB stadium, I can sit in the primo seats on the day of the game, as long as it’s not a huge team like the Yanks. By contrast, that puts me in the nosebleeds if I’m even able to go to a football game, hockey is pretty expensive once you get out of the drunken Canadian section, and basketball is similarly expensive if you actually want to see the action. Still, people are cutting back, and even a baseball game seems like a luxury when you don’t have a job.

Source.

Rick Vaughn business, reuters