The MLB Thread

Red Sox sign Moncada.  $30m range…

EDIT: Boston offer was $31.5, Yankees were at $25m. With luxury tax,  Boston will fork out $63m for a middle infielder.

2014 Average Ticket Prices

1. Boston Red Sox $141.59
2. New York Yankees $139.41

Box Office Price - 2014

1. Boston $52.32
2. New York $51.55

ML Avg - $27.83

Shemp wrote:
2014 Average Ticket Prices

1. Boston Red Sox $141.59
2. New York Yankees $139.41

The two most popular teams in the league have the highest average ticket prices on the secondary market? I'm stunned by this turn of events.

Julian, wrote:

Shemp wrote:
2014 Average Ticket Prices

1. Boston Red Sox $141.59
2. New York Yankees $139.41

The two most popular teams in the league have the highest average ticket prices on the secondary market? I'm stunned by this turn of events.

and that's why their annoying fans are present in such large numbers at Camden Yards


do the Nats play either team this year?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/sports/wp/2015/02/23/red-sox-sign-cuban-yoan-moncada-with-bonus-that-exposes-inequity-in-mlb-structure/?tid=pm_sports_pop

'Had Moncada been raised in America, he could not have hoped to sign for even a third of that bonus.

Large-market teams have shown they will pile money on top of money to acquire high-level talent. But they will not part with draft choices on top of money, because draft choices are simply too valuable. On the international market, teams are willing to spend big and forfeit their ability to sign international players for a year for the right talent.'

CA Seeks to Ban All Tobacco Products at Ball Parks in CA. Even for the players…

vansmack wrote:
CA Seeks to Ban All Tobacco Products at Ball Parks in CA. Even for the players…

its just inevitable….

i gotta say i'm amazed at some of the change i've seen in my lifetime

i can remember riding on planes as a child and having trouble breathing due to second hand smoke which was everywhere..it was like first hand smoke!

i can remember having debates in college in the early 90s where people took seriously the idea there was something wrong with being gay….

i can remember being in my late teens when the first black governor was elected.. and it was a big deal…..

hutch wrote:

vansmack wrote:
CA Seeks to Ban All Tobacco Products at Ball Parks in CA. Even for the players…

its just inevitable….

i gotta say i'm amazed at some of the change i've seen in my lifetime

i can remember riding on planes as a child and having trouble breathing due to second hand smoke which was everywhere..it was like first hand smoke!

i can remember having debates in college in the early 90s where people took seriously the idea there was something wrong with being gay….

i can remember being in my late teens when the first black governor was elected.. and it was a big deal…..

Tell us what life was like before color TV, grandpa!

ggw wrote:

hutch wrote:

vansmack wrote:
CA Seeks to Ban All Tobacco Products at Ball Parks in CA. Even for the players…

its just inevitable….

i gotta say i'm amazed at some of the change i've seen in my lifetime

i can remember riding on planes as a child and having trouble breathing due to second hand smoke which was everywhere..it was like first hand smoke!

i can remember having debates in college in the early 90s where people took seriously the idea there was something wrong with being gay….

i can remember being in my late teens when the first black governor was elected.. and it was a big deal…..

Tell us what life was like before color TV, grandpa!

well as a matter of fact as a child i spent time in Argentina and Romania and they did not have color TV……..it was rough…. what else is there to say?

Grandpa though?

that's hard..given my kids are 5 and 2.

Josh Hamilton meeting with MLB on disciplinary issue.  Angels bracing for a penalty.

vansmack wrote:
Josh Hamilton meeting with MLB on disciplinary issue.  Angels bracing for a penalty.

Off the wagon or PEDs?

this is why i'm having trouble with baseball (although I can't wait for it to start)… its hard to tell who is doing what and when and what is real.. just make it all legal and end the charade…..the last straw was hearing that MLB allows some players to use adderall (sic) which is apparently a big help and doesn't allow others…. WTF…. all i ask for is a level playing field….


i have always suspected Hamilton is a fake….

FORT MYERS, Fla. – Boston Red Sox CEO Larry Lucchino, who has repeatedly mocked the New York Yankees for their spending, on Wednesday rejected a suggestion that his team has become "Yankee-like" in how it operates.

Lucchino called the Yankees a "different flavor of ice cream" after New York spent nearly $500 million in player acquisitions – including former Red Sox outfielder Jacoby Ellsbury, catcher Brian McCann and Japanese pitcher Masahiro Tanaka – after the Red Sox won the World Series in 2013.

"We're very different animals, and I'm proud of that difference. I always cringe when people lump us together with other baseball teams," Lucchino said in February 2014. "They are still … relying heavily on their inimitable old-fashioned Yankee style of high-priced, long-term free agents. I can't say I wish them well, but I think we have taken a different approach."

Wednesday, Lucchino was asked whether there was really any difference in bottom-line spending among the Yankees, Red Sox and the Dodgers.

"Yeah, I think so," he said. "Have been historically."

http://espn.go.com/boston/mlb/story/_/id/12380535/ceo-larry-lucchino-says-boston-red-sox-not-new-york-yankees-comes-spending

http://www.sfgate.com/giants/article/Giants-GM-Sabean-talks-Moncada-payroll-spending-6097453.php

"In one of Sabean's more interesting comments, he offered a bit more insight into why he does not pursue more of the high-ticket free agents.

"To entice a free agent to come to San Francisco, we're almost in an overpay situation, so why get involved in all those battles where you're not going to be able to go up the totem pole money-wise?" Sabean said.
When asked to elaborate on why the Giants have to overpay, Sabean said, "You've got the state of California taxes. (San Francisco) is a long way from where some of these guys live in the offseason. It's not a hitters' ballpark, so you can scratch that side of the fence. It takes the right pitcher to consider wanting to come there for a number of different reasons, some of them I just mentioned, even if it's a pitchers' ballpark in a pitchers' division."

Asked if the high California income tax has been a problem for a while, Sabean said, "To a certain extent. Things now are getting more and more about the signing bonus, more and more about your take-home. Exponentially, when you get involved in some of those numbers, it makes a sizable difference to some.""

Neither the Dodgers, Angels and even the Padres this year seem to have any problems attracting and signing free agents.  And considering the Giants have won 3 of the last 5 World Series, I think it's fair to say that he's just making excuses.  It's not like he hasn't had opportunities to leave and passed on every one of them to stay in the horrible state of CA.

If he really hated the taxes he would have left years ago.  Would you like some whine with that cheese?

vansmack wrote:
Josh Hamilton meeting with MLB on disciplinary issue.  Angels bracing for a penalty.

'at least cocaine'

http://deadspin.com/report-josh-hamilton-had-relapse-that-involved-at-lea-1688108614

Shemp wrote:
'at least cocaine'

All I read is "salary savings"….

vansmack wrote:
Neither the Dodgers, Angels and even the Padres this year seem to have any problems attracting and signing free agents.  And considering the Giants have won 3 of the last 5 World Series, I think it's fair to say that he's just making excuses.  It's not like he hasn't had opportunities to leave and passed on every one of them to stay in the horrible state of CA.

If he really hated the taxes he would have left years ago.  Would you like some whine with that cheese?

I think Sabean is just saying that in order to participate in the market, their budget needs to reflect the reality of being in California, and so far, management has decided to not do so.  The Angels and Dodgers certainly have the budgets and finances to deal with the tax situation, and the Padres decided to do it this year.  The Giants have a philosophy that, as you have noted, has resulted in 3 championships in 5 years.  So, something seems to be working.

hutch wrote:
i have always suspected Hamilton is a fake….

fake what? do you think he's actually a woman or something?