[But Epstein] doesn't walk on water, ... He's certainly not infallible, and the Red Sox still have a bright future without him. |
Attorneys General in various states looking to get baseball or keep teams would sue baseball on grounds that they're a monopoly and restricting output, |
Baseball does have some slack here. When they were losing $20 million a year in Montreal, there was some pressure to get rid of it. But as long as they are [profitable] in Washington, there is less pressure. They've got eight bona fide $450 million offers to buy the team, and those offers aren't going to go away soon. |
Both sides go the bargaining table holding cards quite close to the chest and bluffing like crazy, |
But in terms of the competitive balance, that's very problematic. It's not likely it's going to have any significant effect at all. We still have a highly significant correlation between payroll and performance. That's really all we're talking about. |
Everybody got excited in 1997 and then they got smacked in the face, ... They won't go back for another round when that happens. ... If every time you went to McDonald's there was someone there who threw water in your face, you wouldn't go back, either. |
He was able, in short ... to bring the owners together as partners in a way that has never been done before in baseball. |
He's innovated baseball management. He's shown the way to exploit a big city market by spending heavily on players, |
He's innovated baseball management. He's shown the way to exploit a big city market by spending heavily on players. |
Historically, it's not uncommon for a Super Bowl ticket to go for several thousand dollars. There are some rich people who wouldn't think twice about spending that kind of money. |
I don't believe that that's correct at all, |
I don't think baseball can abandon the Miami market. If MLB does let that market go vacant, I think it'll be one of the biggest mistakes they ever made. |
I don't think contraction is a viable option. |
I don't think it's going to happen, and I don't think baseball wants it to happen. I think baseball would be inviting congressional ? possibly severe congressional ? response to it. They also would have to negotiate the effects of contraction with the players union. |
I think at the end of the day, the two sides are very reluctant to push this to the brink or over the brink. It just makes no sense. But until you get to the brink, there is going to be jockeying and posturing. |