I hope the Yankee accountants are sharpening their pencils. What would MLB do to the Yankees if after paying their player salaries and other baseball related expenses, they did not have enough positive cash flow to pay the payroll tax?
Of course, it's not like Santana alone costs the Yankees that money with nothing to show for it. If they sign Rowand or Jones, they would be expecting performance commensurate with the contract they received.
Actually, I was wrong. I just looked into it. What would actually happen is they would be forced to lower their payroll, basically. I have no idea what the penalties are for being in violation of the rule however.
Haha. Why is this even being discussed? Don't you know how much money the Yankees really make? Or how much more they will make when the new stadium opens?
Thats what my point was. The Yankees make soooooo much money that spending 250 million on payroll is nothing really.
It's being discussed because someone asked what would happen if the Yankees ran out of money. And because of the way the 60-40 rule is calculated, the Yankees are actually very close to, if not over, the limit. http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/news/story?id=2247401 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61959-2005Feb3_3.html And that was when the Rangers still had Arod's contract on their books completely.
I can't really imagine that happening with or without Santana. To get back to Santana, I don't think he's going to the Yankees...I couldn't imagine Minny giving him up without getting either Hughes and Joba as part of a package in return. And the rest of that package would have to be pretty stellar as well. At gunpoint, I'd say he stays.
Well, you really have to look at those numbers in detail. Of course, that's impossible because MLB books are not open but you can bet they didn't lose a cent. Remember, players can be depreciated. The money from YES is not included but could be if they wanted and that is huge. When they move into the new stadium that will also be depreciated and they will accelerate the repayment of the bonds they floated to make the bottom line look even worse even though the income will be an extra 100 million a year minimum. The Yankees have very good financial people. I'm sure they are well aware of what they can and cannot do. Oh, and Arod was a Yankee in 2004. He wasn't on the Texas books for any more then the 10 million they were still paying him.
There is a specific formula that MLB uses. You can have all the clever accountants you want, it doesn't matter. The amount of money owed to players for ALL REMAINING YEARS ON THEIR CONTRACT COUNTS AS DEBT. So when the Yankees finalize Arod's contract, for example, they're going to be adding $305 million in debt in the eyes of MLB, regardless of how their accountants try to spin it. Good point, except that even though the report was published in 2004, the numbers are from 2003 when Arod was in Texas. A little reading comprehension goes a long way.
Does it really matter? Do you think the Yankees care? Like I said, the Yankees know exactly what they can and cannot do. You can read all the ESPN articles you won't and it won't change a thing.
Here’s a little quiz, baseball fans: This pitcher was 3-2 with a 5.70 ERA against teams from the AL East last season (not counting the Yankees). He was 5-7, 4.04 in the second half of the season, allowing 88 hits (16 of them home runs) over 98 innings. The 33 home runs he allowed for the season were nine more than in any other previous season. Scouts have noticed he appears hesitant to throw his slider. He has one victory in five career playoff starts. Look, I love Johan Santana and if the Yankees can get him for IPK, the Melkman and another kid, than good for them. That is doubtful, however, and I’m not so sure this is a pursue-at-all-costs move. Santana was once a kid. The Twins plucked him out the Houston system, nurtured him in the bullpen for the better part of four years and then he exploded. Why can’t the Yankees stick with their plan? Name me all the pitchers with $100 million contracts that proved worth the price. Plenty will people tell you Santana is different and maybe he is. He probably is. Or maybe he’s the next Mike Hampton or Kevin Brown or Barry Zito. http://yankees.lhblogs.com/2007/11/28/name-the-pitcher-win-a-prize-or-maybe-not/ this guy makes a very good point. nobody is a sure thing, not even johan.
Like I have said before, I think the ONLY reason the Yankees care so much about Santana is to make sure he doesn't go to the Sox. If everybody knew he would end up in the NL nobody would be willing to give up as much as they apparently are. With Santana the Yankees become the favorite to win the WS. With Santana going to Boston the Yankees are dead meat for a long time to come. People like to forget that the Yankees were by far the best team in baseball from May 29th until the end of the season. If the pitching was healthy in April and May they would have easily won over 100 games and it wouldn't have even been close. What we don't have is a pitcher for the post season. Finally, I think we have a post season manager but only time will tell on that one.
But he was 4-1 with his only loss against the Devil Rays. The more important stats are these. He was 1-0 against Boston with a 1.80 era and 1-0 against the Yankees with a 2.57 era. That's why the battle is on.
