Does Baseball need a Salary Cap?

Absolutely, and without a doubt, Major League Baseball should develop a salary-cap system to control the finances that are beginning to spiral out of control in the sports world. In an era that has dealt with a huge inflation rate over the last 10 years, selected baseball owners have the taken advantage of their positions in the baseball market and have created contracts that were "unthinkable" in the decades of the last century.

While I do agree that the luxury tax and revenue sharing ideas have helped cause somewhat of a soft cap on baseball, it hasn't done the job completely. Large market teams have considerable control over their destiny and success. Padres owner John Moores once wrote in the Wall Street Journal shortly after his team had, ironically, reached the World Series "Unless baseball changes the way it does business, it risks seeing its fans drift away, tired of their teams' futility. Perhaps 12 of 30 Major League teams have any possibility of reaching post-season play, and fewer still have a realistic hope of winning a pennant." That statement speaks volumes. Because Baseball is of course "America's Pastime", however the focus is now the keyword "past".

Football has slowly become the sport of the current age. The shorter season and the single game per week theory has equaled higher ratings and higher anticipation for the weekends. Not to mention the evolution and improvements in physical science that have led to stronger and quicker players which equal better action and entertainment on the field. More importantly, the NFL's salary cap has created an atmosphere that allows nearly any team in the league to have a chance to succeed in a given year. Football fans love the mindset of knowing their underdog team has a much better chance of playing for post-season contention than in Baseball because the cap prevents large market teams from "splurging" with their revenue and buying out the free agent market.

While the luxury tax and revenue sharing rules have helped soften the blow that league was starting to endure in the late 90's, it does not prevent large market teams from creating monsters. Let's take the Yankees for example. New York has payed oodles of cash through luxury taxes over the last few years and are yearly repeat offenders of the tax threshold that keeps teams in the clear. However, the mindset in New York is to win championships and anything short of that is failure. Their is no such tax that can change that mindset and the reason is because the Yankees have such a huge portion of the market and fan base that they do not care about what they have to pay out to the league. The Yankees are the prime example of what is wrong with baseball today. The only thing that could put some containment on these issues is a cap.

A salary cap equals better competition through out the league because it forces big name players to be placed on teams that can afford them. It prevents teams from creating "monsters" that conquer their respective divisions. The problem that results from having too many "monsters" in a league, are the fans of the smaller market teams that are tired of seeing the same "monsters" in championship races every year. It's like watching a David vs. Goliath match every year in the playoffs and fans are tired of it. As a result, we have not witnessed an "exciting" World Series since 1995 and 1996. The only reason why the 2001 series was so great is because the world witnessed the downing of the Yankee empire against the expansion team/underdog Diamondbacks. Fans love football because this doesn't happen. There are different teams in the playoffs almost every year, and the teams that are repeats deserve recognition for being successful teams because it is not easy in a salary-cap world. The New England Patriots are given much credit for being a franchise that has been so successful over the last seven years by winning three championships in an system that makes it nearly impossible to do so. When the Yankees won repeated championships, people accused them of simply "buying" them.

The bottom-line here is that at Major League Baseball is spinning into an uncertain future. With the economy inflating at the rate is has been recently, the league faces the risk of losing fans due to team inequality. Small market teams have less of a chance to succeed every year and their fan bases have shrunk. A salary cap would place these issues in check and give the market a chance to even out.

For a game that has such a prestigious history, it has slowly lost its title of being "America's Game". Now, its just the "Pastime".

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Barry Bonds getting thrown in the Fire...Literally.

If Barry Bonds hasn't gotten burned enough in his career, then one fan might set a little more fire to it.

On ESPN's Cold Pizza today, Jay Crawford interviewed a man named Keith McDonough who is the owner of "Bleacher Sports Memorabilia Shop" outside of Chicago. McDonough is one of the many baseball fans in this country who is outraged at the possibility of Bonds breaking Hank Aaron's record within the next few weeks. So outraged, that he has created an event called a "Bonds-Fire" where he is asking people around the country to donate Barry Bonds memorabilia and have it burned in a massive bonfire when 756 is belted. McDonough will be donating $2000 worth of Bonds items from his shop to get the event "heated up". The email address (for anyone interested) is Bondsretire754@aol.com to receive more information on this event.

McDonough also asked during the interview to have fans bring 8 x 10 cards to the stadium that say "B.R.754" which means Barry Retire when you hit 754. If Bonds were to do this, McDonough says it would be "A classy move." He also stated that Bonds will not be making the Hall of Fame, just tarnishing a great accomplishment in sports history.

Now, we can all see that this man is a leading example of the disgruntled fans that would love to protect Aaron's record. But, lets be real here. A bonfire? Sorry, a "bondsfire?" To put it simply: That is hilarious. I don't own any Bonds stuff. But if I did, I would rather keep the value. His Topps rookie card is worth over $500 on the Internet. Don't expect to see too many of those getting thrown in the fire.

As crazy as this event may seem, it's gonna happen. This is nothing more than an outlet for fans to really take a stab back at baseball. For letting players get away with taking performance enhancers and steroids for so long. Because in the end, even though Bonds got away with taking steroids (so far), theoretically he hasn't because its the fans and the general public that have the last say to a player's greatness. If steroids were never a factor then we the fans would be applauding these record breaking years we have endured through the skills of Bonds and McGwire. Baseball would not have any shadows covering the greatness and history of the game. Instead, Hall-of-Fame caliber players are getting black marked and denied induction to the Hall.

Mr. Keith McDonough there is no need to worry. Bond's record will be shattered within the next 10 years. And we can put this issue to rest.

Mark Cuban to the Windy City?

Sources say Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban is interested in purchasing The Chicago Cubs organization and taking a venture into baseball. Cuban filled out an application to take over the team which has been up for sale since April by the Tribune Co.

Cuban has owned the Mavericks for seven years and has improved the franchise greatly since his arrival with a 20% increase in overall winning percentage and a trip to the NBA finals. The Mavs had previously never reached the finals.

Cuban has always been known to be an aggressive and outgoing owner with a great sense of enthusiasm during his tenure with the Mavericks. A personality that is needed for the Cubs. An organization that has seen its share of hard times and could absolutlely use the optimistic lift that Cuban brings to the table.

However, Cuban must first get through Commissioner Bud Selig and Chicago Sports Mogul Jerry Reinsdorf. Considering Selig has the power to deny the purchase to Cuban at his expense. But why would Selig want to deny Cuban ownership? Because Selig is very close to Reinsdorf who is the owner of the White Sox and the Bulls. The same person who voted against Cuban purchasing the Mavericks in 2000 during the owners voting session. He lost 29 to 1. The connection between the two men may prevent Cuban from getting into Chicago.

But from a business aspect, how could you not want Cuban running the show in Chicago? What negative aspect does he bring to baseball? Cuban has proven to be dedicated to his team and has done wonders for the Dallas franchise. Cuban knows he can be the difference maker in Chicago and I think the team and fans know it too. He brings a level of enthusiasm that Chicago has not seen in quite some time.

If your Bud Selig, you have to consider Cuban to take part in a franchise that has tried so hard to stay alive for years. Especially in a market that is there for the taking. Who knows. Maybe Cuban could even persuade a certain Rodriguez to join the Cub family next season.

A-Rod will be Guaranteed $30 Million Annually says Boras

New York Yankees third basemen Alex Rodriguez's agent Scott Boras has indicated that he will not be negotiating with the Yankee ballclub during the season and has raised the ante on what it will take to keep the league's best hitter in New York, according to the New York Post.

During a telephone interview with the Post, Boras indicated that Rodriguez will opt out of his contract at the end of the season that will pay him an estimated $28 million in 2008. This conversation coming only two days after the Yankees announced that they will break tradition and re-negotiate A-Rod's contract during the season.

Rodriguez is already among the highest paid players in the league along with teammates Roger Clemens and Jason Giambi.

It is also noted that if A-Rod does opt out of his contract, then the Texas Rangers will no longer have to pay their share of his contract due to trade stipulations back in 2003.