Well the 2011 World Series Champion had a payroll of less than 110 million so I guess they compete with those teams with 150 million plus. Also the Texas Rangers last year had a payroll of less than 100 million (they did pretty well against those 150 million plus teams).
Money doesn't always convert to wins in baseball, the team with the second highest payroll in baseball is last place in their division.

good point Dan...

like i said, i dont even like baseball anymore, because the M's have screwed off for the last decade... but tonight, im watching, atleast the first couple at bats and such for Ichiro, because i respect him as a player...

funny thing, the Yanks line up was shown...

3 former Mariners, on the best team in baseball.... wonder who the smart one is....

Oh god... I can't wait to here red hook talk out of his [Bleeeeep!] about football...

And all 3 of them will platoon, so yes they may have a chance at the ring but then again they are making starting player money for part time work. Who is smarter? The answer is easy if you actually understand business.

you arent getting what im saying....

did any of those teams let their best player go?

the Yankees generally always spend the most, although, not every year theres a few they havent been the top... because they want the BEST players... their 27 titles and 40 pennants shows that...

i said i dont like baseball, not that i dont follow it...

its hear smartass...

see its this type stuff that pisses me off.. i try to express an opinion, about something i dont like, and people start with names, piss me off, and act like im the one doing it... you all are entitled to your opinions, and i dont say anything to you about it...


salmo, with the exception of you calling me a "moron fan", you have been interesting to talk to about baseball...

i still dont agree with this trade tho, he WAS the M's, now the M's have noone.... except Felix, and believe, he will be dealt with his 19.7 million dollar salary if he wants out... its what the M's do best, screw the fans, get rid of their best players, and settle for farm league no bodies...

but you still feel the need to pretend you know what you are talking about?

lol strong retard pls go

Well I will agree the Yankees got a lot of titles/pennants but that is not just because of their payroll. SInce Free agency began the Yankees have got 7 titles. So if money was every thing they should have more in the last 43 years. They have had the highest payroll since 99 and only have 3 titles in that span.

what?


what was the payroll of the 1956 Yankees, you know, one of the years they won the WS...

or howbout the RUth era, from 1915,16,and 18 with the Red Sox, then the Yankees of 23,27,28 and 32?

they have ALWAYS had the best players... some, are the best to ever step foot on the field... more than any other team probably... i wont say deffinately, because i could be wrong, but im probably not...

They have the highest payroll because they pay high for Free Agents. So since Free agency started in 1969 I can't tell you what they paid for Ruth but I would assume it was the same as the Red Sox were paying him since he was traded. Damn are you really this dumb or do you do this on purpose to just screw with people.

did you ever think that maybe i like to talk about things to further learn, and discuss things for entertainment, knowledge, and just to BS?

no

because you people are too focused on your desicion that im stupid, to even hold a conversation with someone about something...


since you cant have a normal conversation, MODS, delete this thread please...

for the record, i believe Ruth got more money with the Yankees, if i remember right, even the movie showed that...

ill remember to not talk about sports, politics, fishing, photography, or anything else since im so boring to talk to and dont know anything about any of it... have fun with that one...

thought the same thing and i think that he will actually do quite well for the yanks

Doesn't Swisher normally play right field? Ichiro is going to be in Left.

Funny how someone in this discussion has forgot about the importance of the farm system in Baseball.

The M's didn't trade there best player as you claim. Their best player is Felix.
It has been proven many times it is better to trade someone before they peak then to hold onto them to long. You then get maximum value in return. They held on to Ichiro to long.
What do you think they could have gotten for him two years ago before his average started to slide?

It certainly did. They still should have moved him two years ago.

my favorite thing about this website is the trick the guys and gals (ranty m ) do when they are always hitting the refresh button (f5) but their little smiley faces remain grey

I think my favorite fan is the guy who always says: the M's suck because they always trade their good players for young guys and the good players go somewhere else and produce. Guess what: that is an epidemic throughout baseball. There are Yankee prospects and established players all over baseball too.

Trying to compare the M's to the Yankees is apples and oranges. Yankee payroll is over 200 million because they have their own broadcast system, as do the Angels, the Rangers and the Red Sox. Notice how good the Braves have been since Turner sold TBS and its no longer the Braves SuperStation?

Now, to clear up a couple RH factoids: 1) The M's were forced to trade Randy Johnson as he tanked it the first have of the year. The M's wanted to extend his contract and were willing to pay but Randy decided he wanted to leave and then turned around and flamed the M's in the media. He was a great pitcher but a moody SOB who almost got himself stuffed in his locker by David Sequi one night.

Arod: turned down a 4 year contract from the M's that would have paided him an annual salary very close to the Rangers annual salary. Rangers went 7 years and bankrupted their franchise. MLB had to step in and run it while it was sold to Nolan Ryan.

Griffey, forced a trade.

Ichiro, hitting .280 and declining. Now batting 8th for the Yankees and will be a platoon player for the remainder of the year and will be a free agent at the end of the season.

As for the current state of the M's: Yes they have been bad since 2001 and there are several reasons for this. 1) The success of 2000-2002 took a serious toll on the farm system. To bring in veterans like Boone, Olerud, Maclemore and others draft picks were lost. When you sign free agents, you lose draft picks depending on the class of free agent you sign. Then Bavasi's draft picks were all wash outs except for Felix. Mix in a few free agent signings, the Bedard trade and you are where you are now: rebuilding again. Have mistakes been made? Absolutely. The fruits of the Cliff Lee trade have not been realized as of yet. The Figgins signing has been a disaster, but some have worked out too. That is baseball. There isn't a single GM in baseball with a 100% trade/FA track record. Cashman has been hosed many times too. There is a kid with the Dodgers tearing it up and the Yankees gave up on him. It happens every season all over baseball.

So what happens now: the M's would have been stupid to resign Ichiro in the off season. It doesn't make baseball sense and it would be very bad business. Ichiro isn't even the 4th best player on this team this year. Seager is better, Ackley is a better lead off hitter, Felix is way better, and the OF we aquired from Detroit will be better than Ichiro with regular playing time. It was time to go. The 2001 team got really old in 2002 and went down quick. Holding onto veteran players for respect and so they can maybe get to 3000 hits instead of moving them out when they start to decline is a recipe to end up right where we are now. See the Celtics at the end of the McCale/Bird era for a prime example.

Redhook, isn't it about time for your Michael Vick is the greatest ever posts to start? Since Iceshark has sworn off his 49ers pre-training camp "the 49ers are God's team" posts across the way, I need a good chuckle or two.

you wanna bring Vick into this now?

you all trashed me on GF saying Vick was garbage, never would amount to sh!t as a QB, garbage garbage garbage...


hows that one workin out?


i thought so...

Felix may be a better "player" if you want to call it that, but hes a PITCHER, PITCHERS DONT SCORE POINTS, last i checked, points are needed to win games, and thats what the HITTERS do...

Ichiro is kinda like Barry Sanders, busted his a$$ off for how many years after being a rookie for the team and got sh!t on in the end, because the team is too stupid to build around a "great" like Ichiro is....

put 7 bullsh!t players on a team, with one good one, and you have a team with 7 bullsh!t players and one good one.... put a good player with a team, with 5 other good ones, and well, you will see what happens....

oh yeah, tommorow, another Mariner is going to pitch against us... Freddy Garcia...

the M's will likely be gone in 10 years or sooner... just like the Sonics.. because of stupid business practices..