Posted on 08/18/2006 8:27:35 AM PDT by Airborne1986
It's now or never for the New York Yankees.
The Yankees open a five-game series at Fenway Park on Friday with their alter egos in the American League East, the Boston Red Sox. Just 1 1/2 games will separate the two teams when that series begins.
Since the All-Star break, the Sox have slipped considerably, going 16-17 with problems surfacing with their starting pitching, relief corps and hitting (with the exception of David Ortiz and Manny Ramirez). The Yankees, meanwhile, seem to have righted themselves after a long year of struggles with injuries and under-producing pitchers such as Randy Johnson. New York has gone 20-12 since the break to move past Boston into first place, a five-game reversal in 31 games.
Yet even with the additions of Bobby Abreu and Cory Lidle and the improved pitching of Johnson, the Yankees won't separate themselves from the Red Sox if they don't make a move during this series, because Boston may be the most resilient team in the American League, if not in all of baseball. ...
For all the Red Sox difficulties of late, especially with their pitching, they could be tied for the division lead by Saturday morning if everything goes right and if they continue to play at home the way they have thus far.
That would give the Red Sox the advantage in the series and for the rest of the season. They would have their top three pitchers — Josh Beckett, Curt Schilling and David Wells — going in the final three games against the Yankees, with a chance to turn the tables on them just when much of the world felt New York was ready to assert itself and pull away.
....
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
The Yankees are operating at close to a $100 million higher revenue base than the Sox with YES than what NESN can command. The locals will not let them build a new stadium anywhere around the city and moving to the burbs takes away the ability for people to walk or take the transit system to the games. (Move the Yankees to Westchester County and see how that one goes over). The Sox charge the highest ticket prices in baseball which has made the stands packed with rich folk and corporate types.
The YES network is only a couple of years old. The real money is made in marketing. The New York Yankee logo is priceless.
Steinbrenner has built up the organization and made it worth what it is today. He runs the Yankees like a business.
Love him or hate him you cannot deny Steinbrenner is an incredible businessman.
The Boston Red Sox have no local baseball competition. They have a corner on the baseball market in all of New England.
The Yankees have the Mets to contend with in the NYC area.
The Yankees have drawn 3,176,678 fans to Yankee Stadium but the Mets have drawn 2,482,406 fans themselves! What the Yankees have done in a competitive market is amazing.
If you are talking MLB merchandise then that money goes to the players. The people who crossed the picket line don't get any of that cash.
Steinbrenner does not run it like a business. He runs it to win championships.
The New York metro area is vastly bigger than what the Sox have to work with. Take the 5 boroughs, Long Island, western CT, New Jersey, the surrounding NYC counties and the area is gigantic compared to NE. You could put another team in that market and the fan base could (not would necessarily) support it
Hey, it is what it is. The Yankees also make other teams better by having to compete with them.
He runs it like a business. Championships are good for business.
No, they are not good for business when you keep a budget of $200 million for players when history has proven that you don't need to. The CWS won with under $100 as did the Marlins, the Angels and the D-Backs. The Sox did it for $120 mil.
Why? Don't people in Boston follow the Sox? Won't they demand access to the games? Why can't the Red Sox negotiate a better contract?
The locals will not let them build a new stadium anywhere around the city and moving to the burbs takes away the ability for people to walk or take the transit system to the games. (Move the Yankees to Westchester County and see how that one goes over).
No need. The Yankees broke ground on a new Yankee Stadium last month. Are you telling me that the locals in Boston are that much more difficult than the locals in New York?
The Sox charge the highest ticket prices in baseball which has made the stands packed with rich folk and corporate types.
How many seats are there in Fenway? I think that's your problem, right there. It's a great place to watch a ballgame, but there are so few seats they all sell for way too much money.
Frankly, it seems that Boston is willing to settle for pretty good. A pretty good TV contract. A pretty ballpark. A pretty good gate revenue. They do not demand better of themselves, so they get what they get.
The Yankees share that market with another team that is leading the National League East. It is not like they have it all to themselves, like Boston.
Rhode Island, just down the road from Boston, is about half-and-half between Yankee and Boston fans. That's a real failing by the Bosox. Rhode Island should bleed red, and lots of their fans are following the Yanks instead. The same goes for Eastern Connecticut.
The New York market is the largest media market in the country. How can a smaller market generate the same ad dollars? Bigger markets mean you pay more in ad costs. Both teams own their sports networks by the way.
Yes, the locals are difficult. They love the Sox but not in their backyard. The city limits are also small enough that finding the acreage available to develop is not a simple matter. The Yankees are building right near the current location. That possibility does not exist for the Sox location.
Fenway is undergoing expansion but right now they are at 35K max capacity going up to 37.5K. Every game is a sell out, concession stands have been added, more beer is sold at higher prices and anything else to raise money is being done.
You don't know what you are talking about with respect to what the fans want. They demand a winner every year regardless of what the long term cost is. This year the team traded 2 serious infield blue chip prospects and a potentially good pitcher for Coco Crisp, Josh Beckett and Mike Lowell. Lowell is a good player but he will be gone after next year, Beckett is too stupid and stubborn to learn how to pitch and Crisp hits like Wesley Snipes' character on Major League with his upper cut swing and lack of power. They were all bad trades but done to appease the fans. If they had held fast and allowed a rebuilding year the Sox would have a dominant infield for years (think about what the Mets have right now on the left side of the infield) and all on the cheap. That way, when Abreau type deals come about it's no problem to swing that deal for a short term situation.
Yes, it is good for business.
Steinbrenner has 6 World Championships under his belt. Those other teams only have one each.
All those teams combined do not equal the value of the Yankees. There is only one team averaging about 53,000 fans a game. That in itself is incredible.
Well, last I looked businesses are judged on both their net worth, cash flow and profit and based on the Yankees finances they are not making money. $200 million plus payroll combined with $30 million luxury tax and $80-100 million in revenue sharing doesn't leave much room for anything else. I have read some analyses that show the Yankees actually borrow money to meet obligations but can get away with it due to their net value.
Let's see how long this will continue. No business can continue operate losing money. They might be worth a billion on paper but they are borrowing to meet operating expenses. Once George goes the gravy train is over.
LOL. Well at least you didn't say "I am in your base killing your d00ds".
May the rivalry be with you, always.
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