The recent big name free agents that the New York Yankees have signed may at first seem like a huge increase in payroll. But what I have not seen mentioned or analyzed is the fact that the Yankees are really just replacing big contracts of outgoing free agents rather than adding significantly to their payroll.
So far, the Yankees have signed these three big name free agents with the following average annual salaries:
C. C. Sabathia: $23,000,000
A.J. Burnett: $16,500,000
Mark Teixeira: $22,500,000
That's a total of $62 million.
Take a look at these four salaries the Yankees paid in 2008 that they will not be paying in 2009:
Jason Giambi: $23,428,571
Bobby Abreu: $16,000,000
Mike Mussina: $11,071,029
Carl Pavano: $11,000,000
Those add up to $61.5 million. So the Yankees have only added half a million dollars to the payroll for 2009.
For the last eight years, the off-season spending habits of the Yankees have been rather consistent, spending top dollar to acquire at least one high-priced player each year (and most years more than one). After the season is over, the results of the Yankees for those eight seasons have been just as consistent: no World Series Championship. So anyone who thinks that this year's crop of Yankee free agent signings means they are a lock to win the World Series or that it spells doom for small market baseball teams, just look at the last eight years.
I don't want to hear that teams such as Pittsburgh and Kansas City can't compete with the Yankees. A year ago people were saying the same thing about the Tampa Bay Rays. The Minnesota Twins won their division four times in five years (2002-2004, 2006). We've all read Moneyball and know what Billy Beane has done in Oakland. The Florida Marlins and Arizona Diamondbacks have each won the World Series over the Yankees in this decade. Paying a lot of money for high priced free agents wins the Yankees nothing.
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That $.5M added amounts to one less player. But I agree, small-budget teams can compete except when ownership or management meddle with the team. The Orioles have only been good when Peter Angelos let the flood gates open. Now he seems to be alllowing it again. The Nationals have yet to produce a good team, but we probably need another season or two to see if this management really has to skill to acquire good players.
I don't exactly agree with BMT. BMT must have forgotten when the Nationals held first place in the division for months until they wore out in August and ultimately fell out of the wild card race in September.
Bob, phrased it correctly when he stated small markets can compete. Every team should be able to compete more years than not, but small market teams can only contend for a fleeting amount of time as you illustrated above. Thank you for the visual aid.
Teams that have the money to spend and spend it wisely can sustain their team and window for success longer. Small market teams must succeed more frequently and in ways that teams flushed with cash may not focus as heavily on. It's all about good scouting and decision making regarding regarding who to draft, when to trade, and especially for these teams - evaluating what prospects to trade for when veterans can no longer be afforded in free agency. It's not an exact science and as such the failures usually outweigh the successes when you can't spend to offset the setbacks.
The window is small for these teams and it doesn't always work out. Sometimes the window closes to fast and at other times it's simply not your year.
If you are referring to their first season in DC, 2005, I had not forgotten. But that could have been associated with playing in front of 20,000 fans instead of 2,000 in Montreal. And they finished last in the NL East at 81-81. Yes, only 2 games out of the wildcard. I acknowledge that.
But my point is longer term contention. Tampa Bay has relatively the same team for 2009 and can possibly improve. The Nationals had that magical 3 months and haven't been in contention past 2 games into the season since. Baltimore after Ripken, Anderson and Palmeiro have not really contended since.
So by your point, Tampa Bay is in that window of opportunity and so far has remained quiet during free agency. It remains to be seen how they handle the situation.
As for the Orioles, it hasn't always been about the free agent spending as much as they've never really had anything in the farm system that contributed from an every day player standpoint after Ripken. Moose only played every fifth day.
Angelos has let the flood gates open before at times as you call it and it hasn't panned out. The Orioles aren't the best team to use in an example simply due to how they make player personnel decisions.