Steff Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Boston owner flips to pro-salary cap stance BOSTON (AP) — Red Sox owner John Henry now believes a salary cap could be good for baseball after watching the rival Yankees trade for Alex Rodriguez — a deal his own franchise could not complete. Henry said in an e-mail response to reporters early Wednesday morning that he is changing his mind on whether the sport needs a salary cap "to deal with a team that has gone so insanely far beyond the resources of all the other teams." The Yankees' payroll is about $186 million after they acquired Rodriguez from the Texas Rangers earlier this week in exchange for Alfonso Soriano and a minor leaguer to be named. But the number would come down by about $5 million if third baseman Aaron Boone is released. Boston is expected to be second at about $125 million. "One thing is certain the status quo will not be preserved," Henry wrote. "There must be a way to cap what a team can spend without hurting player compensation ... without taking away from the players what they have rightfully earned in the past through negotiation and in creating tremendous value. There is a simple mechanism that could right a system woefully out of whack." Henry's comments come after his team failed in its bid to land the reigning American League MVP. The Red Sox tried to trade Manny Ramirez, the second highest-paid player in baseball, for Rodriguez this winter. But talks fell apart because the two sides could not agree on how to divide the remaining $179 million on Rodriguez's contract. The Yankees were able to absorb Rodriguez's salary without dumping a major star. "Baseball doesn't have an answer for the Yankees," Henry said. "Revenue sharing can only accomplish so much. At some point it becomes confiscation. It has not and it will not solve what is a very obvious problem." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greasywheels121 Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 The Red Sox have a $130M payroll. They're complaining because.....? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gene Honda Civic Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 sound like sour grapes to me... But that could be a good thing.. If you have 1 owner happy, and 29 others upset, change is likely to happen at somepoint in the future. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steff Posted February 18, 2004 Author Share Posted February 18, 2004 The Red Sox have a $130M payroll. They're complaining because.....? Because it's $60 million less than the Yankees.. and the only way they can make large moves is to dump another big salary. He's makin' a little noise for all the little guys.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
greasywheels121 Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Because it's $60 million less than the Yankees.. and the only way they can make large moves is to dump another big salary. He's makin' a little noise for all the little guys.. True....That is a big difference and all, but where would the Red Sox salary have been if the A-Rod and Mags deals went down in December? Like Cheat said, it really seems like it's just sour grapes. If his intent is to stick up for us little guys, I'll take that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
soxfan420 Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 True....That is a big difference and all, but where would the Red Sox salary have been if the A-Rod and Mags deals went down in December? Like Cheat said, it really seems like it's just sour grapes. If his intent is to stick up for us little guys, I'll take that. not sure but it would only be a couple million higher. they where sending over many ramariz(sp??) who is another high priced player. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrandoFan Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Give me cap, or give me death! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rex Hudler Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 True....That is a big difference and all, but where would the Red Sox salary have been if the A-Rod and Mags deals went down in December? Like Cheat said, it really seems like it's just sour grapes. If his intent is to stick up for us little guys, I'll take that. Not drastically different because they would have dumped salary in the form of Manny, Nomar and others....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marsh Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Not drastically different because they would have dumped salary in the form of Manny, Nomar and others....... i think it would have depended on what a-rod's contract was restructured to. remember they were sending money to texas to pay a portion of manny's salary and i believe that maggs makes more than nomar this year. so i think they potentially could have had a significant increase in payroll. and for the record, i don't think john henry gives a flying #$%% about the little guy. this is about the red sox and yankees. if he cared about the small market teams it would have been obvious to him that something needed to be done long before the yanks got a-rod. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mickster Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Yankees owner George Steinbrenner quickly responded, saying: ``We understand that John Henry must be embarrassed, frustrated and disappointed by his failure in this transaction.'' Great reply from The Boss. I love it. Here is the link Yahoo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fullcollapse Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 henry doesn't care about small market teams.... 100% sour grapes. but maybe having another owner onboard about a change would be a good thing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steff Posted February 18, 2004 Author Share Posted February 18, 2004 Good grief guys... I was just making a guess. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillieHarris2 Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 the guy is just pissed because his rivals made a huge trade and if the cubs had a 190 million dollar pay roll i think everyone here would be just as pissed as this guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 I suppose Tom Hicks wants a cap too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
winninguglyin83 Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Yes, but what do commisioner Donald Fehr and his deputy Scott Boras want? that is what counts. don't forget that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WillieHarris2 Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 This is getting way out of control, MLB is turning into the NHL Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cwsox Posted February 18, 2004 Share Posted February 18, 2004 Sorry Joihn Henry wants a cap? For his father's head? but then again, I bet Ted's head is cold and a cap would help... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HuskyCaucasian Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 Give me cap, or give me death! I think the league could servive if they put a cap at $90 million and a floor at $45 million. Most teams fall between $90 and $50 million. By nature, not allowing teams like the Yankees and Red Sox from spending over $90 million, their players that they cant afford would trickle down to lower teams, there for making the league more even. On top of that, if MLB implimented an NFL like profit sharring scheme, then the teams in smaller marketss that legitimatly may not be able to afford higher priced players could now afford better players. In the end, everyone benifits. If the MLBPA thinks a cap will "Drive down" salaries, i really believe they would be wrong. All that would happen is that players would be playing for differant teams, but still at the same price. Right now, the Yankees, Dodgers, Boston, and Atlanta would be over the "Cap". Their players would just be playing in differant areas. Consevably, they would be making the exact smae amount. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooftop Shots Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 Great reply from The Boss. I love it. Here is the link Yahoo. Just wanted to be the first , and I'm sure I won't be the last to say "Welcome aboard Mikster!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rooftop Shots Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 Oops! Sorry! Forgot The "c" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Showtime Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 Eat it, Henry. I loved the response from the Boss, right on the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrandoFan Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 I loved the response from the Boss, right on the money. Literally. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mr. Showtime Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 Literally. Fun with words, I love this game. Good call, Brando. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sox-r-us Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 I do not get it.....even if the MLB got a cap for every team, what would the Yankees do then? They have all their big money folks like Jeter, ARod, Giambi, Sheffield etc signed for > 5 years....they cannot get under the cap even if they wanted to, say, two years from today..... Facts are the damage has been done.....expect the Yankees to win around 5 of the next 10 WS, and play in 8 of the next 10 WS.....dem are just the facts..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YASNY Posted February 19, 2004 Share Posted February 19, 2004 I do not get it.....even if the MLB got a cap for every team, what would the Yankees do then? They have all their big money folks like Jeter, ARod, Giambi, Sheffield etc signed for > 5 years....they cannot get under the cap even if they wanted to, say, two years from today..... Facts are the damage has been done.....expect the Yankees to win around 5 of the next 10 WS, and play in 8 of the next 10 WS.....dem are just the facts..... They could implement a cap and phase it in over a 5 year period. Freeze the cap right now at what the Yankees payroll currently is, and whittle it down more as each year goes by. I think the ARod deal hit Henry between the eyes with a sldge hammer and made him realize that even he cannot outspend King George. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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