More Money Talk

Sticking on the topic of money, player contracts have recently been the talk around the MLB.  As time goes on, the amount that franchises shell out for individual players grows.  Each year another team seems to crash the record for the longest deal with the most money.  Players such as Alex Rodriguez, Albert Pujols and Prince Fielder all have contracts worth well over $200 million dollars.  These are levels of income you and I could only dream of having.  I bring this topic up after recently watching the movie “Moneyball.”  The film, based on true events shows the struggles of A’s GM Billy Beane.  Billy is forced to compete with a payroll significantly lower than most other major league teams.  Teams like the Yankees seem to have a virtually endless bank account and can offer just about anyone a contract for as long as they want and for as much as they desire.

The A’s are not the only team that has been hurt by their inability to afford players.  Since the price of high performing players has skyrocketed in recent years, teams even like the White Sox find themselves struggling to be able to put the right players on the field.  We offer people we know will perform contracts they deserve but often hope that they give us a home team discount.  For instance, Paul Konerko has had the opportunity to leave the Sox and play for a team that offers him more money but in the end he always chooses to stay with the Sox.  As fans we just have to hope that players can forgo the difference between $50 million and $53 million.