The Rangers' $252M deal for Alex Rodriguez was a
"remarkable development that sent tremors through the game"
(Bob Hohler, BOSTON GLOBE, 12/12). In N.Y., Thomas Hill
calls Rodriguez "the latest living symbol of grave trouble
for America's pastime" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 12/12). CNNfn's
Willow Bay reported "no sign of the economy slowing down
when it comes to baseball" ("Moneyline," CNNfn, 12/11).
TEAM EXECS RESPOND: Reds COO John Allen: "I'm
flabbergasted. I can understand why fans would get a mixed
signal. We (teams) are sitting here as a group saying we're
losing money and have to get equity. Then we turn around
and do things individually that don't portray the picture
we're painting" (CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 12/12). Cardinals GM
Walt Jocketty: "This is a bad day for the industry. This is
by far the worst. How much money do you need? What do I
tell Mark McGwire now? I see absolutely no good coming of
this" (ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH, 12/12). Angels GM Bill
Stoneman: "The message (of the Rodriguez contract) is that
there are some crazies out there" (L.A. TIMES, 12/12). One
team exec said, "The trouble with the way things are going
now is that there is no standard anymore. There is no
gradual increase" (FoxSports.com, 12/11).
ALDERSON PLAYS THE BAD COP: MLB Exec VP Sandy Alderson
noted the Rockies signing P Mike Hampton and the Rodriguez
deal: "In two days, we've doubled what previously was
baseball's most lucrative contract. I don't like the
exponentiality of that. ... There will be people who say,
'Stop the whining.' But clearly, we have a crisis situation
in the game and it's time for us to deal with it."
Alderson: "The institution has a right to life. It shouldn't
be susceptible to permanent injury or death because things
are out of control" (CBS SportsLine, 12/11). Asked if he
thought the deal was bad for MLB, Alderson said, "I'm open
to persuasion to anybody who can convince me that it's good
for baseball" (CBS SportsLine, 12/12). More Alderson: "It's
beyond alarming. The same people who may think Truman is
still president may think the industry is healthy. At some
point, they're going to have to look at the massive amount
of evidence to the contrary" (BOSTON GLOBE, 12/12). But in
N.Y., Tom Keegan notes that Alderson signed Jose Canseco and
Rickey Henderson to "record-breaking contracts when he was"
GM of the A's and signed P Todd Van Poppel to a contract
"that completely inflated the bonuses given to draft
choices" (N.Y. POST, 12/12). On ESPN.com, Ray Ratto called
Alderson a "bit of a moralist, a bit of a schoolmarm."
Ratto: "The people who pay Rodriguez, Hampton and their
compatriots are the same people who are paying Alderson, and
Alderson didn't reach his lofty position by saying, 'My
paycheck is guaranteed by morons'" (ESPN.com, 12/11). USA
TODAY's Hal Bodley writes that MLB Commissioner Bud Selig
"remained out of touch" yesterday, sending Alderson "as his
hatchet man." With the deal, MLB "took a big hit. It makes
Selig's job of bringing financial sanity to the game even
more difficult, if not impossible" (USA TODAY, 12/12).
LEVINE CALLS TEAMS HYPOCRITES: In N.Y., Bill Madden
writes that Tom Hicks and Rockies Chair Jerry McMorris were
"front and center" on MLB's Blue Ribbon Economic Task Force
recommending additional revenue-sharing to help MLB's
economic disparity. Yankees President Randy Levine noted
the reported terms of the Hampton and Rodriguez deal shows
"unmitigated hypocrisy." Levine: "They have one hand out
for revenue-sharing while the other is throwing truckloads
of money into the air like a drunken sailor. These are the
same people on the economic study panel who have completely
ignored the thrust of that report by singlehandedly blowing
away salary barriers" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 12/12). More
Levine: "It represents a total lack of credibility, and
never again should we hear any complaints about the actions
of the Yankees" (N.Y. TIMES, 12/12).
WHAT IT MEANS FOR LABOR TALKS: Sports Business Group
President David Carter feels the Rodriguez deal "increases
the chance of a strike [after next season], because it
diminishes the owners' contention that, financially, many
teams are in trouble. The owners say they're going broke,
and when the players and agents see this (contract), it
gives them exhibit A in winning the public relations battle
against the owners" (L.A. TIMES, 12/12). ESPN's Jayson
Stark, on the $252M deal: "There's a lot of people (at the
Winter Meetings) here who have vertigo. They just have a
hard time digesting what this number is, what it means for
the Rangers, what it means for baseball" (ESPNEWS, 12/11).
In Philadelphia, Bill Conlin: "The greedy and arrogant
owners are guaranteed to erect barbed wire around the 2002
season after the greedy and arrogant players refuse to
accept salary restraints. And once again, the Lords of
Baseball will burn their village to save it" (PHILADELPHIA
DAILY NEWS, 12/12). In Detroit, Terry Foster: "Once again,
it seems as if owners cannot control themselves" (DETROIT
NEWS, 12/12). In Boston, Tony Massarotti writes, "Without
question, baseball's never-ending stream of reckless owners
deserves much of the blame for what the game has become.
Demanders of the salary cap, it's the owners who repeatedly
blow up their own argument when yet another player is signed
by a tycoon who can't help himself" (BOSTON HERALD, 12/12).
In N.Y., Mike Lupica writes MLB "dies a little more, every
day. ... The biggest contracts are often produced by the
biggest fools. Hicks goes to the front of the line for as
long as he lasts in baseball, which ought to be two or three
more years, at least" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 12/12). In L.A.,
Brian Dohn: "For a sport that consistently talks about being
on the brink of financial ruin, a handful of baseball owners
continue to spend money to suggest the contrary" (L.A. DAILY
NEWS, 12/12). In DC, Thomas Boswell writes the Rangers "just
made what may be the most stupid decision in the history" of
U.S. sports. Boswell: "Baseball has lost its mind"
(WASHINGTON POST, 12/12). In Baltimore, John Eisenberg
calls it a contract "that isn't just bad for baseball, but
disastrous for baseball. Even ruinous, perhaps" (Baltimore
SUN, 12/12). In Toronto, Geoff Baker: "A sport that had
been perched on the cliff's edge just took a nosedive off
it" (TORONTO STAR, 12/12). Also in Toronto, Richard Griffin
writes the deal will not likely "lead to the financial ruin
of the game," but it will "widen the gap between baseball's
haves and have-nots and drive fans in medium and small
markets to throw up their hands in despair about their own
teams' ability to compete" (TORONTO STAR, 12/12). In
Hartford, Dom Amore: "The game as we know it has been thrown
into jeopardy. Again" (HARTFORD COURANT, 12/12). In
Atlanta, Tim Tucker: "It's crazy, sure. And yet the most
appropriate reaction might be a yawn. This is merely more
of the same -- only incrementally crazier than all of the
craziness before it" (ATLANTA CONSTITUTION, 12/12).
