The Mariners reported a profit of $5.86M for the '12 season, "despite an 87-loss campaign and plummeting attendance,” according to Geoff Baker of the SEATTLE TIMES. But the team will continue its “lowering of annual payroll" after it ended last season at $84.4M, compared to $98M in ‘11. The Mariners in ’08 spent "just over" $120M. The Mariners have “actually turned profits just about every year" since moving to Safeco Field, with the exception of the team's "big spending year" in '08 when the team declared a $4.53M loss. Since then, the team "has not operated at a deficit since" (SEATTLETIMES.com, 3/12).
EARNING THEIR PINSTRIPES? In N.Y., George Vecsey writes of the Yankees' Hal and Hank Steinbrenner, "The heirs of George Steinbrenner are quivering in front of the baseball luxury tax like any ordinary midmarket, middle-American weenie franchise.” While the Yankees have won only one World Series and two other pennants since '00, "it’s the sharklike intent that counts.” The team is “showing why heirs should not be allowed to inherit an estate.” The Yankees “did not get where they are by worrying about some luxury tax.” Also, the team's "diminished attendance" suggests that the Yankees "are not making the projected profits” (N.Y. TIMES, 3/13).
