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Armstrong (l) Says Mariners Projecting Loss
For '11, But Payroll Will Remain The Same |
Mariners President Chuck Armstrong admitted that the team is "projecting losses for the 2011 season ... with attendance down last season and the effects of having two of the past three seasons with more than 100 losses." Armstrong confirmed that the Mariners "will not reduce player payroll" for '11 after reducing it more than $8M last season. Armstrong: "Last year, our player payroll budget was $94 million, and it won't be going down from that." With the team projecting losses for the upcoming season, "keeping the payroll at the same level wasn't a given." Armstrong said, "We don't have much flexibility now. If we had to reduce it, we might have had to do some things that might have been damaging in the long run. We're not involved in any kind of salary dump. I'm grateful for us having the ownership to do that" (Tacoma NEWS TRIBUNE, 12/7).
MOVING ON UP: In S.F., John Shea reports the Giants' payroll, "already the biggest in the National League West, will skyrocket in 2011." Giants Senior VP & GM Brian Sabean yesterday said that the team's payroll will be $120M next season, compared to a "touch above" $100M at the end of this season. Sabean: "Ownership stepped up. They could've screwed things down but didn't." Shea notes the higher payroll is the "result of built-in raises ... and projected salaries for the six arbitration-eligible players" (S.F. CHRONICLE, 12/7).
THANKS, BUT NO THANKS: ESPN.com's Buster Olney reported the A's "walked away from the Adrian Beltre talks because time and again, the third baseman made it clear that he had little interest in taking the offers from the Athletics, which were always the highest on the board." The A's "will look for other players now, but the reality is that this franchise continues to rot, while waiting for a decision on whether the team can move to San Jose." Agents "talk about how their players aren't really that interested in the Athletics partly because of their facilities." The A's "need a decision to build hope" (ESPN.com, 12/6). CSNBayArea.com’s Ann Killion said of Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, "It's a dump. It's a dump and they get 5,000 people. It's a miserable, depressing place to be. They've got to do something" ("Chronicle Live," Comcast SportsNet Bay Area, 12/6).
