The Pirates are ancient, have a great history, and a beautiful new stadium - haven't had a winning season since 1992. The Royals won a World Series and had players like George Brett and Bo Jackson - they're gonna lose over 100 games for the third straight season. All of Florida seems to be a breeding ground for young talent these days - now have a look at all the people packed in for a D-Rays game:
This brings me to The Tigers. They played the Rangers on ESPN tonight and Comerica Park was packed. This is a team that lost 119 games in 2003. To me, it's a pretty simple formula. Put together a decent club and the seats will be full. Or, rather: "If you win it, they will come". Easy enough, right? Yet many of baseball's owners refuse to spend money on their team. There's nothing holding you back, you rich bastards! You gotta spend money to make money.As much as I think George Steinbrenner is a steaming bag of douche, I have to respect how much he wants his team to win. Carl Pohlad, the beloved owner of the Minnesota Twins, probably thinks Johan Santana is some kind of expensive Venezuelan cigar. This guy is one of the richest owners in baseball, yet the Twins were threatened with contraction. My ass. But perhaps it's not just about money.
My Twinkies are still one of the best teams in baseball despite a payroll that's 19th out of 30 teams. Great personnel can do wonders. Whatever a team is lacking, it doesn't take a genius to notice your team stinking it up in the morning paper. Way to go, owners of baseball. You suck.