Original to Tim Shenk of 1:261/1000 in "LOCAL-SPORTS"
Forwarded on  by Alan Hess of 1:261/1000
Whilst masticating on , Tim Shenk (1:261/1000)
wrote to Alan Hess:
AH>> There are 4 million gouge marks in Angelos' wallet.  He's  not making 
any 
AH>> money from the Orioles, nor are his fellow  investors.   
TS> Well, if he's in it for the enjoyment, he shouldn't expect to  make 
TS> anything, or at least not look at it as a way to get rich.   
Considering how much profit the players make, I don't think it's unreasonable 
for ownership to at least be able to break even.  Angelos and his partners, 
to their credit, aren't in it for the money (unlike Art Modell, who makes his 
living off the Ravens and can't afford to lose money, but still pays out as 
close to the salary cap as possible.  Unlike Eli Jacobs, neither he nor 
Angelos skimp on paying players to try to provide a winner for the fans, and 
Angelos is also paying to restore our destroyed farm system that Jacobs 
misered to death.)  Angelos is also subject to the luxury tax because he is 
willing to have the high payroll needed to contend these days.
TS> But, I think that's a little different than from the fans  perspective.   
The fans want a contender at least, and a winner more than anything.  Under 
Angelos, all revenue goes back into signing players to try and achieve that 
goal.  Unfortunately, Yankee Pat is sabotaging things by insisting that 
Mussina not be offered more than three guaranteed years.  I'd like to see 
Gary Williams and Yankee Pat go to Rutgers!
TS> Yes, I'm sure he can buy a team to field that may be a winner.   But, the 
TS> fans might enjoy it a little more if they could afford  it a little 
easier.
Baseball is still by far the least expensive major sport to attend.  
Non-season ticket holders don't have to try to sit in the box seats - buy 
less expensive seats and bring your own food and drink.  I think that's 
allowed, subject to certain restrictions (no bottles, etc.)
TS> Angelos can afford it a little easier, but  he insists on big-buck 
players.
He wants the best available players who can fit into the team mold, and the 
community.  They cost.  (Overpaying Billy Bordick was Yankee Pat's move - it 
was he and Daffy Johnson who had the bug up their butts to move one of the 
top defensive and offensive shortstops in baseball so they could sign a 
player who is at best equal defensively and is by far inferior offensively.  
Meanwhile, Yankee Pat won't sign Mussina at the well-below market salary he's 
requesting.  I still don't understand that.)
TS> So, the question is, how many  more championships has his big buck teams 
TS> won, than say Montreal  or Pittsburgh, or Milwaukee?  Is there a real 
fear 
TS> that the  Baltimore fan will disappear if he cut the payroll in half, or 
is 
TS> that a fabrication to justify a team *he* wants to put on the  field? 
If the Orioles start to suck like the Brewers and Pirates, Camden Yards will 
be as empty as County Stadium and Three Rivers Stadium.  The lure of the 
facility itself won't last forever, which means the Oriole teams will have to 
be the attraction.  Face it, most people here are frontrunners.  Once Irsay 
turned the Colts into the Dolts, many of the fans stayed away from Memorial 
Stadium.  
AH>> If the players had any loyalty to him or the Baltimore  fans, they'd 
help 
AH>> resolve the situation by being a bit less  money-hungry. 
TS> I think they are.  I don't know of any Orioles asking for  blockbuster 
TS> contracts, like Clemens or Fielder, or Belle.  I  think they are 
justified, 
TS> depending on their respective stature,  in going for what they feel is 
TS> reasonable, since they very well  could go elsewhere, and probably easily 
TS> for much more than they  could be had for in Baltimore. 
Undoubtedly so.  However, money doesn't grow on trees, and ticket prices can 
be raised only so much.  There's no other available revenue source.  Angelos 
has to pay other players as well as the big five.  If the stars (Ripken, 
Mussina, Anderson, Alomar, Palmeiro) on the team really want to stay here and 
stay together, and don't like their current offers, they ought to 
collectively speak with Angelos, see what he can afford, and decide amongst 
themselves how to divvy that amount.  For Angelos' part, he should promise to 
not sign any other player for more than the highest paid Oriole in that group 
gets, and, if he does, each of those players gets a commensurate raise.  
TS> The only really dumb move I can think of that the Orioles made  was in 
TS> giving Hoiles a five year contract.  I don't see them  making a 
TS> Clemens-like deal to anyone. 
The five year deal was a mistake.  However, at current market prices, $3.25 
million for a 25+ homer catcher who fields well (few passed balls, good at 
stopping pitches in the dirt, ability to throw out baserunners if pitchers 
give him half a chance) is a bargain.
TS> Higher pay might mean "not taking a cut".  If he's such a big  
TS> name, then he can run for governor when he's done with baseball.   
He's been offered his 1996 salary of $6.2 million for the next two years plus 
an option for a third year (when he'll be 40) at the same salary.  He 
apparently wants $7 mil a year.  On the open market, he'd get more from a 
team that will play him at short where he belongs.
TS> I haven't heard hoards screaming that they're turning in their  
TS> season tickets now that he's playing third instead of short... 
He's still on the team.  The natives will be extremely restless if he and 
Mussina are playing elsewhere in 1998.
TS> To me, that just means that there is a shortage of players who  can play 
TS> shortstop in the league.  I don't think he's *that* good  anymore. 
Defensive stats say otherwise.  Just because Omar Vizquel and his 20 errors 
somehow won the Gold Glove doesn't mean he deserved it.  
TS> Sure, but there's a lot of crap out there he would be replacing. 
Including the new shortstop on our tram.
TS> Bordick?  Who better, at what price?  Hey, Bordick will be just  fine.  
Keeping Zeile at third would have cost the same as Bordick, without the 
offensive liability.
TS> Might even make the team stronger.  He is far less  egotistical than Cal 
TS> (try as he might to not show it).  Cal isn't  so team oriented as 
everyone 
TS> loves to believe. 
Bordick's biggest offensive asset is that he can ground out well enough to 
advance a runner.  I prefer advancing runners via walks and hits, two things 
Bordick doesn't do well (yet Daffy is batting him second.)
TS> Given that, I can't believe they aren't hot on the negotiations  with 
TS> Mussina.   
Yankee Pat and his "no four years" stance are screwing that up.  *adh*
--- Msged/2 4.10
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