No longer a small Payroll team

by bajablue on Dec 6, 2007 12:20 PM PST

Okay, so compared to the Yanks...with a $200 million payroll we still qualify for assisted living, but our payroll is $80 mil. Several teams that made the playoffs last year (see Rockies, etc.) had smaller payroll.
Are we spending wisely? I am afflicted with the fall-in-love condition with our players that last more than a few years. Chavy, Crosby, Scutaro (gone), Ellis, etc. But I think it's time to cut the cord with some of the dudes we run out there each day.
The problem is that we cannot get anything for most of these guys - Kotsay - injury prone, Chavy - injury prone, Crosby - injury prone and suspect upside...so what do we do?

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Kotsay, Crosby, Harden...

might need to be in assisted living, but that has nothing to do with payroll...

"It is almost impossible to exaggerate the complete unimportance of almost everything."

by Poppy on Dec 6, 2007 12:08 PM PST reply actions

Just a little adjustment ...

Payroll was really (Grover's insistences not withstanding) a bit under $74 million and closer to $71 that the A's actually paid (after moving Loaiza, Kendall and Bradley) ...

One way or the other, it's close to but a bit below the median ...

"It's for your own good. Big strong Devo knows whats best for Poppy" -- Mossback

by devo on Dec 6, 2007 12:19 PM PST reply actions

My insistence?

The A's budgeted $79 million last year, $5 million came from Pittsburgh. I've used the $74 million figure and gotten yelled at and I've used the $79 million figure and gotten yelled at.

So you can kiss my ass.

It would be the nicest thing anyone has done for me on this topic.

Yep. Warm and fuzzy... that's me.

by grover on Dec 6, 2007 7:05 PM PST up reply actions

I never understood the yelling

at you by people.

So, the figures aren't exactly precise. Unless someone here has sources with the team, no one's numbers here are going to be exactly precise.

ZIPS: Milledge: 466 HR, 485 2B, 2282 hits, 278-379-524

by rfloh on Dec 8, 2007 1:30 AM PST up reply actions

WHO'S YELLING??????

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Dec 8, 2007 10:09 AM PST up reply actions

I'm just giving grover shit ...

it's a thing we do ... he knows I've got nothing but love ...

"It's for your own good. Big strong Devo knows whats best for Poppy" -- Mossback

by devo on Dec 8, 2007 12:53 PM PST up reply actions

I think the comparison is kinda misleading...

...in the sense that I believe the Rockies were a fluke.

But, in a general sense, yes, payroll can not be managed wisely, and that's something the A's need to take a look at. I think they started to last year by dumping some of the dead weight that they knew were taking them nowhere immediately.

by UncleLeo on Dec 6, 2007 2:17 PM PST reply actions

This is the NL, afterall. The Marlins could still

come out of that league.

by theblackpearl on Dec 6, 2007 3:09 PM PST up reply actions

It's one of the most misunderstood things...

in baseball right now.

People talk about parity, and how the Diamondbacks or Rockies could make the playoffs, but those teams are playing an entirely different game practically.

There is no parity in the AL; there's plenty of parity in the NL. The NL parity is more a function of no financial heavyweight and lot of unimaginative GMs than anything else.

My point is, referencing the A's payroll and saying "hey, teams made the playoffs with less" - sure, but they were playing a different game.

The only financial heavyweight in the NL West (Dodgers) is one of the worst-run franchises in baseball. Thus, their division is winnable on a $60M payroll. The same is not true of life anywhere in the AL, where the wild card is purchased for $120M or more and each division is better than any of the NL divisions.

"How do you strain your oblique while staring at strike 3?" -slyrus, referring to Milton's infamous final A's at-bat

by notsellingjeans on Dec 6, 2007 3:05 PM PST reply actions

Cleveland ...

the exception that proves the rule, so to speak (which always struck me as one of the dumbest sayings around ...)

"It's for your own good. Big strong Devo knows whats best for Poppy" -- Mossback

by devo on Dec 6, 2007 3:43 PM PST up reply actions

I think "prove" in that phrase

means "test" (as in "proofing" yeast before adding it to flour), so the idiom actually does make some sense.

"And Julio Franco is batting right-handed!" -- Wayne Hagin, A's radio play-by-play, mid-80s

by Nick on Dec 6, 2007 5:55 PM PST up reply actions

The proof is in the pudding -

or was, until I ate the pudding.

Hey wait - did you just call me an idiom?

I like Cindi. A. She never pretends to know more than she does. B. She has unbridled enthusiasm for her "Hotties," and isn't afraid to show it. -IM4Oakgal

by Nico on Dec 6, 2007 7:33 PM PST up reply actions