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# Friday, May 29, 2009
Not So Deep Thoughts: Is Bigger Always Better When It Comes To MLB Payrolls
Posted by Tuff Stuff

I was listening to some sports radio based in Chicago the other day and there was a flurry of callers complaining about the latest troubles experienced by the Cubs. Everything from injuries, to poor officiating, to a lack of leadership was brought up as the reason the free-spending Cubs are sitting in fourth place with a .500 record instead of running away with the NL Central as many had predicted.$10000.jpg

While all of those are valid reasons behind the Cubbies woes, it got me to thinking about how some of the other big-market, big payroll teams are doing this season. The Yankees lead the way in market size and blow away the competition in payroll, and they're currently sitting in second place in the AL East despite their recent hot streak. New York's other team is second on the payroll list and they sit atop the NL East. The Cubs rank third in payroll and we already mentioned their middle-of-the-road status. Nos. four and five on the list are the Red Sox and Tigers and they're both leading their divisions. Other division leaders, the Cardinals and the Rangers don't exactly fit the mold of the others, with St. Louis ranking 17th and Texas 22nd. The team with the best record in all of the land, the Dodgers, comes in 9th on the list and appears to be playing even better without its $25 million man earning a check.CHICAGOCUBS.jpg

While the top spot in each division will likely change several times between now and the end of September, there does appear to be a direct correlation between the teams with the bigger payrolls and the division leaders. For example, of the 12 teams in first or second place in each division, seven teams are ranked in the top 10 in payroll and only the surprising Padres (29th) and the always-tough Twins (24th) rank in the bottom third on the payroll scale. Of the six last-place teams in each division, only Houston (8th, who has been decimated by injuries) and Cleveland (14th) rank in the top half of the payroll chart, with Washington (26th), Oakland (25th) and Baltimore (23rd) supporting the bigger-is-better theory.

So what to make of all these numbers: not much. There does seem to be some correlation between teams with bigger payrolls and success, but there are always exceptions to every rule and the Padres and Rangers are proof of that. Let's check back at season's end and see if the Davids are still hanging with the Goliaths of the world. Until then, I'll just keep listening to all the Cubs fans whining about yet another season that got away.



Friday, May 29, 2009 6:02:00 PM (GMT Daylight Time, UTC+01:00)  #  Comments [0]
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