Rany talking about All Star Week last week:
Did you notice how David Glass wasn’t introduced to the crowd? I mean, if Royals fans were told that David Glass would be on the field in front of 45,000 fans, and if they were given a week to prepare about it, you don’t think they would have booed him until he fled inside a dugout?
The message that Royals fans sent to major league baseball? It was also a message to the Glass Family: THIS IS WHAT WILL HAPPEN IF YOU’LL JUST BUILD US A WINNER. What bothers me about the Glass family’s unwillingness to spend on major-league payroll* isn’t that it’s cheap: it’s that it’s poor business. Spending money on player salaries isn’t a cost – it’s an investment. (Unless you spend it on Jose Guillen.)
*: As recently as 2 or 3 years ago, I felt that the Glass family was spending a reasonable amount of money on major-league payroll, particularly given how much they were spending to sign amateur talent. But this season, the Royals’ payroll is roughly $64 million. That’s almost identical to their payroll in 2008, and more than $10 million LESS than their payroll in 2009 and 2010. Given how much industry revenues have increased the last few years, AND given that the Royals are now prohibited from spending as much money in the draft and in Latin America, that’s inexcusable.
If All-Star week didn’t convince the Glass family that there’s an upside to spending the money to build a contender, nothing will.
http://www.ranyontheroyals.com/