8/8/26 How about we hit some jacks off Jax game thread

[Donn Beach]

Sure baseball is going to collapse, along with the environment, the government, the national debt. The question probably should be what isn't going to collapse. Terms of baseball, it's doing fine. You have the As going to las Vegas, name a team now that's pleading poverty.

Long term I'd say the concern should be the aging demographics. The cure for that is probably a robust immigration policy.

What really is going to collapse most likely are the Dodgers, that's the unsustainable situation, not baseball

[D-train]

lol I am sure the Players Union would LOVE your idea....

Not my job to sell it to the players.

And really - 3 years later and you still have a bug up your ass about my shockingly obvious suggestion that the Mariners should sign the best player in baseball?

Guaranteed contracts aren't the issue, it's the length of contracts. And the players union isn't forcing anybody to give multi-year contracts. That's capitalism at work. CAPs and whatever is really socialism. It's controlling a free market. All the players union really wants is as free a market as possible. Normally unions are trying to install labor rates, this is the opposite, it's owners trying to install the rates. The union is fighting for free enterprise

Yep I am with the players....Free market Capitalism is always the way. Nobody is forcing the owners to do anything...Its comical when you think about it. We won't to control our business partners behavior but we need the employees to agree to it...Make it make sense...

[Donn Beach]

Through last year, the Mariners had 5 straight winning seasons, so fan expectations obviously increase.

Especially after last year's playoff run.

But consider these points.

They won the division by just 3 games, over the Astros who were missing 6-7 WAR Alvarez, maybe the top player in the league, virtually all year.

This year he's looking like the MVP.

And in the playoffs, they had to go 15 innings at home to barely beat a slumping Tigers, 3-2, who were playing poorly the last few months.

With much appreciation to AJ Hinch, who removed Skubal who was Dealing, in that critical last game.

So they did lead a charmed life.

And don't forget, this is the team that won 116 games in 2001, but choked in the post season, having to come from 2-1 down to beat Cleveland 3-2, then getting wiped by the Yankees.

So Nothing should surprise M's fans, EVER!

Great points, Marty!!! Totally agree....barely skating by in 54% fashion...

I agree, good points but I don't see it as 54% as it's baseball. Look at the Blue Jays, they went from losing the seventh game of the WS to tanking. And the Dodgers as well, it took them seven games to win it. For all the money being spent I would contend there's not a lot that separates pro teams.

[Donn Beach]

It's like a solution chasing a problem. What is the problem? Baseball is less competitive? Why, because the dodgers could win three straight championships? It's not like it hasn't happened before. I don't remember anybody complaining about competitiveness when the Reds did it. Dynasties were kinda a thing seems to me back in the day

[Donn Beach]

I was gonna add, if there's a mariners fan angle to it id say it be Cal going in the tank. I was braced for a bit of regression but I wasn't expecting the Spanish inquisition! Talk about getting brutalized as a fan base. At least with Judge it's health related

[Big_Maple]

Not it all, I just find it funny all these year later. lol

[Sibelius Hindemith]

Under a system with a completely level playing field with regard to revenue and team payrolls and everything based on merit rather than market inequities there would still be teams that dominate over extended periods of time. That is because some organizations will have better (smarter) executives and talent evaluators as well as better luck, not to mention the obvious factor of talent holdover due to multi-year contracts making it possible to keep teams together. That shouldn't be used as evidence that the system as it is now results in the same thing because it clearly doesn't. The Yankees have been a playoff team almost every season the past 30 years mainly because they have been able to outspend everyone else.

[Donn Beach]

Money is certainly a factor but to me it really comes down to properly running a franchise. Everyone complains about the dodgers death star but the current owners bought the dodgers out of bankruptcy. And the second biggest spenders, the Mets haven't had much success. On the other hand, a mid market team like the brewers has had quite a bit of success as have the Rays

[Michael K.]

Not my job to sell it to the players.

And really - 3 years later and you still have a bug up your ass about my shockingly obvious suggestion that the Mariners should sign the best player in baseball?

Guaranteed contracts aren't the issue, it's the length of contracts. And the players union isn't forcing anybody to give multi-year contracts. That's capitalism at work. CAPs and whatever is really socialism. It's controlling a free market. All the players union really wants is as free a market as possible. Normally unions are trying to install labor rates, this is the opposite, it's owners trying to install the rates. The union is fighting for free enterprise

Yep I am with the players....Free market Capitalism is always the way. Nobody is forcing the owners to do anything...Its comical when you think about it. We won't to control our business partners behavior but we need the employees to agree to it...Make it make sense...

So, you watch the performance of the lifeless sacks of skin on this team who have been paid and think….yep, this is what a successful model looks like? Is it seeing bow salary caps have crippled the NFL and what an amazing product MLB puts out there that makes you believe this way?

MLB players don’t give a shit, and is shows.

[Donn Beach]

Money isn't the motivating factor, it's just another way to keep score. Baseball players would be playing for free like David plays softball. The difference is tons of people want to watch baseball. If tons of people decided they wanted to pay to watch David play softball he wouldn't decide he didn't care about it anymore