"That’s what happens when you have different guys playing all time and you’re trying to figure out what the lineup is, guys in the and out of the lineup," said Baker. "Now we have a more consistent lineup."

I have no idea what the fuck that means. I’m tired.

are ludicrously overrated. I call shenanigans on the mythical “increased pressure of those final outs.” Nick Masset would do fine in that role for a fraction of the cost. Yes, Cordero has been good, but I will never be convinced that his money would not have been better spent in a more pressing area (SS or LF). But hey, that’s just me.

1. He is the highest paid closer not named Mariano Rivera. He better be good. But that doesn’t preclude him from being overpaid, which I think you agree with.

2. He is being paid that large contract by a team that has won 80 games just once in the last 9 years. The current closer model employed by most teams puts the most value for closers on teams who win a lot of games. By that definition, closers are the last piece of a puzzle, not a centerpiece of a team. He is being paid as the centerpiece of a team that is several pieces away from winning. Cordero’s performance is definitely helping the Reds be a better team, but I would argue that his contract is making it much harder for them to be a winning team.

The dude has been an absolute stud, and there has been no call for the use of the Soso Cordero nickname. I’ve been enjoying his season long climb up the All-Time Saves Leaders List. When the season began, he had 211 saves and was in 35th place, between Jeff Shaw and Dave Smith. Now, 39 saves later, he’s in 28th place, just two behind Dave Righetti. He’s put a little distance between himself and Francisco Rodriguez, but Joe Nathan is charging hard and nipping on his heels in 29th place.

Yeah, he’s probably overpaid and his contract’s a burden, but speaking strictly as a fan of good baseball players, it’s nice to see him pitching for our team.

yet he is only pitching in 70 innings a year. That is money that could have gone to extend Dunn (not that they would have), or find a shortstop.

but i thought i would add this: according to FanGraphs WAR, Jonathan Broxton has been the most valuable relief pitcher so far this year, posting a 2.8 WAR. his performance has been worth around $12.8 million dollars to the Dodgers. Coco is making $12 mil this year, next, and in 2011, and his WAR this year is just 1.4. while that is still good for a relief pitcher, it just isnt worth near as much as he’s getting paid. and he would have to be the very best relief pitcher in the league just for the Reds to break even on his contract. the nature of the job makes it impossible for him to earn his keep, which is why smart teams dont pay for closers on the free agent market.

what should we listen for, the crying or the surgery.

AS the rich get richer – the have nots have to get smarter…that’s a lot to ask from Bob, hell he’s older than I am.
The smart moves that you correctly disclose – get a GM and a Manager – are predicated on not Money but:
1. Knowing the game
2. Knowing the industry
3. If, however, you don’t know #1 and #2 , then you have to get out of the way,BUT
4. If you’re the boss, it is your money on the line, and you don’t know #1 and #2 then it makes it difficult to hire a creative manager and GM
5. The catch comes that you can’t remove yourself from the equation until you hire a manager and GM, \wich takes us back to #1 and 2.

A Baseball industry with more parity however, would be an improved and healthier industry because competition tends to breed innovation and create stability. When you can’t compete (because of lack of money) your business stagnates and becomes a drain on your industry. Just think how much more money the Reds would have in a business model with some shared revenue..they could play Pittsburgh and both teams would most likely be better teams with significantly higher attendance and more advertisers and more money to share for the Reds to bring back to their club and city.

Bob buying a baseball team is similar to me having the money to buy a giant produce conglomerate,,,I’d fuck it up with in 5 years fer sher.

the economic issues in baseball does put Cincinnati and teams like it behind the proverbial 8-ball. The Yankees can spend money on CC Sabathia, and not be too worried if he blows his arm out 3 years into his contract, and they pay him for years of surgery, rehab, and being a shell of his former self, because they can replace him with a similar contract for Tim Lincecum when he hits the market. They can invest in players not not be as worried about the risk.

Ken Griffey Jr. ate up a large portion of the Reds pay role, when the Reds traded and extended him, he was a marquee player, maybe the best in baseball, nobody saw all of those injuries coming. It seemed like a smart investment for the Reds, because Griffey would provide the Reds with high level production on the field, the marketing of selling Griffey merchandise off the field would have been a boom. The Yankees could have signed Griffey, Griffey could have gone through the same injuries in New York, and it wouldn’t have come close to hurting them.

Also small market teams have to rely on luck. Ty Howington was a big time pitching prospect, now yes the Reds mismanaged him, but still it is difficult when an injury to a minor league pitcher can change the course of the Major League Team.

The Reds have to be smarter, no doubt, the Twins, As, Marlins, have proven it doesn’t take a big payroll to succeed, but an even monetary playing field would go a long way too.

the fact the scoring system and scoring environment in the NFL makes it the near perfect sport to gamble on.

Parity might be part of the appeal of the NFL, but if they were to do away with parity, the NFL wouldn’t lose a whole lot of support.

Now, make a field goal worth one point and touchdown worth two points and watch the frustration with the league grow.

After 16 games this year the playoff teams would have been Toronto, Boston, Kansas City, and Seattle in AL. In the NL, it would have been Florida, St. Louis, LA Dodgers, and San Diego.

Parity is much harder in a longer season because, for the most part, only good teams go to the playoffs after 162 games. A mediocre NFL team can get lucky and win a game or two they shouldn’t win and end up in the playoffs. A mediocre baseball team probably needs to luck into about 10 wins to turn the table and make the playoffs. And that doesn’t even mention the fact that only 8 teams make the playoffs in baseball compared to 12 in football and 16 in basketball.

There are many more impediments to baseball parity than simply payroll.

On the other hand a form of parity could very likely increase the opportunity for stronger competition. But to be fair extra monies would have to be used judiciously and not just hoarded (a la Mike Brown). I also believe that winning has a great deal to do with popularity in pro sports. It is rare that a winning team doesn’t do well in attendance and in ad dollars.
Just sayin’

He does have a decent bat, a bit below average for his career, but not bad for a shortstop. His line drive rate has fluctuated from year to year, this year being a down year. His glove is suspect, though his UZR was good this year. If he could put a good hitting and good fielding season together at one time, he could be a very valuable player. Instead he’s been valuable, just not peak. He’ll only be 27 next year and is moving into his arb years after having been under a Major League contract that he signed when drafted that saw him make $1.5M the last 2 years. I could see him make $3-4M next year.

He wouldn’t be my prime choice for shortstop – his glove is a concern – but I’d definitely inquire if I’m Walt.

And while I’m on your Maloney bandwagon to a point, I can’t help but think that some washed up Josh Fogg type will be brought in.

Granted, this would be entirely counter-intuitive, I just like to prepare for the worst.

if i recall correctly, a number of teams like the Pirates, Rays, and Marlins, got enough money in revenue sharing to cover their entire player payrolls.