Raising Matt Cain expresses happiness at the Giants are paying the competitive balance tax:
Big payroll, big expectations, wouldn’t you say?
Indeed. If you are paying the competitive balance tax, your team should be good enough to be competitive. Right now, the Yankees, Tigers, and Giants don’t really fit the bill. In the case of the Yankees and Tigers, spending big on players to win now sometimes leaves you holding the bag as those players decline. I’ve heard more than one Yankees fan wish that the boss was still in charge of the Yankees, as he would not have let the team slide this much. He would keep spending to keep winning.
The Yankees tax is equivalent to the salary of a three or four WAR player. That might have been enough to have put them in the playoffs in 2016.
Yankees paid a higher tax 10 years ago when players were worth about 4 million per WAR. The tax paid as a percentage of revenue is much lower now, as is the yotal payroll (incl tax). They simply are not spending like they used to which is easy to see when you adjust for revenue and payroll inflation
i’m confused – are you saying the Giants aren’t competitive? They were a Wild Card team last season that lost to the eventual champs, and between a solid offense and 2 starting aces should definitely be considered a playoff (and thus championship) contender in 2017.
ian » The Giants were a team that faded badly in 2016. At one point they had a big lead in the NL West and were actually the best team in the NL, but made the wild card with a rather poor 87-75 record (87 wins is low for making the playoffs). They’re in the same boat as the Yankees and Tigers, good enough to be in the race, but not good enough to go very far.
fair enough David… keep in mind the 2016 Giants led the league in blown saves with 31 and still had an expected W-L record of 91-71. i think looking at next year they are clearly in the 2nd tier of contenders (behind Cubs, Red Sox, maybe Cleveland and Washington), but as we’ve seen in the past teams that can make it into the postseason just need 1 or 2 aces and some clutch hitting. Look at the 2014 Giants, who won only 88 games for the 2nd Wild Card and managed to become champions. I imagine most 2017 projections will have them a step above Detroit and the Yankees who seem to be a bit more flawed.