* In the aftermath of the historic contract agreement between Shohei Ohtani and the Los Angeles Dodgers Saturday, you will hear a predictable amount of caterwauling about baseball’s economic system, and how the sport is rigged in favor of the big market teams, and how some teams have no chance to compete on the field or for the best players.
Do not believe a word of it.
Yes, it’s true: the big stars tend to sign with the big market teams. But that’s partly because many of the middle and small market teams have helped perpetuate The Big Lie — that they can’t possibly compete for the likes of Ohtani, and that the deck is hopelessly stacked against them.
What they don’t tell you is many of them are spending far less on payroll than they’re taking in in revenue sharing and their own share of the national TV deals. Or that virtually every team is in the black for the year before they sell ticket one, or collect a penny on their own local rights fees (radio and TV), or sponsorship and advertising deals.
And then there’s the valuation of the clubs. Talk about inflationary. Even those small and medium market teams turning modest annual profits have seen the value of the franchises double, triple and quadruple in recent years. The Red Sox, as one example, were bought for $700 million in 2002, and are now worth five times that amount two decades later.
The Dodgers didn’t sign Ohtani because they thought it would be a nice gift for their fan base. They did so because he’ll make their team on the field better, but mostly because they can make more money. They may pay him $70 million annually (the figure will be considerably less because of deferrals) and still make at least half of that back in marketing deals.
When direct-to-consumer streaming becomes fully operational, how many subscribers will the Dodgers have in Japan? How many billboards for Japanese companies will adorn Dodger Stadium?
So the notion that Pittsburgh or Kansas City or Milwaukee couldn’t possibly spent $120 million in payroll next season is absurd. Of course they could. But it’s so much easier to convince gullible fans that they can’t.
* You have to give Bill Belichick credit for fully committing to the bit. Belichick Friday refused to commit to Bailey Zappe as his starting quarterback going forward. Because….he has so many other viable options?
But at least Saturday’s appearance on ESPN’s Game Day was a reminder that Belichick isn’t, in fact, an android and is fully capable of expressing joy when the moment strikes him. More of that Bill, please.
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* Jake DeBrusk, heading for free agency after this season, is doing himself no favors with his play this year. Four goals in the first 25 games doesn’t exactly qualify as a salary drive.
* Heard in the lobby at the Winter Meetings: The very first thing Alex Verdugo asked his new manager, Aaron Boone, was whether there was any wiggle room with the Yankees’ “no facial hair” policy. Priorities, you know.
* Incredibly, John Lennon has been gone longer than we had him, murdered 43 years ago this week. Like so many, I was watching the Patriots-Dolphins game on Monday Night Football and learned of his passing from Howard Cosell, who made the announcement late in the telecast. I can barely remember the game’s outcome (Dolphins 16, Pats 13) but decades later, I remember the staccato delivery. Even now, when I recall hearing the news that day, oh boy — “dead…..on…..arrival” still makes me flinch.
* The joy with which the Patriots celebrated their win in Pittsburgh Thursday night was a reminder that while many fans have been actively rooting for losses to improve the team’s draft position, the players themselves remain invested and competitive.
* On the subject of ownership and commitment: It might be time to check back in with Red Sox chairman Tom Werner and get him to define “full-throttle.” Because so far, this ain’t it.
* Turns out Dave Roberts acknowledging the Dodgers had hosted Ohtani and viewed him as their top offseason priority was not ,in fact, the equivalent of giving away the nuclear codes. How silly.
* There are about three legitimate laughs, tops, in the entirety of National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation, one of the more overrated comedies of all time — Christmas-themed or otherwise.
* Undefeated at home one-quarter of the way through their schedule, you don’t suppose that the Celtics could match their 40-1 home mark during the 1985-86 season, do you? Probably not in an era of “load management,” and frequent back-to-backs. But maybe an outside shot of matching the franchise record of most wins at Boston/TD Garden, since in 85-86, they notched three wins at their alternate home: the Hartford Civic Center.
* Now that Joe Castiglione has been rightfully honored with the Ford C. Frick award, it’s time for Ned Martin to also get his due. Martin was a skilled, erudite, and passionate broadcaster whose many years of informing and entertaining Red Sox fans have gone criminally unrecognized.
* Bruins defensemen have contributed nine goals in 25 games, and to say that’s not going to get it done is a massive understatement. In today’s game, successful teams need offense from everyone, and with the emphasis on speed and skill, there’s a need for defenseman to be more involved in the attack. That’s doubly true for a team like the B’s, who lack much firepower up front.
