The Griffon News

Another baseball season has come to a close and Royals fans are happy that the pain is finally over. It is difficult to watch your team lose over and over again.

I, like many other fans, wonder how they manage to be so bad every year? The Royals’ ownership and management would have you believe the team doesn’t bring in enough money to pay big time players. That’s why they can’t compete.

You could make an all-star team from former Royals players. Jermaine Dye, Carlos Beltran, and Johnny Damon all made the allstar team last season. They all also left the Royals because they were offered more money by other teams.

Another former Royals player just helped lead the Cardinals to victory at the World Series Championship game. Jeff Suppan was a key pitcher for the Cardinals during their World Series run. Suppan is also a former Royal.

Why do the Royals let all of these players go? They say they can’t afford to keep them. The Royals’ payroll last year was $47 million. That was the fourth lowest total in Major League Baseball.

Other teams in small markets make the playoffs every year. The Oakland Athletics, Minnesota Twins, and San Diego Padres all made the playoffs this year. They also all play in some of the smallest media markets in baseball.

All of these teams know that they must keep their best players in order to win. None of these teams spend tons of money on free agents. They scout well and resign their own star players.

Baseball practices something known as revenue sharing. Clubs in large markets such as New York and Boston, give money to teams in smaller cities to keep the game fair. Almost all the Royals payroll was paid with money that other teams gave them. So all the money made off ticket sales, merchandise, and parking is pure profit for the ownership.

The Florida Marlins had the lowest payroll in baseball last year. They were also in the playoff hunt until the final week of the season. How did the Marlins win so many games with the lowest payroll in baseball?

They kept both of their best young players. The Marlins traded away most of their starting lineup last off-season but they kept Dontrelle Willis and Miguel Cabrera. Willis had a very good year and Cabrera made the all-star team.

So who is the Royals best player? The highest paid player last year was Mike Sweeney. He made $11 million while hitting .258 with eight homeruns and thirty-three RBIs.

Remember Jermaine Dye, a player the Royals let go. He made $5 million while sporting a .315 batting average. He also had 44 homeruns and 120 RBIs.

The Royals continue to make terrible decisions. They need to trade Mike Sweeney. He takes up one-fourth of the payroll and doesn’t give them any production. He may be the face of the franchise, but he isn’t helping them win games.

The Royals were recently voted the worst franchise in sports by ESPN writers. That’s the worst out of every sports league, not just baseball. There isn’t a more poorly run franchise in any sport. There is new hope for the Royals though. They have fired former General Manager, Allen Baird, and hired Atlanta Braves assistant, Dayton Moore.

The first true test will be what the Royals do with outfielder David DeJesus. He is a very good player who is going to want to be paid like one in the future. Will the new Royals GM realize the need to resign him, or will he let him go like so many players before?