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NEW YORK — The death of Bobby Murcer over the weekend after a long battle with cancer reinforces what the New York Yankees' franchise – and Yankee Stadium, the site of Tuesday night's All-Star Game – means to the emotional fabric of the major leagues.
There's plenty to love about the Yankees, or, if you're so inclined, plenty to dislike and maybe even a smidgen to loathe. Still, you can make the case that this week could be the only time this summer that New York is the capital city of baseball, because a check of the standings indicates that a subway series between the Yankees and the Mets is less likely than a Second City series between Chicago's Cubs and White Sox.
Baseball has achieved a kind of happy medium in the first half. Big-market teams are continuing to drive the attendance and revenue engine, while small-market teams such as the Tampa Bay Rays and the Florida Marlins (who as of Sunday led the majors in home runs with a payroll less than Alex Rodriguez's) are reinforcing the notion that the race doesn't go to those who spend the most; it can also go to the most cost-effective.
At a time of economic uncertainty across the board in the United States, baseball can take some satisfaction, what with its 162-game schedule lending itself to varied ticket pricing, healthy attendance and strength in markets such as New York, Chicago and Los Angeles.
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- Boston Red Sox
- Florida Marlins
- Los Angeles Angels
- Minnesota Twins
- Tampa Bay Rays
- Toronto Blue Jays
- Carlos Delgado
- Josh Hamilton
- Tim Lincecum
- Francisco Rodriguez
- Edinson Volquez
There are nagging issues on the horizon. A scouting scandal in the Dominican Republic threatens to shed light into some dark corners, and when commissioner Bud Selig sees that the Washington Nationals' television ratings are less than one-third of those of any of the other major-league teams, you wonder whether he misses the Montreal Expos.
But steroids and drug testing have failed to cast much of a cloud over the season, and Selig deserves credit for letting the Mitchell report play out while using the bully pulpit of his office judiciously.
The diminishing of Roger Clemens's reputation hasn't proved as titillating as Alex Rodriguez's whatever-it-was with Madonna. When it comes to scandals, there's something to be said for a go-hard-or-go-home approach, no?
The steroid issue has even become a bit of a positive, as slick, streamlined operations such as the Rays, Marlins and Minnesota Twins suddenly find themselves in vogue. The emphasis is on youth, as clubs become wary of failed, 30-something sluggers in need of a “change of scenery.”
Young pitching seems to be coming out of the woodwork in the National League, whether it's the San Francisco Giants' Tim Lincecum (10-2), the Cincinnati Reds' Edinson Volquez (12-3) or the five starters under 25 who make up the Marlins' rotation.
In the American League, Josh Hamilton should be challenging for a Triple Crown and went into Sunday with the fifth largest runs-batted-in total before the All-Star Game break in history, eight behind Hank Greenberg's 103 in 1935 and two behind the third best total of 97, driven in by Carlos Delgado of the 1997 Toronto Blue Jays.
Los Angeles Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez had 37 saves going into Sunday, leaving him poised to obliterate Bobby Thigpen's major-league record of 57.
As for the Toronto nine? Do not give the Blue Jays a pass because of injuries. They have blown an opportunity that won't come around for the rest of the decade. The Yankees and, to a lesser degree, the Boston Red Sox have both had the kind of first halves the Blue Jays have waited for since 1993 – and Toronto has spit out the bit.
Look, the Red Sox are too smart to let things deteriorate. And casting a shadow, literally, over the All-Star Game is the new Yankee Stadium, which is expected to add between $235-million and $250-million (all currency U.S.) annually in ticket and suite revenue to the Yankees beginning next year.
Couple that with Yankees general manager Brian Cashman's serious interest in prospects and add in the possibility that the Yankees could shed $89-million off their payroll in the winter, and the future is not bright for the Blue Jays.
That's something that Andrew Friedman, the Rays' baby-faced general manager, needs to think about this morning. Go for it, kid. Try to make some history of your own.
