Parody in Baseball? Give me a Break!

Parody in Baseball?, Give Me a Break!
Each time the Twins surprise everyone and dominate the AL Central, I cringe. All those pennants, all that success, all it does is feed into the interests of the Yankees, Red Sox, Dodgers, Cubs, and other high-payroll clubs that would do anything in their power to keep the status quo of free agency in the major league. The Twins may be a great story and a beacon of hope for the little guy but in the end their success only hurts the chances of the Cleveland, Tampa Bay, and Milwaukee’s of the world.

With a payroll that, until the recent long-term contract given to Joe Mauer, was as bare-bones as there is in baseball, the six division titles that the club has brought to the Twin Cities since 2002 have given the Yankees and other high rollers in baseball a perfect opportunity to point out that revenue sharing isn’t necessary. They are quick to note that it isn’t a lack of payroll that has left Kansas City, a once prominent major league organization, with just one winning season since the 1994 strike. Instead, they say that if the Twins can do it, anyone can.

Even if you consider a team that has only advanced through one series in this decade of dominance to be a dynasty, remember that they are dominating a division of teams that look nothing like the Yankees or Red Sox. In a division like the AL Central, composed of five “small-market” clubs, somebody has to come out victorious and the Twins have simply found a formula that puts them in a great position to be that somebody year in and year out.

Winning in Minnesota, Cleveland, or Kansas City requires a lot of attention to detail, an immense focus on scouting, and a willingness to overlook personal allegiances in making decisions relating to personnel. On the other hand, winning in New York, Boston, or Los Angeles requires little more than a high school degree and the knowledge that scoring more runs than the opponent is the objective of the game. The General Managers of these large-market clubs are essentially in a position to sign a check and reap the benefits of the hard work done by those less fortunate teams that cannot afford to pay the big bucks. The amateur scouting arm of an organization like the Yankees is about as vital to the success on the field as is the Yankee Stadium concession staff.

For all of the accolades given to the likes of Theo Epstein, Brian Cashman, and Ruben Amaro, Jr., it isn’t difficult to put a great team on the field when ownership is able to hand you a blank check every off-season and you are able to position yourself as a buyer at the trade deadline on a yearly basis. If anything goes wrong with their clubs, if injuries or poor performance seem to be holding them back, they can just pull out the check book, make a phone call, and all is good.

So while these “barons” in New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and elsewhere look at this year’s playoff teams and immediately declare parody to have arrived in major league baseball, let’s hold on a second. While the success achieved in Minnesota, Texas, and Tampa Bay is possible, it is made much more difficult by a system that allows the teams with big checkbooks to guarantee a berth in the postseason with a simple signature on the dotted line. So enough about the genius of Theo Epstein. Stop it with the praise of Brian Cashman. And please don’t tell me that Ruben Amaro, Jr. is a godsend ever again. Send them to Cleveland, send them to Kansas City, send them to Milwaukee and then tell me how genius these guys actually are. Only then can anyone honestly say that baseball has achieved any level of real parody.