New York Magazine’s Intelligencer blog discusses the incredible spending by the Mets and to a much greater degree, the Yankees despite the economy falling into recession.
Already, the two teams are not paying rent or property taxes on the new stadiums, and the MTA ($104 for a monthly MetroCard, anyone?) is giving the Yankees their own Metro-North station. The teams are also subtracting construction costs from their share of MLB’s revenue-sharing program, which pays out to less-flush franchises. The Yankees (and Mets) have prepared for a potential recession the old-fashioned way: by reducing their own expenses long before everyone else was doing it. That made paying Sabathia (and Rodriguez) easy. The recession is going to cause normal teams to scale back. The Yankees and Mets are not normal teams. They have big shiny new stadiums and fancy cable channels. So they don’t get normal players.
The Yankees, with the signing of A.J. Burnett, have spent $243.5MM this offseason on two pitchers, unless C.C. Sabathia opts out. The Mets are thought to have a bargain on their hands signing Francisco Rodriguez for $37mm.
Pete Lappin (3)
