It’s easy to get carried away after going to the World Series. For instance, the White Sox.
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No sooner had they taken that trophy off the field last fall than they went to work trying to win another. They decided they might have to spend some money. They added Jim Thome and Javier Vazquez, re-signed Paul Konerko and gave Jon Garland an extension.
They didn’t just keep the core of baseball’s best team together. They made it better.
What the White Sox did was increase their payroll from $75 million to $97 million. And the White Sox are owned by a man–Jerry Reinsdorf–who doesn’t throw his coin around foolishly. He clearly saw the additional money as an investment.
Reinsdorf liked the idea of winning. He also believes that winning can be profitable because it means selling more tickets, suites, sponsorships and merchandise.
This is where it gets complicated. Does spending more money guarantee the White Sox will win another championship? No, it doesn’t. On the first day of spring training, they’re probably not even as good as the Yankees or Red Sox.
You probably know where this is going. Yes, to that other team in the 2005 World Series.
Houston owner Drayton McLane and his team took a different approach from the White Sox this winter. It did raise ticket prices again, but that has become a winter tradition. The box seats that were going for $29 at Minute Maid Park in 2000 are $47 now.
Instead of adding players, the Astros subtracted. They declined to offer Roger Clemens salary arbitration, making him a free agent. They’re trying to force Jeff Bagwell into retirement and collect a $15.6 million insurance claim.
They didn’t make a trade, either, but did sign Preston Wilson in the secondary free-agent market.
The Astros don’t do things the way a lot of other successful teams do them. They don’t get carried away. McLane believes baseball is a business and that being fiscally cautious is the way to go.
I could say something about spending money to make money. But then Drayton might mention the Astros are trying for their seventh playoff appearance in 10 years, and I hate it when someone throws facts in my face.
Only the Atlanta Braves and New York Yankees have had more success over this period. No, the Astros haven’t won a championship, but six times in the past nine years they’ve positioned themselves to win one.
The Astros are a team that would be easy to discount, especially because they seem so nonchalant about filling their needs. They were nonchalant the past two years as well, and those didn’t turn out badly.