Dear Beisbol - Please die (1 Viewer)

[BuddyKnuckles]

What a joke this sport is. All i hear from the talking heads (PTI, ATH, SC, Yahoo, Fox Sports, ESPN Radio, etc) is that a TB vs Philly World series would be horrible for beisbol. How the ratings will be oh so pathetic. How it will just kill the world series. How these so called sports experts wont even watch it.

Are you ####### kidding me? So, let me get this straight, if the Red Sox, the Yanks, or maybe the Cubs are not in the World Series, no one cares? And its not a "real" world series? And no one should watch? Granted, Tampa has about as many fans as a D2 football program, but Philly is the 4th largest TV market in the country. How could this possibvly be so horrible for the sport?

I hate beisbol, so i'm not watching either way. But, what kind of sport has fans that wont watch the championship game unless at least one out of 2, or maybe 3, teams are not in it?

What a joke. This sport should have died after the last strike

/rant

 

[Serenity Now]

In terms of sheer market numbers, it would be a killer..but if the network folks were better at working up the "story" of these teams, they could raise profile of the series.

The Rays story is the ultimate Cinderella story. They're crushing a broken down Red Sox team that's been holding it together with smoke and mirrors all summer long. I don't know if there are any "personalities" on the team that would help to propel their popularity, but the Rays could easily become Red Sox popular if they can pull off the Series.

 

[Osaurus]

Rays = AL Marlins

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Wrong forum.

 

[TexanFan02]

Wrong forum.

Not really. Do you think he should have to go to the Baseball forum to tell them it sucks? Hard to get an unbiased response there.

 

[Leroy Hoard]

Wrong forum.

Not really. Do you think he should have to go to the Baseball forum to tell them it sucks? Hard to get an unbiased response there.

If he said politics suck I would tell him to go to the political forum. If we had one.

 

[eoMMan]

Please move this ####### thread. Thanks.

 

[Thunderlips]

What a joke this sport is. All i hear from the talking heads (PTI, ATH, SC, Yahoo, Fox Sports, ESPN Radio, etc) is that a TB vs Philly World series would be horrible for beisbol. How the ratings will be oh so pathetic. How it will just kill the world series. How these so called sports experts wont even watch it.Are you ####### kidding me? So, let me get this straight, if the Red Sox, the Yanks, or maybe the Cubs are not in the World Series, no one cares? And its not a "real" world series? And no one should watch? Granted, Tampa has about as many fans as a D2 football program, but Philly is the 4th largest TV market in the country. How could this possibvly be so horrible for the sport?I hate beisbol, so i'm not watching either way. But, what kind of sport has fans that wont watch the championship game unless at least one out of 2, or maybe 3, teams are not in it?What a joke. This sport should have died after the last strike /rant

The NFL realized that people will only watch if they put good commercials on. MLB needs to do the same.

 

[Limp Ditka]

Why does this bother you so much? Is it screwing up the times on the TBS shows you normally watch?

 

[wadegarrett]

All i hear from the talking heads (PTI, ATH, SC, Yahoo, Fox Sports, ESPN Radio, etc) is that a TB vs Philly World series would be horrible for beisbol. How the ratings will be oh so pathetic.

I will never understand why anyone gives a #### about ratings. Who cares how many people watched something?

 

[Tough As Nails]

All i hear from the talking heads (PTI, ATH, SC, Yahoo, Fox Sports, ESPN Radio, etc) is that a TB vs Philly World series would be horrible for beisbol. How the ratings will be oh so pathetic.

I will never understand why anyone gives a #### about ratings. Who cares how many people watched something?

They made these exact same comments when talking about how a Detroit v. SA series would be a killer. They make these same comments when talking about the Super Bowl match-up. The ratings and the interest of the general public is always a topic of conversation in every sport. You don't like baseball so this one makes you mad. Bump this when it's a Dallas v. Carolina NFC Championship...guaranteed that these same guys say the same things.

 

[simsarge]

All i hear from the talking heads (PTI, ATH, SC, Yahoo, Fox Sports, ESPN Radio, etc) is that a TB vs Philly World series would be horrible for beisbol. How the ratings will be oh so pathetic.

I will never understand why anyone gives a #### about ratings. Who cares how many people watched something?

Unfortunately it has everything to do with sports nowdays. It's all about the $$. If TV network X can't make money broadcasting it by luring big dollar advertisers, then it doesn't matter how good or bad the sport is. Take soccer for instance. The most popular sport in the world, but can't hold the NFL's jock strap. That's why the NLDS and NLCS are on TBS and not one of the big four. Heck it's not even on ESPN2. In a couple of years it may not even be there. I love baseball, but it doesn't transition well to TV at all.

 

[Sammy Traveller]

What a joke this sport is. All i hear from the talking heads (PTI, ATH, SC, Yahoo, Fox Sports, ESPN Radio, etc) is that a TB vs Philly World series would be horrible for beisbol. How the ratings will be oh so pathetic. How it will just kill the world series. How these so called sports experts wont even watch it.Are you ####### kidding me? So, let me get this straight, if the Red Sox, the Yanks, or maybe the Cubs are not in the World Series, no one cares? And its not a "real" world series? And no one should watch? Granted, Tampa has about as many fans as a D2 football program, but Philly is the 4th largest TV market in the country. How could this possibvly be so horrible for the sport?I hate beisbol, so i'm not watching either way. But, what kind of sport has fans that wont watch the championship game unless at least one out of 2, or maybe 3, teams are not in it?What a joke. This sport should have died after the last strike /rant

The NFL realized that people will only watch if they put good commercials on. MLB needs to do the same.

it's not the commercials. it's Bud Selig.

 

[eoMMan]

What makes me most happy about Tampa Bay and Philadelphia almost making it to the World Series (besides that the fact that I'm a Phillies fan) is.....

2008 Team Payrolls

No. Team Payroll Average

1. New York Yankees $209,081,579 $6,744,567

2. Detroit Tigers $138,685,197 $4,622,840

3. New York Mets $138,293,378 $4,609,779

4. Boston Red Sox $133,440,037 $4,765,716

5. Chicago White Sox $121,152,667 $4,487,136

6. Los Angeles Angels $119,216,333 $4,110,908

7. Chicago Cubs $118,595,833 $4,392,438

8. Los Angeles Dodgers $118,536,038 $4,233,430

9. Seattle Mariners $117,993,982 $4,538,230

10. Atlanta Braves $102,424,018 $3,414,134

11. St. Louis Cardinals $100,624,450 $3,049,226

12. Toronto Blue Jays $98,641,957 $3,522,927

13. Philadelphia Phillies $98,269,881 $3,388,617

14. Houston Astros $88,930,415 $3,293,719

15. Milwaukee Brewers $81,004,167 $2,793,247

16. Cleveland Indians $78,970,067 $3,037,310

17. San Francisco Giants $76,904,500 $2,651,879

18. Cincinnati Reds $74,277,695 $2,971,108

19. San Diego Padres $73,677,617 $2,376,697

20. Colorado Rockies $68,655,500 $2,640,596

21. Texas Rangers $68,239,551 $2,353,088

22. Baltimore Orioles $67,196,248 $2,099,883

23. Arizona Diamondbacks $66,202,713 $2,364,383

24. Minnesota Twins $62,182,767 $2,487,311

25. Kansas City Royals $58,245,500 $2,240,212

26. Washington Nationals $54,961,000 $1,895,207

27. Pittsburgh Pirates $49,365,283 $1,898,665

28. Oakland Athletics $47,967,126 $1,713,112

29. Tampa Bay Rays $43,820,598 $1,460,687

30. Florida Marlins $21,836,500 $661,712

 

[Master of Past and Present]

What makes me most happy about Tampa Bay and Philadelphia almost making it to the World Series (besides that the fact that I'm a Phillies fan) is.....

2008 Team Payrolls

No. Team Payroll Average

1. New York Yankees $209,081,579 $6,744,567

2. Detroit Tigers $138,685,197 $4,622,840

3. New York Mets $138,293,378 $4,609,779

4. Boston Red Sox $133,440,037 $4,765,716

5. Chicago White Sox $121,152,667 $4,487,136

6. Los Angeles Angels $119,216,333 $4,110,908

7. Chicago Cubs $118,595,833 $4,392,438

8. Los Angeles Dodgers $118,536,038 $4,233,430

9. Seattle Mariners $117,993,982 $4,538,230

10. Atlanta Braves $102,424,018 $3,414,134

11. St. Louis Cardinals $100,624,450 $3,049,226

12. Toronto Blue Jays $98,641,957 $3,522,927

13. Philadelphia Phillies $98,269,881 $3,388,617

14. Houston Astros $88,930,415 $3,293,719

15. Milwaukee Brewers $81,004,167 $2,793,247

16. Cleveland Indians $78,970,067 $3,037,310

17. San Francisco Giants $76,904,500 $2,651,879

18. Cincinnati Reds $74,277,695 $2,971,108

19. San Diego Padres $73,677,617 $2,376,697

20. Colorado Rockies $68,655,500 $2,640,596

21. Texas Rangers $68,239,551 $2,353,088

22. Baltimore Orioles $67,196,248 $2,099,883

23. Arizona Diamondbacks $66,202,713 $2,364,383

24. Minnesota Twins $62,182,767 $2,487,311

25. Kansas City Royals $58,245,500 $2,240,212

26. Washington Nationals $54,961,000 $1,895,207

27. Pittsburgh Pirates $49,365,283 $1,898,665

28. Oakland Athletics $47,967,126 $1,713,112

29. Tampa Bay Rays $43,820,598 $1,460,687

30. Florida Marlins $21,836,500 $661,712

I get the Rays but the Phillies are the 6th highest payroll in the NL so they basically beat out two higher payrolled teams. Big deal, not really an underdog story there. Heck, tack on a 5 million dollar contract and they are 4th behind Cubs (made playoffs), Dodgers (made playoffs), and Mets (choked but in it to last day).

 

[Jaysus]

The thing that pisses me off about the devil rays doing well is having to hear about that fn "rayhawk" and the all the ######ed copycat hippies

 

[eoMMan]

What makes me most happy about Tampa Bay and Philadelphia almost making it to the World Series (besides that the fact that I'm a Phillies fan) is.....

2008 Team Payrolls

No. Team Payroll Average

1. New York Yankees $209,081,579 $6,744,567

2. Detroit Tigers $138,685,197 $4,622,840

3. New York Mets $138,293,378 $4,609,779

4. Boston Red Sox $133,440,037 $4,765,716

5. Chicago White Sox $121,152,667 $4,487,136

6. Los Angeles Angels $119,216,333 $4,110,908

7. Chicago Cubs $118,595,833 $4,392,438

8. Los Angeles Dodgers $118,536,038 $4,233,430

9. Seattle Mariners $117,993,982 $4,538,230

10. Atlanta Braves $102,424,018 $3,414,134

11. St. Louis Cardinals $100,624,450 $3,049,226

12. Toronto Blue Jays $98,641,957 $3,522,927

13. Philadelphia Phillies $98,269,881 $3,388,617

14. Houston Astros $88,930,415 $3,293,719

15. Milwaukee Brewers $81,004,167 $2,793,247

16. Cleveland Indians $78,970,067 $3,037,310

17. San Francisco Giants $76,904,500 $2,651,879

18. Cincinnati Reds $74,277,695 $2,971,108

19. San Diego Padres $73,677,617 $2,376,697

20. Colorado Rockies $68,655,500 $2,640,596

21. Texas Rangers $68,239,551 $2,353,088

22. Baltimore Orioles $67,196,248 $2,099,883

23. Arizona Diamondbacks $66,202,713 $2,364,383

24. Minnesota Twins $62,182,767 $2,487,311

25. Kansas City Royals $58,245,500 $2,240,212

26. Washington Nationals $54,961,000 $1,895,207

27. Pittsburgh Pirates $49,365,283 $1,898,665

28. Oakland Athletics $47,967,126 $1,713,112

29. Tampa Bay Rays $43,820,598 $1,460,687

30. Florida Marlins $21,836,500 $661,712

I get the Rays but the Phillies are the 6th highest payroll in the NL so they basically beat out two higher payrolled teams. Big deal, not really an underdog story there. Heck, tack on a 5 million dollar contract and they are 4th behind Cubs (made playoffs), Dodgers (made playoffs), and Mets (choked but in it to last day).

13th overall and 6th in the NL....that's almost middle of the pack. And you say "tack on a 5 million dollar contract".....that's a decent player who could have made them that much of a better team.

Also, they weren't even expected to win the division. They WERE an underdog. The Mets, who had 40 million more in payroll and studs like Santana, Wright, Reyes, etc., were the favorite.

 

[belljr]

All i hear from the talking heads (PTI, ATH, SC, Yahoo, Fox Sports, ESPN Radio, etc) is that a TB vs Philly World series would be horrible for beisbol. How the ratings will be oh so pathetic.

I will never understand why anyone gives a #### about ratings. Who cares how many people watched something?

Unfortunately it has everything to do with sports nowdays. It's all about the $$. If TV network X can't make money broadcasting it by luring big dollar advertisers, then it doesn't matter how good or bad the sport is. Take soccer for instance. The most popular sport in the world, but can't hold the NFL's jock strap. That's why the NLDS and NLCS are on TBS and not one of the big four. Heck it's not even on ESPN2. In a couple of years it may not even be there. I love baseball, but it doesn't transition well to TV at all.

Fox?

 

[dino259]

All i hear from the talking heads (PTI, ATH, SC, Yahoo, Fox Sports, ESPN Radio, etc) is that a TB vs Philly World series would be horrible for beisbol. How the ratings will be oh so pathetic.

I will never understand why anyone gives a #### about ratings. Who cares how many people watched something?

They made these exact same comments when talking about how a Detroit v. SA series would be a killer. They make these same comments when talking about the Super Bowl match-up. The ratings and the interest of the general public is always a topic of conversation in every sport. You don't like baseball so this one makes you mad. Bump this when it's a Dallas v. Carolina NFC Championship...guaranteed that these same guys say the same things.

Think You got the DALLAS part wrong. The NFL and the media loves dallas as the so called america's team. Imagine an Arizona vs. Carolina championship game. Although the NFL is more about the league than it is the teams like the Beisbol and THE Association.

 

[RBM]

But, what kind of sport has fans that wont watch the championship game unless at least one out of 2, or maybe 3, teams are not in it?

Way off. FANS will watch no matter who is in. Its the casual (re:non-fans) observers that wont watch. And who cares about them honestly.

 

[Osaurus]

The thing that pisses me off about the devil rays doing well is having to hear about that fn "rayhawk" and the all the ######ed copycat hippies

 

[simsarge]

All i hear from the talking heads (PTI, ATH, SC, Yahoo, Fox Sports, ESPN Radio, etc) is that a TB vs Philly World series would be horrible for beisbol. How the ratings will be oh so pathetic.

I will never understand why anyone gives a #### about ratings. Who cares how many people watched something?

Unfortunately it has everything to do with sports nowdays. It's all about the $$. If TV network X can't make money broadcasting it by luring big dollar advertisers, then it doesn't matter how good or bad the sport is. Take soccer for instance. The most popular sport in the world, but can't hold the NFL's jock strap. That's why the NLDS and NLCS are on TBS and not one of the big four. Heck it's not even on ESPN2. In a couple of years it may not even be there. I love baseball, but it doesn't transition well to TV at all.

Fox?

Haven't tuned into every game. I guess I took it for granted that the Philly games were just a local broadcast and not the network. My bad.

 

[GroveDiesel]

Rays = AL Marlins

The Rays have a bunch of young talent signed longterm to very palatable deals. They're going to be a good team for quite a while. And I definitely blame the networks for the problem that they have. If they wouldn't focus on the Yankees, Red Sox and Cubs to the detriment of all other teams, then maybe the ratings would be higher when those teams get eliminated. The Rays are a GREAT story and have been all season. They have tons of talented young players. They're very probably going to the World Series despite never having even a winning season before this year. The Phillies are the 4th largest media market in the country. Between Rollins, Utley and Howard, they have plenty of star power. They play in a town that hasn't had a championship team in 25 years. The problem is that you can't just create and sell a story at the last second. It's already too late. The media treated the Rays and Phillies like afterthoughts the entire season and even in the first two series of the post season. Casual fans are taking their cues from the media and will continue to treat them as afterthoughts. In the casual fan's mind, if the Phillies or Rays win the World Series, it will only be because a better team choked, even though that won't be the case at all.

 

[Alias]

What a joke this sport is. All i hear from the talking heads (PTI, ATH, SC, Yahoo, Fox Sports, ESPN Radio, etc) is that a TB vs Philly World series would be horrible for beisbol. How the ratings will be oh so pathetic. How it will just kill the world series. How these so called sports experts wont even watch it.Are you ####### kidding me? So, let me get this straight, if the Red Sox, the Yanks, or maybe the Cubs are not in the World Series, no one cares? And its not a "real" world series? And no one should watch? Granted, Tampa has about as many fans as a D2 football program, but Philly is the 4th largest TV market in the country. How could this possibvly be so horrible for the sport?I hate beisbol, so i'm not watching either way. But, what kind of sport has fans that wont watch the championship game unless at least one out of 2, or maybe 3, teams are not in it?What a joke. This sport should have died after the last strike /rant

If you sensationalize a little more we might understand what your issue is.

 

[gump]

Can't speak for TV...but I can speak for the licensed world.

The Phillies were MLB's #2 team from the postseason bunch. Cubs were #1.

The Rays are still up in the air (mainly because the Bucs Super Bowl was not expected to be big...but turned out to be huge), but will certainly be better for MLB than the Angels, Dodgers, or Brewers. Most think they will be better than the Sox as well, since that market is saturated.

So in summary...MLB has 2 of their top 4 teams from a licensed $$ standpoint from the 8 playoff teams looking to be in the World Series.

 

[Tom Servo]

And I definitely blame the networks for the problem that they have. If they wouldn't focus on the Yankees, Red Sox and Cubs to the detriment of all other teams, then maybe the ratings would be higher when those teams get eliminated. The Rays are a GREAT story and have been all season. They have tons of talented young players. They're very probably going to the World Series despite never having even a winning season before this year. The Phillies are the 4th largest media market in the country. Between Rollins, Utley and Howard, they have plenty of star power. They play in a town that hasn't had a championship team in 25 years.

The problem is that you can't just create and sell a story at the last second. It's already too late. The media treated the Rays and Phillies like afterthoughts the entire season and even in the first two series of the post season. Casual fans are taking their cues from the media and will continue to treat them as afterthoughts. In the casual fan's mind, if the Phillies or Rays win the World Series, it will only be because a better team choked, even though that won't be the case at all.

I've said this before and so it's good to see somebody else make the point.The thing that scares the bejeebers out of the sports media about a TB-Philly WS is that they'll have to actually do their job and come up with interesting story lines rather than have one drop in their laps. No Manny v. Sox, Torre v. Sox redux, etc. They'll actually have to beat the bushes, learn something about these other teams and present it to the casual fan in an interesting way. Sorry about their darn luck.

 

[Doctor Detroit]

What a joke this sport is. All i hear from the talking heads (PTI, ATH, SC, Yahoo, Fox Sports, ESPN Radio, etc) is that a TB vs Philly World series would be horrible for beisbol. How the ratings will be oh so pathetic. How it will just kill the world series. How these so called sports experts wont even watch it.Are you ####### kidding me? So, let me get this straight, if the Red Sox, the Yanks, or maybe the Cubs are not in the World Series, no one cares? And its not a "real" world series? And no one should watch? Granted, Tampa has about as many fans as a D2 football program, but Philly is the 4th largest TV market in the country. How could this possibvly be so horrible for the sport?I hate beisbol, so i'm not watching either way. But, what kind of sport has fans that wont watch the championship game unless at least one out of 2, or maybe 3, teams are not in it?What a joke. This sport should have died after the last strike /rant

I was gonna give you one star but I saw you didn't need any help there.

 

[kaa]

Its amazing that when I discuss baseball with other people, and I inform them that revenue isn't shared, which means teams like the Yankees and Red Sox can compete on an uneven playing field when it comes to talent acquisition, they had no idea. I'm convinced the overwhelming majority think MLB is a fair sport, when in fact its rigged.

 

[Limp Ditka]

Its amazing that when I discuss baseball with other people, and I inform them that revenue isn't shared, which means teams like the Yankees and Red Sox can compete on an uneven playing field when it comes to talent acquisition, they had no idea. I'm convinced the overwhelming majority think MLB is a fair sport, when in fact its rigged.

 

[Thunderlips]

Its amazing that when I discuss baseball with other people, and I inform them that revenue isn't shared, which means teams like the Yankees and Red Sox can compete on an uneven playing field when it comes to talent acquisition, they had no idea. I'm convinced the overwhelming majority think MLB is a fair sport, when in fact its rigged.

10 different teams in 11 years....that's what the NL has sent to the World Series.

 

[crewmember]

What makes me most happy about Tampa Bay and Philadelphia almost making it to the World Series (besides that the fact that I'm a Phillies fan) is.....

2008 Team Payrolls

No. Team Payroll Average

1. New York Yankees $209,081,579 $6,744,567

2. Detroit Tigers $138,685,197 $4,622,840

3. New York Mets $138,293,378 $4,609,779

4. Boston Red Sox $133,440,037 $4,765,716

5. Chicago White Sox $121,152,667 $4,487,136

6. Los Angeles Angels $119,216,333 $4,110,908

7. Chicago Cubs $118,595,833 $4,392,438

8. Los Angeles Dodgers $118,536,038 $4,233,430

9. Seattle Mariners $117,993,982 $4,538,230

10. Atlanta Braves $102,424,018 $3,414,134

11. St. Louis Cardinals $100,624,450 $3,049,226

12. Toronto Blue Jays $98,641,957 $3,522,927

13. Philadelphia Phillies $98,269,881 $3,388,617

14. Houston Astros $88,930,415 $3,293,719

15. Milwaukee Brewers $81,004,167 $2,793,247

16. Cleveland Indians $78,970,067 $3,037,310

17. San Francisco Giants $76,904,500 $2,651,879

18. Cincinnati Reds $74,277,695 $2,971,108

19. San Diego Padres $73,677,617 $2,376,697

20. Colorado Rockies $68,655,500 $2,640,596

21. Texas Rangers $68,239,551 $2,353,088

22. Baltimore Orioles $67,196,248 $2,099,883

23. Arizona Diamondbacks $66,202,713 $2,364,383

24. Minnesota Twins $62,182,767 $2,487,311

25. Kansas City Royals $58,245,500 $2,240,212

26. Washington Nationals $54,961,000 $1,895,207

27. Pittsburgh Pirates $49,365,283 $1,898,665

28. Oakland Athletics $47,967,126 $1,713,112

29. Tampa Bay Rays $43,820,598 $1,460,687

30. Florida Marlins $21,836,500 $661,712

I get the Rays but the Phillies are the 6th highest payroll in the NL so they basically beat out two higher payrolled teams. Big deal, not really an underdog story there. Heck, tack on a 5 million dollar contract and they are 4th behind Cubs (made playoffs), Dodgers (made playoffs), and Mets (choked but in it to last day).

13th overall and 6th in the NL....that's almost middle of the pack. And you say "tack on a 5 million dollar contract".....that's a decent player who could have made them that much of a better team.

Also, they weren't even expected to win the division. They WERE an underdog. The Mets, who had 40 million more in payroll and studs like Santana, Wright, Reyes, etc., were the favorite.

Well you can tack on 7 million for Jim Thome which is not included in these numbers.Anywho, Gillick did a great job and was very classy last night giving Ed Wade credit for setting up most of the team.

 

[T Bell]

Its amazing that when I discuss baseball with other people, and I inform them that revenue isn't shared, which means teams like the Yankees and Red Sox can compete on an uneven playing field when it comes to talent acquisition, they had no idea. I'm convinced the overwhelming majority think MLB is a fair sport, when in fact its rigged.

And they don't even pay them in gold! It's criminal!

 

[Master of Past and Present]

What makes me most happy about Tampa Bay and Philadelphia almost making it to the World Series (besides that the fact that I'm a Phillies fan) is.....

2008 Team Payrolls

No. Team Payroll Average

1. New York Yankees $209,081,579 $6,744,567

2. Detroit Tigers $138,685,197 $4,622,840

3. New York Mets $138,293,378 $4,609,779

4. Boston Red Sox $133,440,037 $4,765,716

5. Chicago White Sox $121,152,667 $4,487,136

6. Los Angeles Angels $119,216,333 $4,110,908

7. Chicago Cubs $118,595,833 $4,392,438

8. Los Angeles Dodgers $118,536,038 $4,233,430

9. Seattle Mariners $117,993,982 $4,538,230

10. Atlanta Braves $102,424,018 $3,414,134

11. St. Louis Cardinals $100,624,450 $3,049,226

12. Toronto Blue Jays $98,641,957 $3,522,927

13. Philadelphia Phillies $98,269,881 $3,388,617

14. Houston Astros $88,930,415 $3,293,719

15. Milwaukee Brewers $81,004,167 $2,793,247

16. Cleveland Indians $78,970,067 $3,037,310

17. San Francisco Giants $76,904,500 $2,651,879

18. Cincinnati Reds $74,277,695 $2,971,108

19. San Diego Padres $73,677,617 $2,376,697

20. Colorado Rockies $68,655,500 $2,640,596

21. Texas Rangers $68,239,551 $2,353,088

22. Baltimore Orioles $67,196,248 $2,099,883

23. Arizona Diamondbacks $66,202,713 $2,364,383

24. Minnesota Twins $62,182,767 $2,487,311

25. Kansas City Royals $58,245,500 $2,240,212

26. Washington Nationals $54,961,000 $1,895,207

27. Pittsburgh Pirates $49,365,283 $1,898,665

28. Oakland Athletics $47,967,126 $1,713,112

29. Tampa Bay Rays $43,820,598 $1,460,687

30. Florida Marlins $21,836,500 $661,712

I get the Rays but the Phillies are the 6th highest payroll in the NL so they basically beat out two higher payrolled teams. Big deal, not really an underdog story there. Heck, tack on a 5 million dollar contract and they are 4th behind Cubs (made playoffs), Dodgers (made playoffs), and Mets (choked but in it to last day).

13th overall and 6th in the NL....that's almost middle of the pack. And you say "tack on a 5 million dollar contract".....that's a decent player who could have made them that much of a better team.

Also, they weren't even expected to win the division. They WERE an underdog. The Mets, who had 40 million more in payroll and studs like Santana, Wright, Reyes, etc., were the favorite.

Geoff Jenkins is $5 from what I can find and put up .246, 9 HRs, 29 RBIs and 0-2 in the playoffs. Yeah, another Jenkins is really going to add a lot.