caulfield12

Royals Sox Guardians all in the running for worst MLB outfield production.

https://t.co/Nkfw5V8WRz Everyone watching Ohtani take bp

https://www.statista.com/statistics/196680/revenue-of-the-san-diego-padres-since-2006/#:~:text=In 2024%2C the revenue of the San Diego,from 2001 to 2024 (in million U.S. dollars) Look at how abysmal SD revenues were in the early 2000s compared to the White Sox... And now the White Sox were just 29th and only ahead of LV/Oak in a minor league ballpark. One obvious point is the well-regarded new stadium, its capacity, weather, ballpark village and festive atmosphere. But things really picked up with the signing of Machado and the arrival of Tatis as a Top 5 prospect in 2019. As noted, losing the Chargers and Clippers and never having a hockey team put all the corporate sponsorship dollars in their pockets. But signing eight players to $100-340 million contracts was supposed to be the inevitable end of a franchise. It was decried almost universally by fellow owners (except by the Dodgers and Players Union) as unsustainable/foolhardy. Yet here they are. 4 playoffs in 6 years and four playoff series Victorian has been enough to completely transform that franchise, overhanging debt in the $300-350 million range be damned.

$230-250 million is running circles around the rest of the Central. Illitch is worth "just" $6.9 billion now. These days you at least have to be a decades billionaire to separate yourself from the rest of the pack. Ishbia brothers combined around $15 billion.

Maybe look at the Padres raising their franchise valuation from $1.7-$1.8 billion into the high $2's in the last 6-7 years by spending a boat load of money on payroll. JR's excuse is that won't earn him enough revenue or even 3 million+ in attendance. At least Detroit finally gets it.

https://www.ncaa.com/game/6543817 Roch 1/3 double rs rbi Gasparino two homers (6) 2 rbi

Salt Lake City becoming a future MLB expansion site? "The latter locale is home to: The NBA’s Jazz. The NHL’s Mammoth. MLS and NWSL franchises. A successful Triple-A baseball team. Pro softball and volleyball franchises. Plus the Big 12's BYU and Utah, flush with cash to spend on winning college teams. UFC. X Games. NBA All-Star. Massive youth sports complexes. One of the most ambitious, innovative young owners, Ryan Smith, who owns the Jazz and Mammoth. State politicians squaring up on the prediction markets. Obviously, the Housewives are everywhere. An MLB expansion team could be next, and well before 2034. While many have been provincially focused on stodgy East Coast cities, the Bay Area’s 2025 victory lap, Las Vegas’ thirsty past decade or Chicago’s NFL standoff, Salt Lake City has been busy becoming the modern-day model of U.S. sports-city development." https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7044898/2026/02/23/utah-mlb-expansion-sports-city/?source=athletic_moneycall_newsletter&campaign=16988333&userId=310262 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Power_District_Stadium Readiness has put Utah at an advantage. While other cities announced their entries into MLB expansion consideration with renderings and merch, Salt Lake City arrived with a 100-acre site, a coalition of prominent Utahns, broad bipartisan support, a plan for public funding and a reputable anchor investor. “City and state officials are not subtle about their aspirations. They want Salt Lake City to be a larger dot on the map. Part of their plan is to continue building a robust sports scene

Extremely athletic for a 6-foot-2, 215-pound catcher, Lackey isn't quick out of the batter's box but can flash plus run times once he gets going. He's very agile behind the plate and should become a solid receiver and blocker once he improves his focus and consistency. His strong and accurate arm is another asset, and he looked capable at third base while playing 13 errorless games there in 2025. mlb.com Looks like he can stick at catcher...

this won't help followed by an even longer one later in the same game

https://www.mlb.com/brewers/news/brandon-sproat-shane-drohan-make-brewers-spring-debuts Ex Sox Shane Drohan a featured cog in Brewers' pitching machine

https://www.mlb.com/news/picking-ultimate-mlb-bandwagon-team-2026 Orioles over Pirates for 2026, Sox and Cardinals for 2027 Pick the bandwagon team to jump on early...

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2026/02/dodgers-sign-keynan-middleton-to-minor-league-deal.html Dodgers' rotation running 12 deep There’s no real reason for Snell and the Dodgers to push for him to be ready for Opening Day. The rotation should still be strong even without him in it. Yamamoto, Shohei Ohtani, Tyler Glasnow and Emmet Sheehan should have four spots locked. Roki Sasaki will likely take the fifth. Guys like River Ryan, Ben Casparius, Justin Wrobleski, Kyle Hurt, Gavin Stone or Landon Knack could step up to make starts, if needed.

No more LHPers lol...not even if they have Thome as their last name. Luckily, Joseph Contreras is RHed.

Schultz 93/96.6 with fb/sinker One ER and about to load the bases. Rallies from 3-0 count to take out RH batter with a swing and a miss on the low inside spider bearing in on him. PHP Drew Rom vs. C Romo haha

https://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/article/mlb-26-and-under-power-rankings-nos-5-1-brewers-mariners-pirates-rise-to-the-top-behind-ascendant-superstars-203230771.html Reds/Pirates/Brewers 5/3/1 A's 4 and Mariners 2 NL West and Central basically opposites, with 3 in the bottom 5 teamteams then 3 in the Top 5 along with StL and the Cubs in #11-15 band.

Also not that great to have Kelenic Dru Harris or Tristan Peters as a starting OFer.

McDougal at 99-100 mph in his third inning of work...2 er though. Just struck out the 2/3 prospect in milb Jesus Made with a curveball at 82.

https://bosoxinjection.com/red-sox-were-just-shown-the-blueprint-for-a-potential-masataka-yoshida-trade (Yoshida for Benintendi?) Yoshida took the last spot on the WBC roster. Still no true CFer for Japan, except for their defensive replacement/PH type. Seiya will have to play there. Yamamoto going at least three today in AZ for LAD and leaving tonight for Nagoya. 2 runs allowed.

Haven't they already announced that Schultz is headed for Charlotte and Hagen to Birmingham to start the season? They're also not cutting Fedde if he pitches well in ST.

Konnor Griffin is the reason the Pirates are likely one of the three most valuable franchises in MLB for future value/under 26 talent... The White Sox would now be Top 3-5 if not #1 with Griffin instead of #18. (Roch Cholowsky himself likely puts them in that 4-5 range if not Top 3 alone.) Not wasted...but lost opportunity cost. They'd also have the luxury of three SS's at other positions (3B and 2B) and actually four, with Caleb Bonemer in LF/RF. (Pirates ranked 3rd, just released now).

And "prestige"... Which is why those MLB teams that own their own networks are even more profitable AND have even more writeoffs/tax benefits available that other teams do not. “We are fortunate to have much of this expertise in-house at the Braves … and we have one of the largest [local] television territories in baseball, which affords us the opportunity to optimize our financial outcome and is a factor that provides us an advantage that no other Main Street team has,” McGuirk said on a call with analysts, via Front Office Sports. Other teams have had to go to MLB to create their television broadcasts in-house. Meanwhile, BravesVision was announced on Tuesday. It'll be on traditional television, carrying regular-season 140 games, and will be available on streaming with no blackouts. Most teams have a metropolitan area to pull from. The Braves have about six states with multiple major cities to pull from, including Charlotte, Charleston, Nashville and Birmingham. Some of those towns want an MLB of their own, but for now, they're in Braves Country. Even after, there will still be plenty of fans in those regionals. How deeply rooted they are in this part of America (see Superstation WTBS) is another reflection of why they're able to flex this muscle. Even in a down season, where they won just 76 games, they still saw major boosts in the money coming in." https://www.si.com/mlb/braves/onsi/news/how-braves-revenue-boosts-influenced-their-tv-future

"The Battery Is Becoming Atlanta’s Profit Engine The Atlanta Braves own 3 million square feet of mixed-use development space surrounding Truist Park. This mixed-use development, called The Battery, now generates more than $100 million in annualized revenue, going from just 7% of total revenue in 2018 to 13% in 2025. But revenue isn’t the story. The Battery is now significantly more profitable than the baseball team, accounting for $69 million in OIBDA last year (64% of the total) compared to $51 million from baseball-related events. With 9 million visitors last year, compared to just 2.9 million tickets sold at baseball games, the Braves say that their 30 tenants generated $137 million in annual sales. That makes The Battery one of the most successful mixed-use developments in the country." https://huddleup.substack.com/p/inside-the-atlanta-braves-2025-earnings&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwj0_sLKv_qSAxUIjpUCHUT5COIQFnoECAUQAg&usg=AOvVaw3RYgORl1c2MzIMRdbcNrNj https://www.sportico.com/leagues/baseball/2026/atlanta-braves-battery-revenue-surges-main-street-1234885613/&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwjVnb6awPqSAxUtlJUCHV4ONjgQFnoECAcQAg&usg=AOvVaw3WfJ4tgYzmpY1xOIQH6Ch5 https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/7070967/2026/02/25/atlanta-braves-annual-revenue-report-surging-finances/&sa=U&ved=2ahUKEwjVnb6awPqSAxUtlJUCHV4ONjgQFnoECAQQAg&usg=AOvVaw1f39xNLi-8lLyHDRL338Na

But what do all billionaires crave? To down differentiate themselves from the herd. Sports teams are unique, with a finite number available. Plus you can use depreciation of stadium/equipment as a tax writeoff. https://sabr.org/journal/article/the-roster-depreciation-allowance-how-major-league-baseball-teams-turn-profits-into-losses/ This article discusses one such tax issue: the Roster Depreciation Allowance. The topic has been discussed in simple terms in the popular press, as in this quotation from Time: “owners get to deduct player salaries twice over, as an actual expense (since they’re actually paying them) and as a depreciating asset (like GM would for a factory or FedEx a jet).”6 It has also been discussed in the academic field with in-depth mathematical and economic language and analysis. Or getting free land/infrastructure improvements for surrounding entertainment dustricts, etc.

"The Padres’ sale is viewed as a litmus test for valuations at a critical time for baseball. Many investors believe the sport’s clubs are undervalued—the MLB revenue multiple is 6.6x in Sportico’s valuations, by far the smallest of the five major U.S. leagues—and there are potential structural changes coming that could grant owners greater cost certainty. To get there, however, the league and its players must navigate a labor battle that many believe could result in missed games in the 2027 season." https://www.sportico.com/business/team-sales/2026/feliciano-friedkin-potential-padres-buyers-1234883438/ "Earlier this month, Sportico estimated the franchise value around $2.31 billion. It seems the Seidler family is aiming a fair bit higher. Acee writes that people within the industry anticipate the sale price will land north of $2.5 billion. Rosenthal and Lin report that the Seidlers are seeking a purchase price closer to $3 billion than to the estimation from Sportico. Anything north of $2.5 billion would be a record for an MLB franchise. Steve Cohen’s 2020 purchase of the Mets from the Wilpon family was for roughly $2.475 billion. That remains the high-water mark. More recent sales of the Orioles and Rays have landed in the $1.7 billion range. Peter Seidler’s group purchased the Padres for $800MM in 2012. The reports from the Union-Tribune and The Athletic — each of which are worth a full read for San Diego fans — suggest an agreement could be reached around Opening Day." MLBtraderumors.com 344% increase in value over just 13-14 years....pretty impressive investment by the Seidlers

Homered tonight against Chunichi. Guy you don’t know yet but should: Hyun-min Ahn had a huge breakout season for the KT Wiz in the KBO last year, hitting .334/.448/.570 with more walks (75) than strikeouts (72). The 22-year-old outfielder is the kind of ascendent talent capable of stealing some attention from the more well-known commodities on the roster who have benefited from exposure at the major-league level