Success: A Cautionary Tale

Any Phillies fan under 35 has a meaningful recollection of only one World Series Championship in their lifetime.  2008 changed the face of the Philadelphia franchise and elevated the team to an elite status.  Any fan of a perennially terrible team will gladly accept 10 years of underachieving slop with the promise of one championship (aside from maybe Jeffrey Lurie and Joe Banner).  Winning comes with a price though, and for the Phillies, that price came with interest.  The team payroll in 2008 was roughly $98 million dollars.  That may sound like a lot, and anyone with a social conscience could not reasonably say it isn't, but it was the same or less that 12 other teams in baseball.  Philadelphians could legitimately use the "go buy a championship" line to any Red Sox or Yankees fan that year and not seem delusional.  That time is but a memory anymore.

Think for a second about the all of the homegrown talent on that team, including the WS MVP (Hamels) and the '06 (Howard) & '07 (Rollins) NL MVP's.  Also, Pat Burrell.  In the years since, we've seen the farm system get less attention, and many of the better prospects traded for players like Lee and Halladay.  Domonic Brown was not a Mike Stanton or Jason Heyward, and looks like he still needs some time.  As the Phillies age, we aren't seeing the future superstars at each position like are currently on the team.  That may sound greedy, but in reality there isn't even an occasional all-star reserve in waiting.  But I digress.

I mentioned the $98 million spent in 2008, but what I didn't tell you yet is that the Payroll has increased by 60% in the three years since.  Let that sink in.  A 60% increase is a 2011 payroll of $158 million.  Each year since the WS, Philadelphia has taken one step back from the ultimate goal of a championship. I'd hate to see that trend continue into this year, as the Phillies are the odds on favorite to win it all, but are trending to lose in the NLDS.  That wouldn't sit well with many people.  Anything could happen over a seemingly never-ending season though, and I'd certainly take the pitching staff currently assembled over a high powered offense, so I'd take that +300 money line on the Phils.  My only concern though is whether Ruben Amaro, Jr. is pushing for another championship while the best infield in Phillies history still don't need walkers, or if it is what I fear the most: an addiction.  Can Rube be addicted to spending money?  Is he afraid of the team slipping back in to irrelevance?  While asking these questions, every Phillies fan must look in the mirror and ask his or her reflection...

"Am I alright with being the Yankees South?"

Before Yankees fans jump down my throat with the 27 rings nonsense, I'm not comparing team histories and previous success.  If you look at age and salary, the two teams are comparable.  Aging players brought in, paid for what they have done rather than what they will do, litter the roster.  As they go, the front office's first reaction is to look at the next guy's roster, rather than their own minor league organization.  Once you buy one player, it's easier to pull the trigger on the next, and the next, and the next.  Obviously, the sample size is much smaller than the Yankees, and in recent years the Red Sox as well.  But can their be sustained success without increasing or maintaining the payroll each year?  I'm not sure it is something that a team owner would be willing to try.  Ticket prices AND sales have drastically increased in Philadelphia since the string of playoff appearances began.  Five years ago you couldn't give away a Thursday night ticket to a PHI/SD game in July, but you could buy a cheap seat ticket for $15.  That same ticket in 2011 is $28, and a standing room only ticket is $17.  Parking has gone from $10 five years ago to, and I'm estimating based on the $17 prices from last year, possibly $20 this year.

People are getting very rich on the success of the team and the names on that line-up card, and rich people don't just stop being rich by choice.  It seems that for the near future this team is going to maintain  the expensive lifestyle, and there is nothing inherently wrong with that.  Heck, we are about to watch something magical happen as these starting pitchers take the rubber night after night.  It would not surprise many if this team wins over 100 games, and even win it all.  But as they say, ignoring history dooms one to repeat it.  It's a tale as old as time: an heroic act elevates the subject to an elite status, until the inevitable fall.  Let's just hope that this team has not finished climbing yet.