As per usual, it is time to get ready for my weekly segment on ESPN 1450’s Mike Gill Show. Today Matt Martucci is filling in for Mike and he wants to discuss the following...

• How important is a fifth starter in the NL East?
• What are your thoughts on the Marlins’ payroll?
• Josh Beckett--what is his status?
• Major league service time and salary--are changes needed?
• Rotations in Spring Training--how important are discussions regarding it for the upcoming season?

Well, with the wild card I doubt it is any more important than any other division. Teams in both leagues compete in two defacto divisions one of which is the “wild card standings.” This means that it is equally important across the league since you’ll be competing for playoff spots against clubs in both the Central and the West.

What are your thoughts on the Marlins’ payroll?

I haven’t thought much about it to be honest.

O.K. O.K. I may have referenced once or twice--or 80 times (I’m getting my information from Brian MacNamee so please be patient).

It is disgraceful. Jeffrey Loria and David Samson have received far more in revenue sharing since they bought the Marlins than they paid for the franchise. About $50 million more; further, they had almost $72 million they could write off against any profits in the first five years they owned the club and the value of the team has jumped over $100 million since they purchased it. Therefore, between revenue sharing and equity to date they’ve received twice as much money as they paid for the club plus they can expect another $40 million bump in franchise value when the park comes online plus all the new revenue streams plus increasing the cost of everything from tickets to hot dogs.

This is all factored in before they received a nickel from national TV money, MLBAM, merchandising (other than what is sold in park, this revenue stream is shared equally among the clubs) yet alone sell a ticket. It explains why Loria could pull into Roger Dean stadium in a new Ferrari 599 GTB Fiorano. He crlied poor when he was rolling in the dough-ray-me. Heck, Forbes estimates that they’ve been in the black cash flow wise to the tune of $9 million over the last seven years (thanks to Chuck Ferry for pointing this out) and don’t forget, Loria and Samson’s salary (which is doubtlessly substantial) counts against profits.

Josh Beckett--what’s his status?

Well, there’s not a lot of panic in Red Sox Nation at the moment so I don’t think it’s too serious. Heck, it may even be a ploy to skip the trip to Tokyo. I remember Dick Williams commenting about players that they really don’t like change or to be in a situation where they’re not in control. He felt that was a big reason that Montreal wasn’t attractive to free agents. They didn’t speak the language, baseball is a distant second to les Canadiens and they simply wouldn’t enjoy the clout they enjoy in more traditional markets. It’s the reason Vladdy Guerrero loved playing there--he could be a superstar without the annoyances that come with it (paparazzi, overly intrusive media).

On top of all this, it seems somebody always gets sick when they travel overseas and maybe he heard a few baseball-player type horror stories about their experience in the Far East (you have to call the front desk to order porn! Or some such thing). If it were a serious injury there would be a lot more hand wringing going on.

Major league service time and salary--are changes needed?

Just to reiterate what we said last week--Clubs spend a lot of money on signing bonuses for players that never reach the major leagues. Even the players understand this. There would be no point to the draft or utility of the minor leagues to the big leagues. Why pay to draft and develop players only to see them require free agent level wages after a short stint in the major leagues? Having said this, I do find the current situation regarding this year’s young crop of stars atypical behaviour by the clubs. I also find the fact that a repeat DUI offender and a felon who has posted ERA above six the last three seasons can draw interest but not a player that batted .276/.480/.565 last year cannot. It can’t be steroids since (1) Bonds has not been formally convicted as a user and (2) other player outed have no problem finding work and is his personality more obnoxious than Sidney Ponson? (the DUI/felon cited earlier)

But I digress.

Rotations in Spring Training--how important are discussions regarding it for the upcoming season?

It depends on the team. It wouldn’t matter for veteran club returning pretty much intact. A contending club with job openings at the end of the rotation means it will be in a state of flux. A rebuilding club means all bets are off and there will be a lot of jockeying. The Pittsburgh Pirates it won’t matter because other than fans of the club nobody will care--not even ownership or the front office. Win 70 games, cash your revenue sharing checks, and make sure your premium seating is almost at capacity and repeat as necessary. Obviously injuries can change the dynamic for anyone but the Bucs. The Jays were looking at making Casey Janssen part of the rotation but he’s lost for the year. Gustavo Chacin has been ineffective so the final spot goes to Jesse Litsch by default.

Best Regards

John