Cry Me a River

Cry Me a River

 

I had the misfortune this morning of reading in the Sun-Times an interview Bob Nightengale of USA Today did with White Sox owner Jerry Reinsdorf.  The Fiber One didn’t sit well on my stomach after I read how Reinsdorf was “concerned the union was maneuvering not to have a season.”  Right, which is why they wanted to play 110 games.  That’s just how I’d go about it.

 

Reinsdorf’s also concerned about the future.  “I’m very worried about next year.  There are just so many unknowns.”  Cry me a river, Jerry.  The strong and the fit survive, right?  Isn’t the rule of American business?

 

Then, to make matters worse, I read in today’s The Athletic that the Rangers, in their brand spanking new ballpark, are furloughing an estimated sixty employees.  This is a team that got the city of Arlington to pay $500 million of the new park’s $1.2 billion cost and a team that is now worth in the neighborhood of $1.75 billion, not to be confused with the net worth of the people who bought the club; trust me, there are no poor guys involved.  And they have to lay people off?

This is all God’s way of telling municipalities not to get suckered into building stadiums for professional sports’ teams.  That money never gets earned back.  And it’s never available to plug into budget shortfalls.  Why, the Rangers have themselves a lease that minimizes their tax exposure.  What a surprise.