Forgot to weigh in on this, but there is a 0% chance of Burrell coming back. He wouldn’t be replacing Jenkins or Stairs (who are bench players), he would be platooning with Ibanez? or Werth? We already have 3 starting outfielders and no need for a 4th.

The Burrell Era Ends As The Champs Move Forward is an evaluation of our off season moves.  This writer is ok with what Amaro has done so far.  One thing that jumps out is the suggestion that the Paulino acquisition could lead to a much bigger deal happening.

Baseball Needs Good Business Leaders, Not Salary Cap
With both New York clubs flexing their financial muscle, the question of a salary cap is inevitable. Do you think MLB needs a salary cap? Maury Brown of the Biz of Baseball doesn’t think so. After reviewing the data I would have to agree with Maury.
Major League Baseball spends 52% of revenues on player salaries. This is the lowest of all professional sports. For every “$30 million dollar A-Rod” there is a league minimum reliever on a roster. To put it in perspective, former Cleveland guard Eric Snow made $6.7 million dollars last season. He average only one point per game. In comparison, David Wright made $5.8 million. And you thought baseball players salaries are obscene? On Sunday’s show, Mr. Brown pointed out that the average annual salaries in MLB have dropped a little over three percent. This is the first drop since 2004.
The luxury tax system is the only fair and equitable way to keep competitive balance. In a league that doesn’t share local revenue, there is no other alternative except a salary cap. The aforementioned revenue/salary distribution lends credence to the players association’s argument against any type of cap.
My solution: small market teams must invest in scouting and development. Forget buying the “Gil Meche’s” of the world and use that money on your minor league system. Take the Yankees dollars and pay for the top scouts in the business. Have top of the line coaches at every level. Teams like Oakland, Florida, Kansas City, and Pittsburgh need to manage their affairs like an NCAA basketball team. Recruit the talent via the draft, develop it in your system, and realize you have four years to win at the professional level.
I understand David Sampson’s “independent vs. big budget” film comparison, but the argument is falling on deaf ears. The Mets, Yankees, and Red Sox have their way of winning. Small market teams need to develop their own process. From my vantage point the problem is not competitive imbalance, it’s the lack of organizations investing in their own player development infrastructure.
Teams need to stop talking about a cap and put that effort into new ideas. Every one of these owners has been successful in business. Each had to overcome challenges in their industry to be successful. That same mentality needs to be brought to the diamond. I often feel that their professional success has “stacked the deck” in their favor and many have forgotten how to get dirty and work. New ways of doing business, not legislation, will continue to close the gap between the “haves” and “have not’s”.
Mike Silva is a freelance writer and radio host. His is the host of a New York baseball show called NY Baseball Digest that you can find at http://www.nybaseballdigest.com.

Different eras and styles of play during their careers, but still, quite the disparity, huh?  We knew that Burrell was slow, but was he really be that much slower than “The Bull”?  The pure numbers sure seem to suggest it, don’t they?