Yes, there are people monitoring how teams spend their revenue-sharing funds. One is Michael Weiner, executive director of the players association. He explained how the system works to members of the Baseball Writers Association of American before Tuesday's All-Star Game.
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Mark J. Terrill / Associated PressTampa Bay's David Price was just one of several pitchers who dominated the early innings of Tuesday's All-Star Game at Anaheim, Calif.
ALL-STAR GAME CHATTER
Clubhouse confidential: Yankee shortstop Derek Jeter, playing in his 11th All-Star game, on the death of team owner George Steinbrenner, “I’ve known him since I was 18 years old. ... We were more friends than anything. We would have bets on the Ohio State-Michigan football game.”
Steinbrenner was born in Rocky River. Jeter is a Michigan native.
“We’ve filmed commercials with him dancing,” he said. “It’s tough because he was more than an owner to me. He’s a friend of mine.”
Words from a friend: Red Sox All-Star Victor Martinez, Fausto Carmona’s catcher with the Indians, was happy to see Carmona make the AL team.
“It doesn’t surprise me to see Carmona here,” said Martinez, who didn’t play because of a broken left thumb. “Everybody knows Carmona has the stuff, but in this game everybody goes up and down. I’m really happy and proud for Fausto.”
Stat of the day: The Yankees brought eight players to Anaheim, the most of any team. The Cardinals and Braves brought five players each to lead the NL.
— Paul Hoynes
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- It's a complaint baseball fans make every day. Even at a festive occasion such as the All-Star Game.
It goes something like this: "What is my team doing with the revenue-sharing money it gets every year from the game's more successful teams?"
The Indians received an estimated $20 million in revenue-sharing money last year. Just how did owners Larry and Paul Dolan, along with GM Mark Shapiro, use it to improve this year's team that went into the All-Star break handcuffed to last place in the AL Central?
Michael Weiner is the man with the answers. He's the executive director of the players association, but before he replaced Don Fehr, revenue sharing was his discipline for the union.
In a meeting with the Baseball Writers Association of America before Tuesday's 81st All-Star Game, Weiner explained how revenue sharing is monitored according to the basic agreement.
Only once since the process began in 2002 has a team been publicly criticized for its use of revenue-sharing money. MLB and the union singled out the Florida Marlins before the start of this season.
"Each year, each club that receives revenue-sharing dollars is required to submit in writing to the commissioner's office and the union to explain how they used their revenue proceeds to improve their performance on the team," said Weiner.
"Following that, the union and commissioner's office gets together and discuss those letters. We discuss it against the backdrop of having received all the financial information about that club, including their projections about what they expect to bring in and spend going forward.
"Frequently there are follow-up conversations with the club. We've been satisfied with the way that process has worked in most instances."
Last year, over $400 million was distributed to MLB's struggling teams. The debate is over what happens to that money.
"The easy answer is to say all 30 teams are trying to win. ... some teams are trying harder than others," said Weiner. "I guess that's always been the case."
Weiner believes in the system.
"The process has yielded changes from clubs in various stages," he said. "Sometimes it's been easy, sometimes it's been a little harder.
"What was different about the Marlins is that both the commissioner's office, the union and the Marlins went public with what our resolution was. Have there been others where we've come close to going public? The answer is yes.
"There's a timeline there where things have gotten done with certain teams."
Revenue sharing will be discussed when the current contract expires in 2011.
"This is a process that has worked really well," said Weiner.
Me and George: Commissioner Bud Selig met with BBWAA as well Tuesday. Selig was a close friend of Yankee owner George Steinbrenner for more than 40 years. Steinbrenner, 80, died Tuesday morning.
Selig told this story about The Boss.
"George called me one morning about four years ago," said Selig. "I told him, 'Georgie, life is a humbling experience.' I got up this morning and my wife said, 'Buddy have you taken the garbage out?'
"It was Tuesday, and that when we take the garbage out.
"I told my wife, trying to be facetious, 'I'm the Commissioner you can't talk to me like that.' She said, 'Just take that garbage out.' And that's what I did."
Selig said Steinbrenner got such a kick out of the story that he called Selig every Tuesday for three months to remind him to take the garbage out.
The friendship started when Selig owned the small-market Brewers and Steinbrenner had just purchased the mighty Yankees.
"No two people with as different agendas as we had should have ever gotten along," said Selig. "On almost every issue, George and I always seemed to be on opposite sides of the fence, but we struck up a friendship."
Get your rest: Fausto Carmona did not get wild and crazy Monday night as part of the All-Star festivities. "All I did was sleep," said Carmona, the Indians' only All-Star.
Carmona did not know if he would pitch in Tuesday's night's game.
"Belch [pitching coach Tim Belcher] told me to throw a bullpen if I don't pitch," said Carmona.
He said he's scheduled to pitch Saturday, when the Indians have a day-night doubleheader against Detroit at Progressive Field.
Terry Pluto tackles your questions live every Tuesday at noon.
