Tuesday, October 11, 2005

A sense of relief

At heart, perhaps we are all still seven years old. Or maybe I should just speak for myself. Part of me is still the only Met fan on my block, growing up in the Bronx towards the tail end of the last pre-Steinbrenner Yankee empire, while the Mets were still as pitiful as they have often continued to be. "Ron Hunt is better than Bobby Richardson!" was the only argument I could even make, and somehow we all had the strange belief that our teams' ability and merits said something about ours.

Nonetheless, I am not unreasonable or vindictive. It's absolutely fine with me for the Yankees to make the playoffs say, once every three years or so, and to win a world championship once every fifteen years or so, even though these are above the per-team average.

When the Yankees threaten to win every single year, however, with their obscene $205 million payroll, playing teams with 40-man rosters that are only 25% as high (or in the Angels' case maybe 40 to 50%), it gets sickening, and it gets really old. I don't even enjoy it when they lose (unless it is especially humiliating for them, like last year), so much as I am relieved - thank goodness that's over; now I can enjoy the rest of the playoffs; why couldn't they have lost even earlier and spared me a lot of anxiety.

Let them compete under fair circumstances, and I would complain less (also they would win a whole lot less). The regulatory way of doing this is salary caps. The free market solution would be allowing unlimited team movement, which would cause more teams to enter the NY area until an equilibrium was reached where the expected return from a franchise in NY was no greater than that from one in Pittsburgh or Kansas City.

As conservative and liberal economists would readily agree, often there is nothing worse than a market that is half-regulated. Case in point: the savings & loans crisis of the late 1980s. Better to restrict S & Ls' permissible investment choices, even if in a narrow and hidebound way, than to let them invest however they like with the owners getting the upside and the US government (via bank insurance) getting the downside. In other words, even if a fully free market was best, a fully regulated market was better than one half-regulated and half not.

Similarly, let's make the Yankees compete either with less regulation (teams can go wherever they like) or else with more (salary caps) and see how well they do. My guess is that a playoff spot every three years and a championship every fifteen is way on the high side as an estimate.

13 comments:

Anonymous said...

I vote for deregulation. NYU could support a professional team: Go Fighting Violets!

Anonymous said...

Everyone has days when they are down, worn out, prozac anxiety and just not feeling all that happy.

That's OK, you need to have days like this, otherwise how would you know when you are happy. You need to have something to contrast your happiness with. What is black without white?

Even though you know that sadness (prozac anxiety) is a part of life, let's try to make it a small part of life.

With that said, here are a few tips to help you feel better when you are feeling down in the dumps. They are easy to do, easy to practice every day and they work!

1. Stand up straight, sit up straight. When your body is in alignment your energy can flow and when your energy is flowing freely, you can flow.

2. Smile! Yes, just smile. Easy to do and effective.

3. Repeat positive affirmations. Things like "I feel good", "Positive energy flows through my body", "I see the good in all".

4. Listen to some music that you like. It doesn't have to be anything specific, just something you enjoy. Certain types of music work better than others, but experiment and see what works for you. Studies have shown that Classical music and new age music work best.

5. Take some time out for yourself, relax and read a book, do something for yourself.

6. Meditate. Meditation is an excellent habit to develop. It will serve you in all that you do. If you are one who has a hard time sitting still, then try some special meditation CDs that coax your brain into the meditative state. Just search for "Meditation music" on Google or Yahoo and explore.

Our outside work is simply a reflection of our inside world. Remember there is no reality just your perception of it. Use this truth to your advantage. Whenever you are sad, realize that it is all in your mind and you do have the power to change your perception.

These tips will lift you up when you are down, but don't just use them when you are sad or prozac anxiety . Try and practice them everyday, make them a habit. You will be surprised at how these simple exercises will keep the rainy days away.

On a final note, if you are in a deep depression that you can't seem to shake, please go see a doctor. This is your life and don't take any chances. prozac anxiety

Roberto Iza Valdés said...
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Roberto Iza Valdés said...
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