Winning by losing

Interesting story about the Pittsburgh Pirates. The team stinks, but it makes money so the story supposes that the team isn't even trying.

Here's a quote:

"The numbers indicate why people are suspecting they're taking money from baseball and keeping it--they don't spend it on the players," said David Berri, president of the North American Association of Sports Economists and the author of two books detailing the relationship between finances and winning. "Teams have a choice. They can seek to maximize winning, what the Yankees do, or you can be the Pirates and make as much money as you can in your market. The Pirates aren't trying to win."

I remember when both the Pirates and Orioles were good teams. And now both seem to be mired in profiting via failure.