Baseball as a business

OK, so the four-word phrase above this is not exactly breaking news.

But this offseason's rumor mill reinforces how the process of doing business is changing and how personal feelings are often put aside.

And what does it all mean? It means the days of a player spending his entire career in one city continues to dwindle and dwindle and dwindle.

Franchise cornerstones, or supposed ones, from Baltimore to Tampa Bay to Minnesota apparently are available in trades. So just as Scott Kazmir is developing into a frontline starting pitcher in Tampa, he could soon be sending change of address forms to his local post office.

Ditto for Erik Bedard in Baltimore and a certain Cy Young pitcher in Minnesota.

So while the Red Sox, Mets and, of course, the Yankees have enough money to sign a virtual All-Star team every year, the latest shift in economics leaves mid- to small-market teams grasping at competitive straws.