Tough timing for baseball's free agents

It's a tough job market for everyone. In addition to all the investment bankers facing smaller bonuses, there's another group of people deserving of our sympathy: professional baseball players.

The sagging economy has Major League Baseball teams feeling a little bit cautious as far as free agent signings and on top of that, there is somewhat of a glut of players on the market. Experts are forecasting a drop in ticket sales, but baseball may prove to be somewhat recession proof because the deals with television networks that make up a large portion of revenue are long-term guaranteed contracts: Even if advertising revenue declines, that won't effect the league or its teams directly.

ESPN analyst Buster Olney tells BusinessWeek that the Boston Red Sox are "absolutely loaded" and well-poised to take advantage of the weak economy to score some good bargains on free agents.

The Red Sox are a great example of well-managed company. By not bowing to the pressure to overspend in good times (letting pricey free agents like Pedro Martinez and Johnny Damon walk), they have left themselves in a strong financial position that allows them to be take advantage of weakness and get more bang for their free agent buck when times are rough.

It's a shame more public companies aren't managed that way.