At the request of commissioner Bud Selig, owners received an update on the economy last week from Paul Volcker, the former chairman of the Federal Reserve. But as Boras points out, many of the game's revenues are fixed.

Baseball maintains long-term contracts with corporate sponsors, and local and national TV and radio networks. Continued growth on the Internet, the launch of the MLB Network and the World Baseball Classic should generate additional revenue next season.

The big concern, though, is attendance.

"I'm not sure the agents watch TV," one general manager says. "The people getting laid off are the people who are going to be buying tickets from us."

Well, winning is the best way to boost attendance — and Sabathia, at least in the early years of his contract, could transform his next team the same way he helped transform the Brewers last season.

Think of Sabathia at the top of the Yankees' rotation, reducing the burden on Joba Chamberlain, Phil Hughes and even Chien-Ming Wang.

Think of him doing the same for the Dodgers' Chad Billingsley, Clayton Kershaw and James McDonald — or even the Giants' Tim Lincecum, Matt Cain and Barry Zito.

The Angels, if they fail to retain free-agent first baseman Mark Teixeira, could sign Sabathia and then trade Ervin Santana or Joe Saunders for an impact hitter such as Rockies third baseman Garrett Atkins.

Sabathia will get his money, as will Teixeira and other top free agents. Free-agent contracts in the hundreds of millions will look all the more outrageous at a time when so many Americans losing jobs. Yet, baseball economics rarely bear any resemblance to the real-world economics, in good times or bad.

It's not embarrassing. It's just the way it is.