Jermaine Dye and Other Former Stars Need to Swallow their Pride

Every year it's the same old story. "Insert name here" can't find a team willing to meet the demands of the player who was once a star.

This year, it's Jermaine Dye that is among those still without a team.

Look, sometimes these guys need to understand that they are not the players they once were. Sometimes they need to accept a minor league contract or far less money than they were making in the past.

Hey, this is true in every line of work. In case you missed it, the economy sucks. So, despite continued record attendance levels in major league baseball, why shouldn't declining baseball players like Dye accept this?

Dye is certainly not the only player whose ego won't allow him to take a minor league contract.

Players who could help clubs, like Pedro Martinez, want guaranteed multi-million dollar deals.

And this used to work in the "old days". But in this economy, unless you are a star, your expectations should be managed accordingly.

This is hard, admittedly, especially since these are guys who have been told that they are the best since they were little kids.

Having to accept the fact that players are getting older has never changed. This has always been a problem for some.

But history is filled with stories of players and owners disagreeing over their worth. In this case though, some players have been slow to catch on to the new climate.

Sometimes, this results in a player eventually settling for less than what he feels he is worth.

Alternatively, it sometimes results in a player sitting out the entire year, like Jim Edmonds.

If anything is to be learned from all this, it is that some guys simply need to lower their expectations. If their ego won't allow that, then they need to be ready to accept the new reality of moving to the sidelines.

That can be hard for players who have always been the best at what they do.

Nevertheless, it is essential if they want to continue playing. Gone are the days when money was flowing like a fountain.

Contracts that seemed reasonable at the time, like Alfonso Soriano's, are now known to be an albatross.

And while those kinds of contracts will still happen, GMs will be far more judicious in handing them out.

The world has changed, and players' expectations need to change accordingly.

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