NWINFan

The idea of the commissioner acting in the best interest of baseball went out the window when Bud Selig was named to the job. The last strong commissioner was Bowie Kuhn. There are very few people looking out for the best interest of baseball if any.

My point and question is this: Does JR really want a winning franchise, or does he want to break the union? As far as the commissioner? He does what the owners want him to do. Again, as in the past, a work stoppage will hurt the White Sox more than other teams.

The biggest and dumbest mistake the Black Hawks made. A franchise couldn't have been dumber than this. Now. with another long work stoppage looming in MLB, is Jerry Reinsdorf going to do the same thing?

Sorry, don't remember exactly where I saw it. The tone of the piece was the owners were going to offer something that the players could respond to, and the overall perspective was on the positive side. However, I haven't seen anything else in the media that backs this story up. Regardless. the players would have to have time to respond. If they counter-offer, then the owners will have to think things over. To me, it appears that spring training will not start on time, and the regular season will have to be pushed back, too.

I read an article where the owners are supposed to offer something major to the players. We will see if this is true and how credible the offer is. But if there isn't a break in the negotiations soon, I don't see how see the season starts on time. They need to at least start talking. The 1994 strategy of stonewalling is not going to work.

I am 68 and used to post on WSI. That site was much different when it was first started by George Bova. It kept changing for the worse and I don't bother with it now. When the internet began taking off, MLB was very concerned about fan message boards and especially web sites. It did what it could to control and even get rid of the sites. Of course, there is something called the first amendment and that wasn't going to work. Regardless, I am sure the White Sox organization monitors what is said on this board and others.

From the very beginning, MLB has tried to control the media, and has been pretty successful. Mainstream reporters know they take their careers in their hands if they show any independence. Even if they don't get fired, sources can dry up and that can hamper the way they do their job. However, many times at least some truth comes out.

Tanking probably won't go away, and I, for one, am not buying into the next Sox tank job when there is one. I've been a fan for decades and seen plenty of losing already. I will not go watch the team lose on purpose again. It's one thing to rebuild; it's quite another to have to tank because a team has been run into the ground.

If history repeats itself, Jerry Reinsdorf will not be a bright guy. First, he re-hires someone because of something that happened over thirty years ago. And now he would want to get even for 1994? Hey, Jerry, look at yourself. I don't know how much influence he has with other owners. But he should use whatever influence he has to stop this thing. Even if he can contribute to destroying the union, he would only destroy his franchise along with it. Maybe he doesn't care about any legacy he will have. But I wouldn't want to leave this mess behind.

Betty White appeared on a game show that her husband Allen Ludden hosted. Ludden asked how she was to which she replied, "You oughta know!"

The owners may win as you say, but if the season is delayed until June, it won't be much of a win. The fan backlash for any kind of a strike or lockout will be severe. And if any stoppage derails the White Sox as they are supposed to put the final retouches on the rebuild, local fan alienation will be worse than it was after 1994. I don't know the complications of the current labor issues, but I can't see how either side can believe a prolonged delay to the 2022 season will benefit them. Baseball has enough problems as it is without this going on and on. They should get a good mediator, act like adults, and get this thing settled.

Hope you get well real soon. You're right. Covid is no joke. It is not a creation of Bill Gates or some other liberal monster. Things would have improved quicker if people took it seriously. Save the paranoia for something else.

Fans' concerns really don't matter to MLB. The owners certainly don't care. If JR really wanted championships, he would have more than one in 40 years.

From the very beginning of free agency, the owners abused the system as rich teams tried to buy pennants and they drove the salaries up and they created the current baseball economics. Yes, it is true that not many professions earn what baseball players do. But few people can hit a 95-mph fastball, and few can throw one. And baseball careers can be very short. Finally, a lockout is the owners' way of stonewalling. That failed in 1994 and will fail now. And I also reject your view that the players take a lower position than the owners. The hell with the owners. No one owes them anything. Let them be satisfied with what they have.

The problem is that once a union makes major concessions, it will make more in the future. That can affect present and future players. A lockout is a sign of failure on the owners' part. And they are not poor.

We do know that teams can make money without having great attendance. Profits come from media contracts and corporate sponsorships more than ticket revenue. So, a team can make money without putting out a winning product. Their risk has to be lower. Jerry Reinsdorf was part of an investment group that purchased the controlling interests from Bill Veeck for about $20 million. Reinsdorf, as I understand it, didn't put in anywhere near the $20 million. I think he got a pretty good return on his investment. Corporations like baseball franchises get plenty of help from governments and taxpayers. There are tax abatements. Improvements in the infrastructure. In the case of the White Sox, a new stadium that has now been in existence for over 30 years. I realize how crazy salaries are, but it is hard for me to cry for the owners. They get plenty of help along the way that an everyday person will never get. The goal should be a fair contract with no games lost in the season. I have no sympathy for a goal of crushing the players' union.

To me, this work stoppage represents what is happening in the country right now. Opposing sides are not seeking a common ground. Instead, divisions are created and bitterness will last a long time. At this point, I don't care who is right or wrong. Each side has their viewpoint. I am only one fan, but if one game of the regular season gets cancelled due to a work stoppage, I won't attend one game this year, and I won't care what the White Sox are doing. And I think this is the message fans should be sending the baseball establishment right now. Each side wants to win, but there won't be any winners if they look out in the stands and see 5,000 people out there. I don't know what influence JR has now, but he should have learned a huge lesson. The 1994 strike and its aftermath nearly destroyed the White Sox as a franchise. Any stoppage will only hurt his team, and he should do what he can to stop it. If he cares at all which I don't know if he does.

Actually, the players forming their own league isn't a bad idea. Then Jerry can own a big, fat, piece of nothing.

Once Harrelson was named GM, he should have been allowed to pick his own manager. LaRussa should have been gone after the '85 season. If you're going to make changes, then really make them. Then, if Harrelson wanted to fire LaRussa in '86, he should have done that, named an interim manager and then go on with his own search. The LaRussa thing was completely mis-handled and the franchise looked like it was being run by a bunch of know-nothings. But JR didn't want to fire LaRussa and now we're stuck with him again. Oh, how did that Fisk in left field thing work out? Ah, the memories.

As I recall, Hawk did have a plan, and it impressed JR. I just think that if the team was going to replace Hemond, the owners should have at least interviewed a few candidates and go from there. Harrelson had no FO experience and was a bull in a China shop. Hiring Harrelson reminds me of them hiring Ventura.

Maybe Hemond needed a change in scenery. Two years after winning the division the Sox didn't seem to be going anywhere. But the choice of Harrelson was an odd one, and I don't think this decision had much thought behind it. It was the first big change the ownership made in the front office, and it was a dumb one. Hemond ended landing on his feet. I think 1986 scarred Harrelson.

Hemond was the one who brought Dick Allen to Chicago. When he was GM, it was decided to make Wilbur Wood a starting pitcher and Wood had four twenty-game winning seasons in a row. I think if Hemond had more resources, he could have done even more with the Sox. But both John Allyn and Bill Veeck didn't have enough money to build a real winning tradition. He has to go down as one of the best Sox GMs.

Great guy and solid baseball man. Always generous with the fans. Rebuilt the early 1970s Sox after the disaster in 1970. Timmy U is right. Baseball could use more people like Roland Hemond. The Sox could use someone with his baseball knowledge now.

The Bears-Packers rivalry isn't much of a rivalry anymore. Hasn't been for some time. First Farve, now Rodgers. This has been getting old and tiresome.

You are right about this, because I have never or read about the Sox thinking about Yoan at second. Why would they?