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For your lockout enjoyment: https://www.japantimes.co.jp/sports/2022/01/14/baseball/japanese-baseball/yamamoto-takatsu-hall/ https://www.mlb.com/news/shingo-takatsu-white-sox-cult-hero Second all-time in NPB saves https://www.baseball-reference.com/register/player.fcgi?id=takats001shi

Good God this is disgusting.

Actually…yes. The MLBPA has a $500 million grievance case pending in the courts against the owners claiming they refused to negotiate in good faith during the 2020 COVID protocol dispute. Filed earlier this year - also notable since it was filed about 10 months after the agreement. Interestingly, the 1994 strike ended after a judge found that the owners…failed to bargain in good faith. Gosh that feels weirdly familiar.

LaVine out with a knee injury. This team is cursed.

One of my all time favorite White Sox one year wonders.

The year where he had that "frisbee" working was so awesome. A one year wonder - likely driven by age (35 I think when he started with the White Sox).

Somewhere TLR is frowning.

Interesting article on the Bears' long struggles in The Athletic (paywalled). It goes over how the Bears have consistently saddled an incoming GM or coach with the previous regime's coach or QB. https://theathletic.com/3069761/2022/01/14/it-all-starts-with-the-mccaskeys-how-the-bears-ended-up-in-an-endless-cycle-of-inheriting-the-previous-regimes-trash/

Or the poor billionaires who own baseball teams in non-large cities can open up their damn checkbook to pay to keep their players. Too many forget that the lack of spending is a choice by ownership, rather than a necessity. All 30 teams can afford Mike Trout and Gerrit Cole at their current deals, and still put together a competitive roster. They just choose not to.

I couldn't care less about this game with the LaVine injury, but holy shit they've looked like a high school team in the past 2 games. This team just got reality checked into next Tuesday.

When is he going to work on hitting left handed?

In that little clip, he seems to move quite well. I think he surprised us all last year when we got a look-see of him at third.

Peacemaker is fucking amazing

Mitch was never going to be a high-end QB. It’s very clear the NFL was too fast for him and his decision-making would always be subpar. Let’s not let an Athletic article change our conviction there. He was a bust of a pick the day we drafted him, we obviously just didn’t know it at the time. Yes, Nagy did a terrible job coaching him and didn’t always adjust to Mitch’s strengths. I think it’s possible that Mitch could have developed into a slightly below average, but still somewhat competent starting QB with someone else in charge. Either way, it’s good that Nagy is gone because Fields needs a coach that will prioritize his development and adapt to his strengths.

Last I heard before the six week layoff was that player had made a proposal and the owners didn't respond to it, so the players were not willing to make another proposal and negotiate against themselves.

You can blame owners and you wouldn't be wrong, but where are the players' proposals?

The press has been talking about the labor issues for a couple of years. To be honest, I never thought it would get this far, but it did. One thing to consider is once it gets to this point, these things never get ironed out until the calendar says it needs to happen now. So this is all song and dance still. If the players counter any time soon, it will be an offer they know they owners wouldn't remotely consider.

Lets go Shingo!

Would it? The Mets could make $25 mil with a $300 mil payroll and the Pirates could make $25 mil with a $30 mil payroll? It seems like it would encourage the bigger market teams to spend even more. To be competitive across the league teams have to field a roster based on the economics of the lowest among them or redistribute money from bigger market teams to smaller market, The idea is getting better players from LA, Chicago, and NY to play in Pittsburg and Baltimore. You have to make the big markets less desirable and the small markets more desirable. That only happens when the big market teams spend less and the small market teams spend more. If the big market teams are allowed to increase spending at the same rate as the smaller markets nothing will change.

Yes he did. Gotta wonder, if either Javonte or DJJ are on the team by time they heal up.

I think there should be a profit cap. Cap how much the owners can make off the talents of the players at $25M a year and the rest is distributed to the players and employees. That would go further to even the playing field than capping how much the players can make.

Re-opening “negotiations” with this proposal really reveals the level to which ownership has had no intention of negotiating in good faith from the start. Locking players out was never necessary if they actually had intentions of hashing out anything fair. It was clear from the beginning that ownership wanted to use the threat of lost games as leverage to pressure players into capitulating into a regressive deal. Thursday’s proposal was laughable and the optics of them going through the motions of negotiating makes them look so much worse. It couldn’t be more clear which side is trying to do the other dirty.

So I think the most important point I have is this one. That proposal is basically the status quote, with a few minor tweaks. There is zero reason that proposal couldn’t, and in fact shouldn’t have been made in October. There’s no revolutionary idea that will reshape the game or even reshape negotiations, nothing that required months of work to prepare. Pieces of it could well wind up in a final deal, but it doesn’t address the Union’s biggest issues. If it was presented in October then the sides could have been working to take pieces from it and pieces from the Union’s proposals to come up with an actual agreement. There is only 1 reason why they would wait through a 43 day lockout before presenting that type of a proposal and it’s a nasty one. The owners have every intention of extending this through much of the season, hoping that the union will crack and the regular players will vote to accept an offer like that. They knew it wouldn’t be accepted in October without them having to compromise and they’re willing to gamble that upping the pressure through loss of games will cause the Union to break.

It’s like their proposal to outsource arbitration to Fangraphs - rely on some sportswriters. “Everyone I have wonderful news. Keith Law will determine whether or not the White Sox get an extra draft pick next year. “

This is the advantage the Bears have. Right or wrong - Bears have facilities and they have ownership that has actually shown patience. That has to resonate - even if draft capital is a bit low and roster is meh (with huge dependency obviously on Fields). But a clear lack of real playmakers (outside of Roquan).

I think Lester, Mussina, Buerhle, and Pettitte need to be in the HOF

I don't think he's confused on who Vera is but why you included him.

Was it over when the Germans bombed Pearl Harbor?..

Forget it, he's rolling.

Vera?

Seager comparisons continue.... Next up: Vera or Burger's lost another 10-15 pounds, BMI down appreciably and second base starting job firmly in his sights.