Tnetennba

Curious if he were on AK's radar at all. The PF hole is becoming all the more glaring every game.

I am all for a salary cap, and floor, and even NBA style max contracts in MLB - but not so owners can rake in unlimited profits at the same time. I want those profits invested in the organization to take care of the regular employees as we've discussed. I don't foresee either side ever agreeing to such drastic changes, so give me a universal DH, some concession on service time to help arb guys get paid sooner, and something to incentivize teams from perpetually tanking for profit. Baseball people much smarter about this stuff than me can hash something out, and the sooner the better. The owners need to come to the table with legit offers soon and quit burning days counting down to a delayed season and lost games.

100%. I know I've argued for the players side against ownership repeatedly, but I honestly care the most about the "little guys" of the orgs, and poorly minor leaguers are compensated. Every employee from the top down deserves a livable wage and benefits, and prioritizing profit over the people that make the game happen is an injustice. And I am just fine with both sides seeing a reduction in their share to make it happen. Unfortunately that isn't the world we live in.

A PR announcement for bobblehead giveaways but they can't put player's names out. That is both a hilarious and sad commentary on the state of affairs.

Yeah, that's the best anyone can really hope for from him this season. I just don't want the FO banking on that happening in any meaningful way and not addressing the hole between now and the trade deadline. Or whatever deadline playoff roster eligibility ends.

And I personally believe more of those profits should go to the employees that make the game happen, (beyond player salaries) as opposed to lining shareholder's pockets or being syphoned off elsewhere. I'm really curious to know quantifiably what contributions owners make to the game day to day, year to year, beyond their initial dollars spent acquiring the franchise.

I have a really hard time envisioning Pat being a worthwhile contributor at all if he does make it back this season. Conditioning, timing, knowing the system and his teammates, it's a tall order. The sooner they can acquire some athletic size at the defensive end the better. I don't know who that is, but it is the biggest issue holding this team back IMO.

EW. ?????

Yes, which in simpler terms, is that ownership cares about profit first, and winning is far down the list of priorities. Which is the very crux of my critique.

MiLB transactions can still happen. MiLB isn't locked out, so I don't see why it would be an issue.

This thread title makes my skin crawl for some reason ??.

Is the lockout really about the longterm business prospects of the league though? Maybe its my cynicism talking but that seems specious to me. No ulterior motives to protect profit, drive down labor costs, and or do damage to the MLBPA?

This is a valid point. But of those failed sports leagues, how many of them had to compete with an already existing and flourishing league in the same sport? And are any MLB teams really financially insolvent or at risk of failing in the current landscape?

If winnings games is more important, why are we locked out in a stalemate going nowhere? Does ownership's unilateral refusal to reconsider the economic balance of their massive windfalls since the last CBA sort of contradict your theory that most prefer to win games as their first priority? The owners initiated the lockout and have refused to negotiate for 5 weeks. That fact alone makes it difficult for me to believe that ownership cares one bit about the health and well-being of the game first, or in any way think it is a higher priority than protecting their profits.

Yes, but I don’t see how it starts on time. I don’t see ownership coming to the table any time soon willing to negotiate in good faith until games and dollars are lost.

Do you think most owners would prefer to win or to profit? That is the fundamental issue I have with ownership in sports. And I have a hard time seeing ownership as a whole agreeing to something that puts a league wide competitive balance standard in place that penalizes teams that choose to remain in a low cost perpetual rebuild while banking gobs of money. In a perfect world ownership would be pouring profits into trying to win every year, thus helping their own popularity and their own bottom line, and would keep the game as a whole healthy and competitive. But some owners would rather run out an inexpensive 60 win team and reap the windfall of profit sharing.

No surprise. A token video call to make it look like they are talking again, but with nothing substantive on the table. All cover to continue running out the clock until games are in real jeopardy.

“Cave, or we stonewall you until you lose game checks” in full effect.

So your irrefutable source on “most employees” is your own personal work experience, that, while valid, is minuscule in the grand scope of labor negotiations. You being staunchly anti-labor doesn’t make your claims true.

Hahahaha holy shit. Please point to a verifiable corroborated source of information that backs up this claim.

Yeah, unless the owners are willing to compromise on some stuff quite soon I don’t see how spring training and exhibition games start on time.