Ducksnort

"Counter proposal even a question" ...what does that mean? They might not counter offer?

Bold prediction: Nick Madrigal wins Rookie of the Year in 2021

And with rebuilds becoming more and more common, the cycles will continue

Look, I just want to go back to the good old days when we were discussing division realignment, schedule restructuring and team expansion lol.

I hope you're right

Those are things that I didn't know about. Interesting...ugh maybe this is going to drag on forever...again...

This I just don't understand, in the baseball world. I understand that there is a wage gap, believe me I do. But in sports? Let's say an owner makes a billion dollars a season. Payroll of the major league team is, let's say 130 million. I wonder how much it costs to lease the ballpark. Cost of taxes for the park. Cost of facilities to the park. Cost of transportation for the players to away games. Cost of the hotels at away games. Cost of feeding the players. Cost of other personal running the park and the coaches. Cost of equipment. Cost of ballpark food. Cost of keeping the park clean. Cost of the grounds crew and their equipment. Cost of upgrades to the park. There are so many costs, and I'm sure I'm not even making a dent in it all. Not all the money goes into the pockets of the owners. They aren't all greedy. They want to invest back into the product they own. Most of them anyway

And the owners get their money from the fans. Majority of fans would probably want expanded playoffs. If fans want it, no matter who ultimately gets more money out of it, it should be implemented. If they don't agree to a deal to start the season by at least May, this sport is going to start losing fans fast. If the compromise is expanded playoffs, and they get NL DH, plus full pay minus 8 games...you gotta take it. Negotiate more with the expanded playoffs if you want, but that's a deal worth taking. No one involved in the business of this game can afford to not play out the season...due to money haggling.

And then we all blow up. Eh, I guess you're right. But in November we all knew when the vaccines were coming. Not much has changed with the plan since then. They could have started hashing it out then, not a few weeks before spring training. But I guess I shouldn't expect efficiency.

These negotiations should have started right after the world series ended.

If the fans like it, then they should implement it. I don't understand the reasoning behind players not wanting expanded postseason...just so the owners don't have more money in their pockets? Don't players get compensated more for playing in the postseason anyway?

Interesting. Better probability of fans being in the stands

Absolutely

Genuine question...why?

Yeah I don't care for that look. If they say players need to shave their beards, then make them wear undershirts too lol...if theg gon be showing chest.

Oof

Yep, probably

I hope this is a depth move. Gio, Lynn, Kuechel, Cease, and that final 5th spot is a fight to the death between Lopez and Rodon. Spring training will be big for both of them, until Kopech is ready.

Yeah...don't really like that Rodon is back.

Didnt he sign with Detroit?

This is simply not true. Yes, Cooper needed to go, but the excitement with Katz is we have actual evidence that his coaching style works. What he did with Giolito was a huge factor in him going from the literal worst starting pitcher in the league to one of the best. The general pessimism doesn't apply to Katz because there is legitimate hope that he can do the same thing with Cease and Lopez.

This is pretty much where I am at. Offseason isn't over. Also, a lot of teams make moves in the middle of the season to upgrade their roster too. The additions don't stop once the season starts. Obviously, depth is an issue. Also obviously, the front office realizes this. I am confident they will address it. Not to the demand of fans on message boards that it happens immediately, but it will happen. I for one am excited about our coaching. I think TLR is going to push these guys to unleash their potential, and I think he's going to force them to play SMART baseball, and when they don't, he'll know how to handle it. I think we are going to see some amazing things from our pitchers this year with Katz, who from listening to and reading about, has lots of tricks up his sleeves. I am very excited about that. Can you imagine if Lopez and Cease were fixed, and Kopech comes out pitching like a stud? Like if all 3 were fantastic...and we have real evidence of that with Katz and Giolito... that's something to be excited about.

lmao

Thank you for sharing this. There is always more to the story than what people think...

And then it would have been an absolute shitstorm meltdown once Toronto signed Springer, because you know those rumors would have been heating the imaginary hot stove up to the highest setting, because the Sox would have not signed a right fielder yet. And then after all the bs speculation, they sign Joc, oh my word, can you imagine what the response would be? My computer would explode.