THE GORILLA IN THE ROOM

[finestkind]

Look what steroids did for Lyle Alzado.

 

[joey12508]

Rob Manfred must use his power to offer players an olive branch

If tradition holds, Rob Manfred will address reporters when the ongoing owners meetings conclude Thursday in Orlando.

nypost.com

 

[jaderock]

I don't have any sympathy for the players or owners especially. They're a bunch of millionaires and billionaires anyway.

In the end, the fans are the ones paying more for tickets and everything else. The fan experience cost have exploded. Yet we continue to support it.

 

[joey12508]

Latest on MLB lockout: Owners unanimously ratify new CBA, officially ending lockout

MLB owners commenced a lockout of the players following the expiration of the Collective Bargaining Agreement on Dec. 1. Here is the latest...

sports.yahoo.com

this dont look good. Atleast i will have hockey til june to watch. My team looking good to get to the playoffs.

 

[bstanwood]

Yes....Gerrit Cole...I know integrity is of paramount importance to him. I might actually become a fan of his if he just came out with the truth...players want more money, more benefits...MORE EVERYTHING.
I don't say this painting the players as bad guys and the owners the good guys, both groups are terrible. Honestly this has nothing to do with the integrity of anything except The integrity of his already enormous bank account.

 

[nosterbor]

Flents Dou che Kit, Compact, Reusable, Great for Travel, 16 fl oz Capacity​

 

[joey12508]

MLB lockout talks to resume Saturday after 11-day break

Major League Baseball and its locked-out players agreed to resume negotiations Saturday after an 11-day break.

sports.yahoo.com

 

[dano7]

MLB lockout talks to resume Saturday after 11-day break

Major League Baseball and its locked-out players agreed to resume negotiations Saturday after an 11-day break.

sports.yahoo.com

Their jobs and they are treating it like a hobby

 

[joey12508]

Their jobs and they are treating it like a hobby

they are selfish. how many people they put out of work.

 

[joey12508]

Sweeping MLB proposal leaves union underwhelmed, all but ensuring spring training delay

The league's latest proposal is robust in scope, but unlikely to spur a rapid end to the lockout.

sports.yahoo.com

 

[joey12508]

the latest offer from MLB on saturday to the PA , will not have an counter off from the players til this saturday.
what a bunch of **** heads on both sides

 

[sjm76]

You should have used "elephant in the room" instead of gorilla because someone might think you're the second coming of Joe Rogan and accuse you of racism. lol.

 

[banjar]

I'm so glad somebody was so thoughtful and insightful to find a way to bring race into this thread.

You should have used "elephant in the room" instead of gorilla because someone might think you're the second coming of Joe Rogan and accuse you of racism. lol.

 

[swish54_99]

Heard on MLBNetwork Radio today that they will be meeting every day next week to try and get something done by the end of Feb. MLB came out and said Feb 28 was the deadline for not affecting the regular season schedule. The realist in me knew both sides would go down to the 11th hour but the optimist was hoping they'd be smarter about that and get something hammered out by now.

 

[joey12508]

MLB labor talks take turn for worse because of owners’ intransigence

If it’s looking increasingly like you’re screwed if you love baseball, Saturday did at least provide some clarity at the unsubtly named Roger Dean Chevrolet Stadium: The owners.

nypost.com

 

[joey12508]

First two series of games canceled

MLB cancels games as Rob Manfred announces lockout will delay 2022 opening day

After a 16-hour day of negotiating on Monday, MLB extended the self-imposed deadline to reach a deal before talks collapsed on Tuesday.

sports.yahoo.com

 

[joey12508]

91 games poof!

 

[swish54_99]

Really disappointed on both sides...the union and owners. I really feel like the players are trying to recoup everything all at once from their previous bad deals and asking for the moon, when they should be happy that the owners are adding steps towards what the players wanted, a pre arbitration bonus pool, raising minimum salary, implementing anti-tanking measures like draft lottery (I personally hate the term "tanking" that seemed to come about the last few years...it's called rebuilding and has been done in every sport for a century...that's another topic for another day lol) etc. But the players weren't happy to just get those, they asked for those plus astronomical increases on those fronts. Get those things added in this CBA, then next CBA, start trying to raise the thresholds. That's my personal belief. The owners on the other hand, locked them out (which I believe is the right move, otherwise, the players would've just striked at some point, each side had a big card and each side would've used their card if given the opportunity), however, they waited 6 weeks to submit their first proposal. No sense of urgency. I also feel like there's a number of owners (small market owners vs. large market owners) who don't want the same things, which is also driving issues behind the scenes on their end. I understand deadlines are what gets things done in these situations, I personally don't think that it should, both sides should try doing what's better for the game as a whole, not holding grudges and money. They should've sat at a table in December and gotten this thing done, shame on both sides. Now it comes down to who can suffer longer, the owners, or the players...seems like the only thing that gets things done these days is driven by money and both sides are going to get hurt in the pocket books now. but the real people who get hurt are the fans. Rant over.

 

[WizardofOz1982]

Really disappointed on both sides...the union and owners. I really feel like the players are trying to recoup everything all at once from their previous bad deals and asking for the moon, when they should be happy that the owners are adding steps towards what the players wanted, a pre arbitration bonus pool, raising minimum salary, implementing anti-tanking measures like draft lottery (I personally hate the term "tanking" that seemed to come about the last few years...it's called rebuilding and has been done in every sport for a century...that's another topic for another day lol) etc. But the players weren't happy to just get those, they asked for those plus astronomical increases on those fronts. Get those things added in this CBA, then next CBA, start trying to raise the thresholds. That's my personal belief. The owners on the other hand, locked them out (which I believe is the right move, otherwise, the players would've just striked at some point, each side had a big card and each side would've used their card if given the opportunity), however, they waited 6 weeks to submit their first proposal. No sense of urgency. I also feel like there's a number of owners (small market owners vs. large market owners) who don't want the same things, which is also driving issues behind the scenes on their end. I understand deadlines are what gets things done in these situations, I personally don't think that it should, both sides should try doing what's better for the game as a whole, not holding grudges and money. They should've sat at a table in December and gotten this thing done, shame on both sides. Now it comes down to who can suffer longer, the owners, or the players...seems like the only thing that gets things done these days is driven by money and both sides are going to get hurt in the pocket books now. but the real people who get hurt are the fans. Rant over.

I agree with a lot of what you're saying but the Pirates, Orioles, and Marlins have been rebuilding now for 20 - 30 years. You actually have to contend at some point in a 2-3 decade "rebuild" to call it a rebuild. Call it what it is. The Cubs tanked, rebuilt, and won a World Series and are now on the down cycle gain. The Pirates won a World Series in 1979 and haven't been serious contenders for another one since.

 

[bstanwood]

I agree with a lot of what you're saying but the Pirates, Orioles, and Marlins have been rebuilding now for 20 - 30 years. You actually have to contend at some point in a 2-3 decade "rebuild" to call it a rebuild. Call it what it is. The Cubs tanked, rebuilt, and won a World Series and are now on the down cycle gain. The Pirates won a World Series in 1979 and haven't been serious contenders for another one since.

Pirates had a couple decent teams in the early 90s, but regardless your point is extremely valid. There are some teams that don't seem to be overly concerned with putting a winner on the field. They are content with putting together a lousy product under the guise of a rebuild because history shows fans will still show up and the owners will make a profit. In other cases some teams are actually trying and due to injuries, poor decisions or just plain bad luck they are consistently bad.
Right now I hate both sides, but at the very least I feel the players all generally want the same things, the owners however are certainly divided on the direction they want to go which I agree is not helping matters.
I have two ideas that I've heard from various places that I love the idea of but doubt they will ever happen 1- make a salary floor for teams, your payroll can't be beneath X number. 2- as far as the draft is concerned, the team with the best record to miss the playoffs gets first pick in the draft. First round or two could be different. Let's say they settle on 12 teams in the playoffs. So teams 13-30 draft in order best to worst then work in the playoff teams. Then after a round or two do plain old reverse order or whatever. Teams out of contention might scrap a lot harder for positioning in a system similar to that.