If they don't does anyone NOT think they will be right back here in another 3 or 4 years? I'd rather see them shut it down and actually fix the problems than agree to keep limping. It's pathetic.
I hope they do too, i mean the only reason they are striking is cuz they know they can get more money. Greedy bastards!! they need to solve there problems first then play ball
I saw a poll that said 80% of people wouldnt mind a strike if it fixed all of baseballs problems. Yeah like the millionaires could ever agree with the billionaries
Wouldn't a strike not solve baseball's "problems"? The players are the ones who want to keep the system as is. I wouldn't mind a strike because it just lets my beloved Yankees keep on doin' what there doin'. I also don't care if there is no strike and the owners lock out the players next year, because the Yank's are the best run organization in baseball and will continue to win with a cap anyway.
So they are fighting about revenue sharing right? And also a luxury tax. The players fear that both would eat into their GIGANTIC salaries. But the players think that the owners are just trying to shaft them and make more money. I want a HARD salary cap with a real luxury tax and even revenue sharing across the league. The players want to strike now so they can use the playoff revenue as a bargaining chip because they think/know that they will get locked out in the offseason. I would love a strike if they can guarantee that in 5yrs the Marlins and the Yankees would be on a level playing field, not the 100$ million Yankees versus the 40$ million Marlins... (estimates) Nobody deserves 25 million per season in any sport, not even MJ when he was getting 30 million per season and WINNING a ring every year. Anyone know what the attendence numbers for MLB have been the past few years? I bet they have leveled off or starting falling. The product on the field in most parks is atrocious. I guess it is just sports overall but the "athletes" of today are nothing compared to the greats of the past. Pitchers used to pitch complete games and 300 innings per season. Now 6 innings is a good night and they have a high priced bullpen (full of guys that weren't good enough to start) who finish it out. Too pampered and specialized. The ERA is nasty in the MLB. Maybe the game has just changed, but I don't care about baseball anymore, especially since Cal Ripken and Tony Gwynn left. They were the last of a dying breed. I miss the late 80's/early 90's baseball. Dave Stewart, Rickey and The Bash Brothers, Kirby Puckett, Jack Morris and Kent Hrbek, Joe Carter and Paul Molitor on the Blue Jays, Bonds on the Pirates with Bonilla and Van Slyke, Robin Yount, Cecil Fielder, Will Clark on the Giants, Chris Sabo on the Reds, Darren Daulton and Mike Schmidt, Ryan Sandberg and Andre Dawson, Chris Hoiles, Mike Deveraux and Brady Anderson, Strawberry, Don Mattingly, Sid Bream on the Braves with Dave Justice, Terry Pendelton, Ron Gant, Steve Avery, Fransico Cabrera, Otis Nixon, Deion... I could go on and on. The World Series used to be so awesome. I didn't miss a Series or any playoff games from 1989 (Oakland/San Fran/Earthquake) to the 1994 strike. That was some great baseball. Especially the Twins/Braves of 1991 and the NLCS playoffs Braves/Pirates from 1991. I am still stunned from the Joe Carter homerun in Game 6 of the 1993 Series to beat Philly. Just isn't the same anymore...
Here's a wild thought. Why don't they play out the season like they AGREED to do with the understanding they would negotiate as soon as the Series is over? If the disagreement prevents next season from happening then so be it.
refman - like I was saying, the players think they have the most leverage now when the owners are still waiting on a big chunk of their revenue from the playoffs.
QUESTION: Who do you Trust . . the Players or the Owners? The Owners in the past have screwed the players more often than the reverse. . . the players are now just by screwing them back . . . . .so now time for every one to stop screwing everyone . . .and get back to baseball. BTW - i still don't know how the monopoly exemption benefits baseball Rocket River
Baseball is out of control and needs the shutdown. Maybe they should wait until the season is over. I don't know all the ins and outs of it. But they need some sort of salary cap, obviously; everyone is getting a ridiculous contract, and the Yanks get all the good players. I'm not a baseball fan, but I respect the game (not the way they're running it), so they better fix it, quickly.
David Justice is awesome!He's my all-time fav. player. I have always pulled for whatever team he has been on. Thanks for mentioning him. Do you think he's got a shot at the HOF?
I'm not an expert on labor negotiations, so someone please correct/refute this if it's wrong, but I believe that the CBA expires after this season (it actually expired after last season but they agreed to extend it for another year). If they play out the season, the owners could lock out the players & institute whatever rules they wanted, with no input from the players. The owners would do this in a heartbeat, and the players know it. Thus, the only real leverage the players have is to strike before the season ends; they want to do it late so that they maximize their earnings while denying the owners a majority of the TV revenue (from the playoffs) & all playoff gate receipts (which are shared). Pretty good tactics by the players, if you ask me. Didn't say I agree with them, just that I understand what they're doing. I have no problem with a work stoppage (even one that runs into or eliminates next season) as long as the problems are addressed.
No one can form a competing league, like the AFL & USFL did in football. There's more, but that's the only biggie I can think of off the top of my head. It benefits the players, in that since baseball is not regulated as interstate commerce, they only pay state taxes in their home city. NBA/NFL players have to pay state income taxes on their pay earned in each state in which they play games - apparently their state/federal tax returns are a nightmare.
They should go ahead and stop play. In fact, if they strike forever and never play another season, all the better.
I was wondering how long it would take to get yet another highly informative & well thought-out "I hate baseball cause it's boring & I want them to go on strike cause then R0cketz-talk will be on the radio all the time...." post. Reminds me of the endless "soccer sucks" posts in the World Cup threads.
