Just when the 'stros were getting hot. A member of the Major League Baseball negotiating team told the Chicago Tribune on Thursday that union negotiators have said they plan to set a strike date at a meeting in Chicago next week. Earlier reports, including one citing Chicago Cubs catcher Joe Girardi, indicated that players weren't likely to set a hard-and-fast strike date at a meeting of players representatives on Monday. But one player told the Tribune that the players association is concerned that there has been little movement on economic issues since March. "We've said to them, 'What's the deal?'" one member of the MLB team told the Tribune. "The answer is, 'We're going to Chicago to set a strike date.' " Girardi said Tuesday he doesn't think players will set a strike date Monday, but if the players don't strike before the end of the season, he expects management to lock out the players in the spring. "We keep making proposals, and they have no response," Selig said. "There is just no response. Our guys are frustrated. ... The magnitude of this is frightening." The owners want to reduce the disparity in revenues between clubs and curb salaries. Baseball has been hit by eight work stoppages in its history. "It's the old thing," one highly placed MLB executive told the newspaper. "They think they can walk; then we'll blink and fold." One owners representative said they remain united. "Selig, no matter how much they're throwing at him, he won't move," said the MLB executive. "I would just hope in the coming weeks and months we have a chance to make a deal," Selig said Wednesday. "We need a deal. ... I remember '94-95, trying to come back, and, oh, what a nightmare." During negotiations in June, the sides mostly addressed secondary issues. In an attempt to get talks moving, owners made a series of small concessions. But in the last year, the union has moved only from 20 to 22.5 percent on revenue sharing -- owners are seeking 50 percent -- and hasn't acknowledged the luxury-tax issue. It made its last counterproposals on core issues in March. Union head Donald Fehr has said the strike is a last resort. In recent days, he has been saying it may be the only choice players have left; otherwise owners will declare an impasse in negotiations after the World Series, which would give them the right to impose new work rules. The players fear being locked out after the World Series. "Everybody needs to stop worrying about the politics and make a deal," Selig said. "We can make one. ... The whole world knows the system has to be changed. There's enough revenue here ... where we ought to be able to do the things we have to do and move on."
That's good to hear. I'm only a mets fan and we're not doing a darn. A .500 winning % isn't good enough for my standards.
The players and owners will not be happy until they have completely destroyed the game of baseball. Both are completely consumed by greed.
If those friggin' millionaires strike again, I will never watch another baseball game. I am sure there are many people who feel just like me about this subject.
Great, Bud Seelig will take care of things! Damn, this sounds like a broken record, doesn't it? Thank God for OOTP sim baseball. We don't have such stupidity in that league. I swear, so help me God, if there is a strike, I will ask Clutch for a BBS username change. I do NOT want to be associated with MLB in any form or fashion if they go on strike again.
Might as well get that new nickname now Manny, cause these guys are as good as gone. They seem to live in some make belive world where everyone has all this sympathy for them because they aren't making a couple of MORE million dollars a year. Pathetic.
Bottom of the ninth: Greed: 1 Fans: 0 Greed is going for the complete game shutout. However, the skipper, Avarice, might decide to pull Greed in favor of Gluttony to close the game out.
I have sympathy for you guys that still follow MLB. I used to be a big fan of the game back in the 80's as a kid. But strikes, greed, and utter boredom killed the game for me. The only time I've bothered to even pay attention to baseball in the past 15 or so years was when Sosa and McGwire were going for the home run record. Even then, I only followed it on news broadcasts... Players hopping from team to team every year made it a pain to sometimes follow the game or really latch onto a player as being "your city's player". Bah... MLB died long ago. MLB sucks and it's taking baseball with it...
Yeah, Bags and Bidge have jumped from team to team the last 15 years. Good thing they didn't stay in Houston longer than Hakeem or they may have gotten a loyal fan following from that city.
The thing that pisses me off the most about Bud Seelig wont let Rose in the hall of fame that b*stard!!!!! really pisses me off, i mean i could cuss through out this whole post and it could be a post where i get banned but i am not going to do that. Anyone pissed off about this?
Leave it to Bobo to find an exception and make it the rule. How about we compare the stars of the NBA running from team to team to say oh... Randy Johnson? MLB sucks. It needs to die.
I just watched "Hoffa" on HBO today, and it was pretty interesting to see the beginnings of the idea of Collective Bargaining... but seriously, if baseball players strike 2x under Bud Selig's watch, isn't if officially time for him to go? But how does that happen? I'm sure the other owners like the idea of having a comrade as the commish... so how exactly does a commish lose his job?
ut seriously, if baseball players strike 2x under Bud Selig's watch, isn't if officially time for him to go? But how does that happen? This is more the fault of the MLB player's union. They have become obsessed with themselves. The Union need to be broken and I hope Selig & company don't cave in to their ridiculous expectations. As much as the owners are greedy pigs, their individual goals lie in their own ability to make money which relies on them each being able to field competitive teams -- that's the part I want to see. Thus far, the Union hasn't even acknowledged that there is a competitive balance problem. They are against a Salary Cap, a Luxury Tax, and Revenue Sharing, which are the three biggest solutions to dealing with the competitive balance issue. Until they budge somewhere, this thing is doomed.
The first step towards any deal is to have a Commissioner who is selected by both the players and the owners. Until Selig is gone, nothing good will come of it, the guy is a liar with a disturbing predilection towards selective enforcement of the rules of the game(What? Loans between teams aren't allowed, well, we'll see about that, not for my beloved Brewers they aren't, etc) . . . and lets not forget the whole contraction debacle. First, Selig goes, that has to be done. Guy is either a stone cold moron, or a pathological liar. Either one is unacceptable for the Commissioner, and there's no way the Player's Union negotiates with him - would you? Then, put in a revenue sharing system that rewards small market teams that do well, and not teams with small payrolls(as of now, its more profitable for a team to suck, and have a small payroll, than spend more money and contend every few years). I prefer that every team have the same general funds to work with, so a salary floor, and a salary cap like the NBA has would be nice. Then get a true international draft. Allow teams to trade draft picks, but set in a sliding scale on how much draft picks can make, so poor teams don't have to make "signability" picks. Then cap player's salaries. Then buy out owners like Disney, Pohlad, Loria the Angel of Death, etc, etc and sell their teams to owners who actually give a ****.
Well, it wouldn't be baseball if this time of year didn't suck big balls. Thanks baseball for once again reminding me why I love basketball. Enjoy the strike. When someone asks about baseball, I'll reply, "Bay-sss-bawl??? What is this bay-sss-bawl. I have never heard of such a thing."
Well, every single MLB commissioner has either been fired or died while in office, so Bud Selig doesn't have the most stable job in the world...
Ain't it grand how good ole' Bud got the All Star game placed in Milwaukee this year? Isn't that proof enough of a conflict of interest? sheesh!
How can guys making over 10 million dollars per annum go on strike. It doesn't make sense. If they do strike, I hope MLB just plays with scabs.
