great article on Howards $10M Award will effect arbitration

[FutureOwner]

http://sports.espn.go.com/mlb/spring2008/columns/story?columnist=stark_jayson&id=3257829

[BigWilly1231]

Wrong Forum

[clarence]

Who cares? A good article is a good article no matter what forum.

[FutureOwner]

How is this something that would not effect the Orioles? One thing I can think of is their views on when Markakis should be signed to a long term contract, and what they might like to do on that matter.

[Guest JChav]

This thread can very easily be morphed into an Orioles discussion. 8-figure arbitration awards can quite possibly be a reality for the Orioles in the future. We're a team looking to build the future with homegrown players. If our team success in the future is owed more to homegrown talent than free agents, we will be facing this issue. The only way to avoid it would be contract extensions, and why would those be any less than what a player could win in arbitration?

This could very well spell the end of our track record in successful arbitration decisions...

I don't know where to go from there, because the entire future, ownership included (Will Petey follow his pal Castro off into the sunset soon?), is too uncertain now. Let's hope Pete's wallet, his sons' wallets, or whoevers' wallets are thick (generous?) enough to accommodate those potential 8-figure arbitration awards...

[geschinger]

MLB needs to do something radical to change the landscape... Make players FAs after 4 years and kill arbitration. The lack of supply of quality FAs and an arbitration system that is out of control is creating a system that is going to make the gap between the haves and the have nots even worse.

[square634]

MLB needs to do something radical to change the landscape... Make players FAs after 4 years and kill arbitration. The lack of supply of quality FAs and an arbitration system that is out of control is creating a system that is going to make the gap between the haves and the have nots even worse.

Wait, so having players under team control for a shorter amount of time would help that?

Arbitration was the biggest bungle in baseball owners' history. They were moronic enough to come up with the idea themselves, when the Players Union still didn't have much power.

[geschinger]

Wait, so having players under team control for a shorter amount of time would help that?

Arbitration was the biggest bungle in baseball owners' history. They were moronic enough to come up with the idea themselves, when the Players Union still didn't have much power.

I believe so. The more free agents there are on the open market the better. When the supply of quality FAs is too low those fortunate enough to be on the market get a lot higher salaries than they otherwise might if teams had a good supply of FAs to bid on. If arbitration continues on the path it seems to be on w/the Howard signing having players under a team's control doesn't mean much if the awards put the salaries out of reach.

[square634]

I guess if there were any way that the players would give up arbitration, it would be in exchange for earlier free agency.

[Flip217]

...When the supply of quality FAs is too low those fortunate enough to be on the market get a lot higher salaries than they otherwise might if teams had a good supply of FAs to bid on....

But by decreasing the amount of time players are under a teams control, aren you also increasing demand? That is, teams will more often be losing players to free agency and so will more often be looking to replace that production. It seems like it might be a wash to me.

[RShack]

I believe so. The more free agents there are on the open market the better. When the supply of quality FAs is too low those fortunate enough to be on the market get a lot higher salaries than they otherwise might if teams had a good supply of FAs to bid on. If arbitration continues on the path it seems to be on w/the Howard signing having players under a team's control doesn't mean much if the awards put the salaries out of reach.

That's exactly what Charley Finley told his idiot fellow-owners back when all this started. He had figured out how to be a very successful small-market owner. When the reserve clause got tossed, he told them to just bite the bullet and make everybody a FA all at once, it would hurt in the short run but it would be infinitely better in the long run. When they didn't, he told them they were fools. When they insisted on arbitration that would be guided by the salaries of top FA's, he told them they were guaranteeing that salaries would spiral through the roof. When they ignored him again, he looked at his OAK market and got out of the baseball business.

[DrungoHazewood]

That's exactly what Charley Finley told his idiot fellow-owners back when all this started. He had figured out how to be a very successful small-market owner. When the reserve clause got tossed, he told them to just bite the bullet and make everybody a FA all at once, it would hurt in the short run but it would be infinitely better in the long run. When they didn't, he told them they were fools. When they insisted on arbitration that would be guided by the salaries of top FA's, he told them they were guaranteeing that salaries would spiral through the roof. When they ignored him again, he looked at his OAK market and got out of the baseball business.

You know, there can be a workable, financially stable middle ground between full reserve clause and making everyone a free agent after every season. Like, for example, the system we have now.

[geschinger]

You know, there can be a workable, financially stable middle ground between full reserve clause and making everyone a free agent after every season. Like, for example, the system we have now.

When we start talking $10m contracts awared via arbitration it is a stretch to call what we have now a workable middle ground. Killing arbitration and making players FAs after four years would be a nice compromise and likely get MLB to a more stable middle ground.

[RShack]

You know, there can be a workable, financially stable middle ground between full reserve clause and making everyone a free agent after every season. Like, for example, the system we have now.

I agree that the situation is different than it was back when Charley-O was giving good advice and getting ignored. I don't anticipate anyone trusting his ideas now. They had their chance and missed it.

But to describe the current system as a "workable and financially stable middle ground" seems bizarre. I can't imagine many systems that are less financially stable and less middle ground than the current insanity. We're talking about utility guys making millions per year, top guys signing guaranteed contracts described ss portions of a billion dollars, and no-risk monopoly franchises being worth much more. Both the players and the owners have insane amounts of money. I think it's great for guys to get rich, more power to them, but it's reached the point where it's routine for the people involved to have what amounts to be "FU money". It's enough to make me almost-want to consider a special exemption to my personal abhorrence of confiscatory tax policies, just for professional sports. The whole industry and everybody in it should give something back, owners and players alike. If not via taxes, then in some other way. What's going on is completely crazy.

[giantfan]

Everybody should be happy he won his case, that makes him that much closer to hitting free agency in a couple of years. Theres no way phily can pay him big money with all that cash invested in their middle infield.