Is Manfred’s job in jeopardy?

[Philip]

 I don’t know if commissioners are hired for a certain number of years and then their contract is renewed or not, or if they could be dismissed anytime there’s a majority vote among the owners, or something in between. 

I have strong feelings about him, as do many, but I don’t know whether the owners are happy with him. Is there any indication that his job might be in jeopardy as a result of things? I was going to list a thing or two but realized that if I started it will be a long time before I stopped.

Any insight from the crowd?

[atomic]

42 minutes ago, Philip said:

 I don’t know if commissioners are hired for a certain number of years and then their contract is renewed or not, or if they could be dismissed anytime there’s a majority vote among the owners, or something in between. 

I have strong feelings about him, as do many, but I don’t know whether the owners are happy with him. Is there any indication that his job might be in jeopardy as a result of things? I was going to list a thing or two but realized that if I started it will be a long time before I stopped.

Any insight from the crowd?

He could be fired.  I don’t know what the owners think of him. 

[forphase1]

From various reporting, it seems the owners are quite happy with him.  While this may be a disaster to the rest of us, at the end of the day Manfred is an employee of the owners, and if they are happy then he isn't going anywhere.  I have no inside info or anything like that, but that's the gist of what I've read and hear, a lot of it coming from the Baseball Tonight podcast, where they have been discussing the issue.  

[Philip]

2 hours ago, forphase1 said:

From various reporting, it seems the owners are quite happy with him.  While this may be a disaster to the rest of us, at the end of the day Manfred is an employee of the owners, and if they are happy then he isn't going anywhere.  I have no inside info or anything like that, but that's the gist of what I've read and hear, a lot of it coming from the Baseball Tonight podcast, where they have been discussing the issue.  

Rats...

[FlipTheBird]

1 hour ago, Philip said:

Rats...

Blaming the current situation exclusively on Manfred is as silly as blaming the players’ stance exclusively on Tony Clark. Manfred is representing the owners here, who clearly have their own motives and objectives.

[scOtt]

12 hours ago, forphase1 said:

From various reporting, it seems the owners are quite happy with him.  While this may be a disaster to the rest of us, at the end of the day Manfred is an employee of the owners, and if they are happy then he isn't going anywhere.  I have no inside info or anything like that, but that's the gist of what I've read and hear, a lot of it coming from the Baseball Tonight podcast, where they have been discussing the issue.  

The way he is limiting (or even eliminating) paying the players, the owners have to be LOVING him right now.

[Philip]

8 hours ago, FlipTheBird said:

Blaming the current situation exclusively on Manfred is as silly as blaming the players’ stance exclusively on Tony Clark. Manfred is representing the owners here, who clearly have their own motives and objectives.

I’m not blaming this specifically on him. Overall he’s been a disaster, but I’m not denying that Clark has contributed a lot to this part.

[spiritof66]

There's no way to be sure, but Mighty Manfred certainly seems to be doing the owners' bidding. End of story.

True, he's done nothing to improve the game or its future, and he's shown himself to be lacking in honesty and integrity. But it's pretty clear those are not fireable offenses, or even negative qualities, so far as the owners are concerned.

 

[spiritof66]

3 hours ago, Philip said:

I’m not blaming this specifically on him. Overall he’s been a disaster, but I’m not denying that Clark has contributed a lot to this part.

What has Clark contributed to things breaking down? I'm not saying he hasn't had a hand in this, but I'm not sure what his contribution has been, other than not agreeing to MLB's proposals to accommodate the owners. At most I see Clark as an enabler of the owners in reaching their goal of little or no baseball in 2020, who's been restrained and ineffective in explaining to the public what has been going on. And that may reflect a calculation that restraint now will potentially be helpful when the CBA is being negotiated and the sparks begin to fly.

Here's a thought experiment. If Marvin Miller were running the union, he could have run rings around Manfred even on one of his (Miller's) slow days, but would things be any different?

[Can_of_corn]

17 minutes ago, spiritof66 said:

What has Clark contributed to things breaking down? I'm not saying he hasn't had a hand in this, but I'm not sure what his contribution has been, other than not agreeing to MLB's proposals to accommodate the owners. At most I see Clark as an enabler of the owners in reaching their goal of little or no baseball in 2020, who's been restrained and ineffective in explaining to the public what has been going on. And that may reflect a calculation that restraint now will potentially be helpful when the CBA is being negotiated and the sparks begin to fly.

Here's a thought experiment. If Marvin Miller were running the union, he could have run rings around Manfred even on one of his (Miller's) slow days, but would things be any different?

He should have tight control over the messaging from the players.

[spiritof66]

1 minute ago, Can_of_corn said:

He should have tight control over the messaging from the players.

True. That would be to the union's and the players' advantage. I'm not sure whether it's possible to do that, but it doesn't appear that Clark tried.

[Philip]

6 hours ago, spiritof66 said:

What has Clark contributed to things breaking down? I'm not saying he hasn't had a hand in this, but I'm not sure what his contribution has been, other than not agreeing to MLB's proposals to accommodate the owners. At most I see Clark as an enabler of the owners in reaching their goal of little or no baseball in 2020, who's been restrained and ineffective in explaining to the public what has been going on. And that may reflect a calculation that restraint now will potentially be helpful when the CBA is being negotiated and the sparks begin to fly.

Here's a thought experiment. If Marvin Miller were running the union, he could have run rings around Manfred even on one of his (Miller's) slow days, but would things be any different?

Clark is contributing to the impasse. The CBA expires in a year. Now is not the time to be contentious. Now is the time to curry public favor, Create the idea of the owners as the bad guys, avoid letting the players come off as selfish and greedy( Which is certainly not happening)  and lay the groundwork for a future negotiation that will favor the players’ interests.

Right now the perception( and I think it is accurate) is that both MLB players and owners care nothing about the minor league prospects, the fans, the game, or anything else except money.

The owners have certainly avoided creating any kind of goodwill feeling towards them.

The players had a tremendous opportunity and they have completely destroyed it.

Edited June 21, 2020 by Philip

[Mr. Chewbacca Jr.]

1 hour ago, Philip said:

Clark is contributing to the impasse. The CBA expires in a year. Now is not the time to be contentious. Now is the time to curry public favor, Create the idea of the owners as the bad guys, avoid letting the players come off as selfish and greedy( Which is certainly not happening)  and lay the groundwork for a future negotiation that will favor the players’ interests.

Right now the perception( and I think it is accurate) is that both MLB players and owners care nothing about the minor league prospects, the fans, the game, or anything else except money.

The owners have certainly avoided creating any kind of goodwill feeling towards them.

The players had a tremendous opportunity and they have completely destroyed it.

I don't really think public perception has much of a factor in CBA negotiations. Holding firm on certain issues - expanded postseason, prorated salaries, etc - has way more to do with it. A lot of the issues between the MLB and the MLBPA right now are posturing for a much bigger battle over the next CBA.

The bad PR that has surrounded these negotiations definitely has a long-term impact of the vitality of the game and the league. That's more of a problem for the owners, in my opinion. But, that's why they pay Manfred the big bucks - to be the fall guy if things get too bad. Same thing with Roger Goodell. They pay him all that money to walk out on the stage during the NFL Draft with his tail between his legs and get booed for a reason.

[Redskins Rick]

20 hours ago, spiritof66 said:

What has Clark contributed to things breaking down? I'm not saying he hasn't had a hand in this, but I'm not sure what his contribution has been, other than not agreeing to MLB's proposals to accommodate the owners. At most I see Clark as an enabler of the owners in reaching their goal of little or no baseball in 2020, who's been restrained and ineffective in explaining to the public what has been going on. And that may reflect a calculation that restraint now will potentially be helpful when the CBA is being negotiated and the sparks begin to fly.

Here's a thought experiment. If Marvin Miller were running the union, he could have run rings around Manfred even on one of his (Miller's) slow days, but would things be any different?

Miller didnt have to operate in the day and age of the internet and social media, not to mention an abundance of sport reporters.

[Can_of_corn]

1 minute ago, Redskins Rick said:

Miller didnt have to operate in the day and age of the internet and social media, not to mention an abundance of sport reporters.

They had plenty of sport reporters, they worked for things called newspapers that were a popular means of receiving the news.