MLB CBA/Labor Dispute Thread

[waroriole]

1 hour ago, Can_of_corn said:

It isn't cheap to try and buy your wife a career in country music.

Yeah that’s one of those really weird stories I just assumed was from the onion. 

[Tony-OH]

33 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

I always love it when people blame the players for these things.

There's a lot of blame to go around between the owners and the Union leadership of the players. The problem is, neither side cares about the fans. They just assume they will always be there, but I think they are playing a very dangerous game this time.

I would think they will understand and get a deal done, but as it was pointed out, never underestimate the greed and lack of self awareness by either side.

[Frobby]

2 hours ago, Aglets said:

What's going on with this dispute is such a crime.  I hope the unions don't get an extra dime.

Why, are the owners all pure and wonderful here?

[Frobby]

18 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

There's a lot of blame to go around between the owners and the Union leadership of the players. The problem is, neither side cares about the fans. They just assume they will always be there, but I think they are playing a very dangerous game this time.

I would think they will understand and get a deal done, but as it was pointed out, never underestimate the greed and lack of self awareness by either side.

I agree that a work stoppage is really going to hurt them with the fans.  And I don’t really understand why the negotiations haven’t gotten more serious at this late date.   Maybe it’s because there’s no players and who experienced the aftershocks of the last labor disruption, and a majority of owners who didn’t experience it, either.  (By my count, 19 of the 30 franchises have changed hands since then.)  Hopefully they’ll come to their senses in time to avoid a shortened season.   

[Can_of_corn]

12 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I agree that a work stoppage is really going to hurt them with the fans.  And I don’t really understand why the negotiations haven’t gotten more serious at this late date.   Maybe it’s because there’s no players and who experienced the aftershocks of the last labor disruption, and a majority of owners who didn’t experience it, either.  (By my count, 19 of the 30 franchises have changed hands since then.)  Hopefully they’ll come to their senses in time to avoid a shortened season.   

When was the last stoppage of any sort in the US?  Hockey in 2013?

[Tony-OH]

11 minutes ago, Frobby said:

I agree that a work stoppage is really going to hurt them with the fans.  And I don’t really understand why the negotiations haven’t gotten more serious at this late date.   Maybe it’s because there’s no players and who experienced the aftershocks of the last labor disruption, and a majority of owners who didn’t experience it, either.  (By my count, 19 of the 30 franchises have changed hands since then.)  Hopefully they’ll come to their senses in time to avoid a shortened season.   

How they handled COVID last year told me all I needed to know about the current leadership of both. I have little faith that they will not have some kind of work stoppage and if they do come to an agreement, it won't be good for the fans.

[Can_of_corn]

2 minutes ago, Tony-OH said:

How they handled COVID last year told me all I needed to know about the current leadership of both. I have little faith that they will not have some kind of work stoppage and if they do come to an agreement, it won't be good for the fans.

I think there is zero trust of the owners by the Union and rightfully so since I think the owners are not interested in a deal that is fair to both sides.

[Frobby]

1 minute ago, Tony-OH said:

How they handled COVID last year told me all I needed to know about the current leadership of both. I have little faith that they will not have some kind of work stoppage and if they do come to an agreement, it won't be good for the fans.

What are the elements of an agreement that you think wouid hurt the interests of the fans?   I’m sure there are some (potentially) but I’m not sure what they are.   Playoff format?

[Frobby]

Just now, Can_of_corn said:

I think there is zero trust of the owners by the Union and rightfully so since I think the owners are not interested in a deal that is fair to both sides.

What does “fair” even mean in a context where everyone makes gobs of money?   The way I see it, baseball had a certain revenue stream 20 years ago and the owners and union did some hard bargaining over how to split the pie.   Since then, the owners have come up with a variety of ways to increase the sport’s revenue other than TV and gate receipts, and they feel entitled to keep the majority of that new revenue since they were the ones who came up with the ideas and took the entrepreneurial risks that created it.  Some of it goes beyond the sport (I’m thinking here of the MLBAM technology that has been licensed or sold to other sports or entertainment enterprises for vast sums of money).  At the same time, the service time manipulation is clearly inequitable and the players certainly can argue that a share of increased baseball-related revenue should go to them.   I think there’s a lot of wiggle room in the definition of what’s fair.   Nobody’s starving here, except the minor leaguers who don’t have a say in any of this.   

[Can_of_corn]

18 minutes ago, Frobby said:

What does “fair” even mean in a context where everyone makes gobs of money?   The way I see it, baseball had a certain revenue stream 20 years ago and the owners and union did some hard bargaining over how to split the pie.   Since then, the owners have come up with a variety of ways to increase the sport’s revenue other than TV and gate receipts, and they feel entitled to keep the majority of that new revenue since they were the ones who came up with the ideas and took the entrepreneurial risks that created it.  Some of it goes beyond the sport (I’m thinking here of the MLBAM technology that has been licensed or sold to other sports or entertainment enterprises for vast sums of money).  At the same time, the service time manipulation is clearly inequitable and the players certainly can argue that a share of increased baseball-related revenue should go to them.   I think there’s a lot of wiggle room in the definition of what’s fair.   Nobody’s starving here, except the minor leaguers who don’t have a say in any of this.   

I don't disagree with any of this.  I hate using nebulous terms like fair but frankly I couldn't come up with anything better.

I think ownership is more concerned about "winning" than they are averting a work stoppage.

[Frobby]

3 minutes ago, Can_of_corn said:

I don't disagree with any of this.  I hate using nebulous terms like fair but frankly I couldn't come up with anything better.

I think ownership is more concerned about "winning" than they are averting a work stoppage.

As they were in 1995.

[Aglets]

3 hours ago, ChrisP said:

The best players already lost a year of their prime. It would be a shame to lose additional time. 

3 hours ago, Aglets said:

What's going on with this dispute is such a crime.  I hope the unions don't get an extra dime.

58 minutes ago, Frobby said:

Why, are the owners all pure and wonderful here?

It's time to shift the paradigm.  If out of this dispute we ever hope to climb.

 

[Frobby]

14 minutes ago, Aglets said:

It's time to shift the paradigm.  If out of this dispute we ever hope to climb.

 

You clever meter really is sublime.  

[Sports Guy]

The fear I have is Manfred.  He is absolutely terrible and I fear that whatever he touches turns to dog poop.

[Can_of_corn]

5 minutes ago, Sports Guy said:

The fear I have is Manfred.  He is absolutely terrible and I fear that whatever he touches turns to dog poop.

I don't think his power is that great.  Of course I don't know what owners have the most influence.