Yes folks, today is the day every baseball junkie has circled on their calendar. Pitchers and Catchers report to their teams facilities. Yet those fields of dreams are sitting empty and that’s just fine with The Owners.
Pitchers and catchers were supposed to report to Spring Training today, but they did not. The next collective bargaining session between MLB and the MLBPA has not yet been scheduled, per @EvanDrellich. pic.twitter.com/jfGDcYbZJU — The Athletic (@TheAthletic) February 15, 2022
Make no mistake my rabid readers MLB ownership lead by it’s schill Rob Manfred is trying to bust the players union. Tossing out hot quotes like “Phones Work Both Ways” and “For the Good Of The game.” Manfred is a labor lawyer for Christ sake. This has been his plan all along, This is what he was hired to do.
MLB and Rob Manfred: pic.twitter.com/jgBOVgfuIi — Robert Taylor (@robtaylor231) February 15, 2022
It’s clear to the players and the public that the owners and Manfred have no intention of bargaining in good faith. It’s ownership dragging its feet at every chance during these “Negotiations”. Tossing a Nuke (calling for a federal mediator) into the process at this stage was nothing more than a stunt to make the players look bad. It didn’t work. We have eyes commissioner. Almost four full months into this deceitful canard you and your masters have concocted and there have been just four sit downs on the major economic issues you are trying to bulldoze on the MLBPA.
I’m sorry, did you think this was going to be a balanced article attacking both sides? You must be new here.
What little strides have been made (Universal DH, a Draft Lottery and Free agent draft pick compensation) are smoke screens set out to pacify the public and make the owners look magnanimous. The real issues are not being discussed. Counter proposals are not being made. The Owners are digging their heels in. Where have you gone Justice Sotomayor?
Yet to Truly Be Addressed
Competitive tax is a joke. Teams with no incentive to spend money to make money simply aren’t. You can raise the threshold, you can raise tax – it makes no difference. It’s a salary cap. This is not an incentive for the smaller markets to spend more. That’s the issue.
Raising the league minimum for players is also a joke. It makes the owners look good to leak numbers increasing from 570 K to 650 K – but wait – players have to agree that pre-arbitration numbers and have to stick to these guidelines. Meaning you can’t pay top tier players more like in the past. No more buying out arbitration years.
Rob Manfred wants to cut 30 roster spots per organization. That’s 900 plays across the MiLB. The MLBPA is also open to moving to a 20 round draft in the future. Which basically cuts the draft in half. — Morning Wood (@morningwood00) February 15, 2022
Also the League is refusing to budge on Arbitration free agency years at all and the Bonus pool for top 30 players. The Union is asking for $100 million while the owners have $15 million set in stone. God help us.
bozo rob manfred delaying the adley rutschman debut pic.twitter.com/x1DwIUT8bJ — notnats fan account (@jvIias) February 15, 2022
I know the numbers you are seeing are jaw dropping. But you would have to dig a hole for your jaw if you knew the numbers these teams that aren’t winning are pocketing for their yearly tank job. With the additional streams of revenue on uniform advertising – gambling and real estate around ballparks the gap between players and owners is getting even wider.
God, I wanted to be writing stories about the lack of depth the Sox have in their rotation today…but again here we are. At least I can watch my son throw a bullpen tonight.
As always you can follow / give me grief on Twitter @Tmurph207