Yeah baby!
Posted on 07/10/2002 7:30:40 PM PDT by Mike Fieschko
JULY 10, 22:10 ET
Selig: Team Might Not Make Payroll
AP/Morry Gash [24K] NEW YORK (AP) As baseball prepared to resume labor negotiations following an All-Star break dominated by talk of strike, steroids and stalemate, commissioner Bud Selig claimed a team may not be able to make payroll Monday.
Selig made the comment during an interview Wednesday in Milwaukee with the Houston Chronicle and other papers, saying during the session that a second team had so much debt that it might not finish the season.
Selig did not identify the teams he was referring to, and there was no way to corroborate his claims. Reached at his home Wednesday night, Selig refused to discuss the subject.
``I'm done. Major league baseball's credit lines are at the maximum,'' Selig was quoted as saying in Thursday's editions of the Chronicle. ``We've done everything we can to help people by arranging credit lines. Frankly, at this point in time, we don't have that luxury anymore.
``If a club can't make it, I have to let 'em go. I'm a traditionalist, and I hate all that. It pains me to do it. I just don't have any more alternatives.''
The talks are to resume Thursday.
Players and owners have not held a full negotiating session since June 27, and are far apart on all the key issues: increase revenue sharing among teams, the owners' proposal for a luxury tax to slow payroll growth, random testing for steroids and other drugs, extending the amateur draft world wide, and management's attempt to change salary arbitration rules and eligibility.
On Monday, the union's executive board met in a Chicago suburb. While the board did not set a strike date then, it asked players on individual teams to give it authority to set one. If there is no progress in negotiations, the executive board is expected to call for baseball's ninth work stoppage, setting a walkout date for August or September.
Players and owners also await the upcoming ruling from arbitrator Shyam Das, who heard the grievance filed by the union, which claims management's attempt to fold the Minnesota Twins and Montreal Expos violated the previous labor contract, which expired Nov. 7.
Das has told the sides he will attempt to have a decision by Monday. Contraction was put off by Selig until after the 2002 season following a string of legal losses by baseball in the Minnesota courts, which ruled the Twins had to honor their 2002 lease in the Metrodome.
Amazing how the most inept owner becomes the Commissioner of Baseball.
Just another wart on the office that began with Bowie Kuhn.
BTW - Who did they find to butcher the National Anthem this year? I always wait until playoff, World Series and All-Star games are fully underway before I watch so I don't have to suffer the howlings of some PC-numbskull-du-jour.
"Anastacia."". . . And the rockets gave glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave truth through the night . . ."
Your question is a valid one.
Yes, there were several pitchers left that already made appearances. Most, however, had already showered and departed the stadium once their brief stint was done. You see, there is no "team" in All-Stars, just all stars. Ergo, the players, once they have strutted and fretted their time upon the field, wash the two to three innings of grime from their bodies and are off to enjoy their one day of vacation.
This is not to say that an all star baseball player doesn't deserve a little time off. When he is healthy he plays on Good Friday, Easter Sunday, Memorial Day, Fourth of July and Labor Day. And in the case of Sandy Koufax, can refuse to play on High Holy days such as Yom Kippur. Of course, time off is something overrated with the DH, airplane travel and the bothersome hangnails that keep many all stars out of the lineup for a day or two.
But I digress from your original question.
A pitcher, once he has "cooled" cannot easily get ready to go again until a certain amount of time has passed. For every major league fastball there are about 2,000-3,000 blood vessels that rupture in the arm. For every curveball the number jumps to 5,000-7,000 blood vessel ruptures. While true that most of these ruptures heal between pitches, not all do. Any period of inactivity is usually with the arm wrapped to prevent any "cooling" of the arm. That is why pitchers, no matter the weather, are usually seen wearing a jacket when not pitching.
So, for a pitcher that has already made an appearance to be asked to step up and do a little more is hazardous to the arm and puts the pitching career at extreme risk.
The pathetic outcome of Tuesday night was not the fault of any pitcher not willing to do his part, but MLB protecting a team's investment and the pitcher's future.
The stupidity exhibited by the powers that be of baseball was a direct result of fans wanting to see all of the stars which did not happen in past years. Nonetheless it would behoove baseball to perhaps learn the proverb regarding piss-poor planning and see that it does not happen again.
Disgruntled fans that don't get to see all the stars are much more preferable to fans that don't get to see either team win in a sport that thrives on extra inning suspense.
Amazing how the most inept owner becomes the Commissioner of Baseball.
I am amazed at how the "most inept owner" is able to get and keep a baseball team in Milwuakee. I am amazed that all of the fans are blaming Selig for trying change baseball, so that baseball would be more competitive for all teams. Name me one commissioner who has stood up to the players union, like Selig has.
You forgot to mention that the $4.50 for a beer is for Coors Lite ONLY, and NO beer vendors. (You have to leave your seat, show your ID even if you're an old geezer and then can only buy two Near-Beers at a time.) And in a state where a bunch of drunken bums like the Kennedy's live.
Go Figure!
Sorry. I must have missed when the Brewers became a club to be emulated in professional sports. Exactly when was that?
Would you agree that so long as the Red Sox keep selling out the stadium, they must be underpricing their product? They have, by far, the most expensive ticket prices in the majors, and yet, every game is a sellout. Every year prices go up another 20% and it has no effect on demand. They could double prices again and, after some initial moaning and groaning, fans would queue up to buy the tickets.
There's little to admire in either the owners of major league teams or the players, but so long as fans fight to be first to spend the $100 to see a game, what's the point in blaming the suppliers? If consumers fight for the opportunity to buy your product:
1. you must have a pretty desirable product,
2. you're probably underpricing it.
Admittedly, Boston is a special situation. Owners in Kansas City, Tampa, and Detroit can only dream about having such a rabid fan base for whom money is no object. Unfortunately, they have to play in the league and, therefore, pay the same salaries.
Trading away the only decent player on the team didn't help...
As far as Ilitch goes, that's exactly the problem. Everything has gone into the Wings. Every thin dime the Tigers made went down the street into the Joe.
Not if you went during the Big 12 tournament. True, that's once every two years, but enough for me to go to the Ballpark. I haven't paid for a Rangers ticket in over a decade, though I've been to several in the last few years. Now, the only time I would go is to entertain a client, and I strongly suggest prior to going that we do something else.
This is too big a problem already. Players with incentive clauses in their contracts often view those incentives higher than winning. The only incentive clause should be wins -- for everyone. That's the only thing that matters. Do you want outfielders running into each other to get another $250? How about a guy stretching a double into a triple (and getting thrown out) since he gets an extra buck fifty for the triple?
Then there is no reason for him not to lie, is there?
Yeah baby!
It's a vicious cycle. Revenue sharing a lá the NFL is what could save MLB
LOL- j/k, glad an AFC East team won it, but even if I do dislike the Pats, I absolutely HATE the Jets.
The Giants are doing all right. They come close to selling out every game. Pac Bell Park was built entirely with private financing, so they do have a fair amount of debt to pay down. Getting Pac Bell built was the only thing San Francisco has done right in the last ten years - it's a magnificent ballpark.
On this point we can agree.
Let's take a look at the rest of the changes that Bud has instituted:
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