It has long been suggested that the White Sox would make for an interesting match with free agent third baseman Mike Moustakas, but we’ve seen little in the way of a clear connection. But now there’s evidence at least that the sides are “staying in touch,” in the words of Bob Nightengale of USA Today (via Twitter). Whether that means the South Siders have real interest that would drive a significant offer, of course, is not yet clear. Presumably, the club would be intrigued mostly in a value proposition of some kind, perhaps in a multi-year scenario. While few outside observers believe the Sox roster is primed to compete in 2018, Moustakas would boost the quality in the short term and (more importantly) is young enough that he could be installed as a solid asset for future seasons. With little in the way of clear demand from contenders, this remains one of the more intriguing fits on paper.
- Cubs star Kris Bryant says this winter’s slow-moving free agent market has spurred him to take labor issues seriously, as Gordon Wittenmyer of the Chicago Sun-Times writes. “I need to study up, have my voice heard, continue to learn, because this is going to affect us for years to come,” says Bryant. His own delayed promotion to start the 2015 season has obviously played a role in spurring his attention to the subject. It’s an interesting read on one of the game’s brightest young players, who says he and other players are readying to take a more proactive role. “I think with this next [CBA] things are definitely going to change, and there’ll definitely be more fight on our side just because we’re going to get the chance to experience the effects of some of the things we agreed to,” says Bryant.
- The Brewers rotation still has plenty of questions at the back end; indeed, many fans would still like to see an outside addition to provide one answer. As things stand, though, there’s a camp battle underway with quite a few participants. Todd Rosiak of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel wrote yesterday that, while it’s still plenty early, both Wade Miley and Brent Suter have made favorable initial impressions. In Miley’s case, at least, it might even be that his showing already makes him an odds-on favorite to crack the roster. He has over a thousand MLB innings under his belt, after all, and the Brewers might well lose him through an opt-out (he’s an Article XX(B) free agent) if they don’t ultimately put him on the 40-man. Of course, there’s plenty of time yet for candidates to rise and fall in camp.
- Pirates third baseman David Freese had some salty words for the organization earlier in the winter, but he tells Joe Starkey of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that they weren’t directed at finding his way to another team. Rather, it seems, Freese was making a call for all in the organization to recommit to winning — a possibility he says he believes in, particularly with the recent acquisitions of Corey Dickerson and Kevin Siegrist. Freese also says he understands he’s not likely to command the lion’s share of the time at third base. “I’ve had a good run in the big leagues,” he said, “and I just want to go out there and win some games.”
“Freese also says he understands he’s not likely to command the lion’s share of the time at third base.”
Then who is?
Colin Moran is their starter, came over from Houston in the Cole deal
[sarcasm] Sure, let’s hand over the starting job to an unproven prospect over a proven veteran who consistently posts league average or better numbers. Maybe we’ll lose a couple more games and pick a spot higher in the 2019 draft. [/sarcasm]
Freese is,a good veteran leader that can’t play near a,full season any more. He had issues last year having to sit out some games. Kang is long gone so Moran will be the guy. Sounds like if he was not injured last year, he may have held the job that Bergman took over in Houston. Moran is a great get by the Bucs.
Just shaking my head with every idiot post….
Scouting reports suggest Moran profiles more to 1B ( blocked ) or even LF ( likely blocked ), with Dickerson and Frazier vying for time there if Harrison isn’t moved. My guess is Moran starts out in AAA.
Bruce newton – wrong!
I don’t understand this either. Without Kang, Freese is easily the best third baseman the Pirates have.
I think the expectation is that Moran is going to get a look. Plus, they have two utility guys (Frazier/SeanRod) who’ll command time in the infield. Freese says in the article he needs a lot of rest at this point.
Is idiot your first language or something you picked up over the years?
Moran has been plugged in at 3B since being picked up over a month ago.
Qwerqwer – is jerk your basic personality trait or something you picked up over the years? Make your point without being such an ass.
Nightengale makes the connection of Moose to the south side so I give it a 1% of happening.
Why mediocre players expect huge contracts for top $$ and years is mind blowing. If Bryant was on the FA market he wouldn’t have an issue getting a big contract. Per Fangraphs Bryant has averaged over 7 WAR a year while Moustakas has averaged under 2. Why does a 2 WAR players expect huge dollars just because he’s a FA?
It’s gross to hear about labor issues from millionaires playing a game. I’m glad they get paid for the scrutiny they face in the media and by fans (it is almost not worth getting famous to take all the social and media abuse), but I’m tired of hearing from agents and stars about how unfair the system. It is a business after all.
It is a business that makes billions and if the players to argue through the union then it’s just more money in the owners pocket. Personally, I think the players rightfully should be making their case for more.
Who should be making more are the minor leaguers. Many of them get paid peanuts, have to live together with 4 or 5 other guys or with families. They work jobs in the off season to pay for their year. The major leaguers wouldn’t exist without all they young kids in minor league baseball supporting the system that promotes the top 1% to the show.
I don’t want to hear anything from players until the kids at the bottom are making a living playing ball.
Are you really taking sides in millionaires vs billionaires, while a family of 4 can barely afford to go to a game anymore?
You need to stop pretending like ticket prices would go down if players would pay less. That does not happen, ever. Stop blaming these talented players because you aren’t able to make a good enough living to attend a game.
Slow down cowboy, lets keep it civil. I’m saying the whole system has gotten greedy and a pox on both their houses (players & owners).
Signed, a season ticket holder.
I’m all for the players getting paid, but it should be done in higher AAVs and shorter terms. These super long-term deals that we’ve seen in recent years are terrible for the organizations and sport in general. And the players union can look no further than those for the market correction we’re currently seeing.
Nothing he said wasn’t civil? Why you trying to call him out like that? And why are owners/players greedy? They name a price and you’re paying it. No one is forcing you to give those greedy people any of your money.
@ilbb.
You are correct. No one forces anyone to buy tickets. Yet the age of the attending customer is on the “wrong side of thirty”, and getting older. They are trying to shorten the games, to draw younger fans. Ticket prices prevent the average family from attending on any regular basis. Because of TV contracts, playoff and WS games end well after kids go to bed. Memories arent made from watching highlight clips. If you look at the business stats, like people here look at the player stats, you would see that the game is approaching a serious problem. Each generation has fewer fans. Lower ticket prices would do more to correct it than restricting mound visits.
@ilbb – “because you aren’t able to make a good enough living” seemed like a bit of a combative tone… maybe I’m just a snowflake.
Stymeedone nailed it. Ticket prices are inversely related to the quantity and frequency of young kids in stadiums. As a Twins guy, I remember the days you could get $5 tickets at the Dome, and go with a ton of friends and have a blast in the upper deck once a week. Nowadays, at $20-30 for similar seating, you simply cannot round up 5-10 kids with parents able to afford doing that more than once or twice a summer.
I don’t think anyone has suggested that Moose is comparable to Kris Bryant or that he is going to get “huge dollars”, but he’s a productive player worthy of a 3 or 4 year deal.
So many people who have never watched Moose play use his full career numbers and it’s not apples to oranges. He radically altered his swing and his approach prior to the 2015 season and has been a consistently well above average major league player ever since. If he played in the AL East he’d hit 50 HR.
If he were a “consistently well above average” player since 2015 he would have already been signed by some team.
, His rWAR the last three seasons:, 4.4, 0.7, 1.8. His fWAR: 3.7, 0.7, 2.2.
Ummm, unless you and I understand the word “consistently” on a different basis, I don’t think it belongs in your sentence. The year to year numbers I posted are hardly “consistent”.
2.3 and 2.2. Those are his average WAR the last 3 years by both measures.
Is that really “well above average”?
Personally, I would disagree, and I think most MLB GM’s would agree with me. That’s why Mous is sitting home right now.
“If Bryant was on the FA market he wouldn’t have an issue getting a big contract.”
No sh…
Bryant is 26 years old this season. However, he won’t be a free agent until four years from now when he’ll be heading into his age 30 season. Will teams be throwing money at him then trying to sign him for eight years? Not if MLB looks as it does today. At 30 years old every team will be thinking about offering him a three year deal.
The problem is all the players best years are when he is a slave. The player in most cases has only his downside to sell on the free market. That’s why Harper and Machado are such rare specimens, they will be free agents at the age Bryant is now. Harper and Machado have something to sell.
Yeah, they are really “slaves”. Most of the top free agents have 8 figure offers out there. Just because they think their value is higher doesn’t make it so.
Yeah, slave is a ridiculous term in this case. With arbitration, guys like Bryant are going to make more than $30 million before they even hit free agency. And even average players will be multi-millionaires at that point. To act like these guys are being exploited is a joke.
And why should these players be expecting eight-year deals in the first place? Because a few teams were stupid enough to hand them out in the past? It’s those types of contracts, which have almost universally turned out bad for the clubs, that have caused the current market climate we’re seeing. With guaranteed contracts and the rise of advanced metrics, it was only a matter of time before teams realized most of those deals are horrible investments.
Using the term “slavery” is a polemic.
Slaves work at the point of a gun – in bondage.
MLB player don’t have to do what they do. They can walk away and do something else at any time.
If they don’t like the terms of their working conditions they can do something else, or wait until it’s time to negotiate the next CBA and try to change things.
They didn’t like their old working conditions, so they bargained over seats on Spring training bus rides and chefs in clubhouses.
If they were too worried about the little things that they couldn’t see the forest for the trees, then they have no one to blame except the guy in the mirror.
The shift toward analytics hasn’t happened overnight. The owners behavior of trying to keep as much revenue for themselves as they can is not a new phenomenon.
There have been articles for years on the SABR oriented sites about how many of the long-term contracts were bad ideas. Do you think the Steinbrenners, Middletons, Henrys and the rest of the ownership group live in a vacuum, or do you think, that just maybe, maybe they actually read a little bit?
Do you think that they might have figured out, from reading these articles, that the LT deal to a guy that lasts past 35 is pretty dumb? Do you think they haven’t had their own experiences (Steinbrenner-Ellsbury et al.) (Middleton-Howard) (Henry-Fat Panda, Crawford) with stupid contracts? Do you think that maybe, just maybe, they went to their FO’s with a different set of marching orders?
The owners didn’t need to collude to figure out that paying guys in their decline years is a bad business decision.
3 year deal? Lol
Yes, using the word “slave” is ridiculous, but to suggest players like Bryant aren’t being exploited is also ridiculous. Do you know how much money teams generate solely from players like him (not that there are very many)? SIGNIFICANTLY more than they are being paid while going through arbitration.
Appreciate Freese’s passion but the Pirates won’t crack over 75 wins.
I don’t really get what leverage the players are supposed to have in CBA negotiations. A strike is just as ruinous for them and everyone knows the about the television rights fee bubble.
Because nobody shows up to watch the owners play.
I’d actually pay good money to see Jerry Reinsdorf play a major league game. That would be fun.
Nobody shows up to watch agents negotiate either. They show up to watch the owners product on the field. Bryant, by himself, doesnt sell a ticket. When a team of players, like Bryant, competes, thats worth buying a ticket for. The owner, who did what it takes to put the team in place, and allows the player to showcase talents we would otherwise not see, deserves to make money. A business making a profit is not a bad thing.
The problem with a strike, for many of the players, is that striking will COST them a lot of money.
That may be the only reason another strike doesn’t happen.
Bryant is a smart player. I think he gets his well earned extension starting at 10/270. I’ve said this a few times. I think that it gets done winter meetings in Las Vegas
Did you forget to turn off “force extension” on MLB The Show again?
What the hell are you talking about. An extension after this season would be the smartest move for him and you can’t “force” jack squat on mlb the show.
actually you can “force trades” on mlb the show
Not really. He’s already in his arb years and would get way more as a free agent. It would be a smart move for the Cubs but it takes two to tango. You couldn’t force Chapman to extend, you can’t force Bryant.
Forces trades and extensions is two different things.
He’ll be 30 years old his first year of being a free agent. It’s not forcing anything it’s smart negotiations. Start before his age 27 season which is Jan 2019. I don’t get why I get so much hate on an opinion of what I think will go down. Give him a 10 year deal it all but guarantees he’s a cub for life. When the dust settles he’ll hopefully win a couple more world series and more MVPs as well.
Bryant’s agent is Boras. That, alone, makes it less likely that he would agree to an extension.
Bryant will agree to an extension when Taylor Swift and that guy get back together.
Depends on when Machado and Harper sign.
Went on bit of a tangent here…. read at your own peril.
Unless he blows out a knee or something this year and pulls a Mark Prior on us…… I don’t think I could deal with that, haha. I still think and wonder how things might’ve been different had Prior, Wood, and Zambrano all remained healthy and pitched to their high level where the Cubs would’ve been in the early 2000s. I mean imagine a 100% healthy front 3 of the rotation consisting of Prior, Wood, and Zambrano….. that’s nasty and dare I say Maddux, Glavin, and Smoltz-like……. but Wood and Prior couldn’t stay healthy and Zambrano had a short shelf life of a career and a piss poor attitude. Unfortunate.
I mean look at that 2003 rotation….
Zambrano – 32 starts, 214 IP, 3.11 ERA, 3.47 FIP
Prior – 30 starts, 211.1 IP, 2.43 ERA, 2.47 FIP
Wood – 32 starts, 211 IP, 3.20 ERA, 3.71 FIP
Da**….. just….. da**.
Then there’s the fact that in 2004 they brought on Greg Maddux again. Sure he wasn’t what he used to be 2004 onwards until his retirement after the 2008 season, but he’d be their 4th… FOURTH starter if Wood, Prior, and Zambrano remained healthy and reliable. Had Mark Prior stayed healthy this entire time he’d probably be right up there with Clayton Kershaw in terms of status, IMO. The kid was THAT da** good. It really makes me feel old though when I realize that guys like Prior and Wood are now 37 and 40 years old now respectively…. da**. Oh what could’ve been.
Outside of Prior, those numbers aren’t really all that spectacular…
Bryant isn’t taking that extension
Why wouldn’t he? He probably doesn’t get half that when he’s a free agent. Signing an extension that surpass his last 3 year of arbitration and then 7 years after that would bring him into his prime years and into his late 30s. As I said it starts at 10/270 and probably could reach 300+ mil. The cubs have a new tv deal coming in 2019 and will have 500mil to spend if they wanted to. If though the ricketts are a bunch a dbags. They spent 125-250k on 1908 championship rings. Even gave one to Steve bartman. They wouldn’t spare any different to keep that core together for 15 more years.
As a Cardinal fan I would love to see Bryant sign for 10 more years with the Cubs, but I’m guessing its a lot more money than that.
I can guarantee it will be more. Thats why I said if starts at 270mil.
Am I the only person that read Bryant’s quote: “I need to study up, have my voice heard, continue to learn, because this is going to affect us for years to come,” and thought he made it sound like he was a steelworker who’s livelyhood is being threatened? I mean honestly … he’s concerned and needs his voice heard because god forbid he may only make 30 mil a year on a 7 year deal instead of 35 over 10 years? This is getting ridiculous.
Why shouldn‘t he get max dollar?
Because the money should go to MORE players instead… guys like Tim Dillard with 16 years in professional minor league baseball shouldn’t have to drive 13 year old cars.
Tim Dillard should get a real job or make is way to MLB. This is a business!
He spent 16 years in the minors because he wasnt good enough to spend 16 in the majors.
I know no one wants to hear it, but this guy has a point. The players union shouldn’t just be worried about driving more $$$ to the top FAs but raising the league minimum, raising pay for arb eligible players etc. Teams know how much they are going to spend, every team has a budget and if a Superstar gets 2 million more then someone else doesn’t get signed
Allowing the other players to continue to be lower paid also just makes them more attractive alternative options to the free agents.
shhhh, chester, don’t tell Tony Clark. Let him figure it out on his own.
Bryant is the kind of guy that should get max dollar. Moustakas isn’t. Lynn, Cobb and Arrieta aren’t the kinds of guys that should be getting max dollar. Free Agents shouldn’t always have to set new high marks in pay per year every year.
And top dollar isn’t 25-30mil aav over 10 years?
“Free Agents shouldn’t always have to set new high marks in pay per year every year.”
I agree, but that’s what the agents try to do – set the bar higher.
but what has happened is the owners have figured out that the deals that keep setting the bar higher are bad business.
Plus, the owners/FOs are starting to recognize that just because Kershaw and Greinke get $30MM AAVs, doesn’t mean that the next guy down should get $25MM.
I like Bryant’s comments, actually.
He took ownership for himself and admitted to the obvious reality that poor bargaining on the part of the union created much of the current situation.
Tony Clark has done neither of those things and continues to both deflect and blame everyone else for his own failings in this matter.
Add Kris Bryant to the absurdly long list of people more qualified to run the MLBPA.
Yeah because the owners lining their own pockets is a much better alternative…right? Plus if this winter is any indication mid talented but mid tier players need to have some safeguards to protect from getting left in the cold.
Cobb had a good contract offer for a guy that has never thrown over 200 IP and is still recovering from TJ. He passed the money up. Moustakus should have takent the QO like Hellickson did.
What the league needs is expansion. Why spend $10 to $15 M for 2 to 3 years to get slightly better production than you can get out of a guy in a MLB minimum contract? There are easily enough guys for 50 more spots on 25 man rosters.
Montreal and Vegas need teams yesterday.
Montreal and Vegas would be my two choices too, at least without looking at the numbers.
Manfred seems really interested in bringing MLB to Mexico though, so I wouldn’t at all be shocked to see Mexico City get a team.
Orlando? Hawaii because it’s really warm their? Dallas? Charlotte Michael Jordan could own team?
@GB
Do you own a business? Do you try to break even, or do you try to make a profit?
” Plus if this winter is any indication mid talented but mid tier players need to have some safeguards to protect from getting left in the cold.”
Why? Are they “entitled” to a MLB job?
I don’t think anyone is saying that they can’t survive on what they are being paid. What they are complaining about is getting a fair share of the MLB revenue pie. It’s been reported several times that compared to other industries, MLB is well under the average in terms of percentage of company revenue they disperse to the players. I think most companies spend about 50-55% of their revenue on employee salaries….. I think MLB the last few years now has dipped below 45% and might be nearing 40%.
I mean sure, I’m doubting the like of Yu Darvish is actually bummed he is “only” getting $21M on average for the next 6 years. But if you figure if MLB was paying the same amount of their revenue to employees like other businesses due, Darvish “should’ve” gotten about 5-10% more….. which would be anywhere between 6 year $132M deal and a 6 year $138M deal….. instead of 6 years and $126M. It’s funny because people will say “oh no, they missed out on a whopping 6-10 million…. they’re still getting 120+ million” condescendingly….. but in the next breath when a team gives out a 1 year deal to a player worth, say $7M these same people say that’s way too much money. So they dismiss the 5-10M a player should’ve gotten on a bigger contract, but freak out when a player is given that same amount on a shorter deal…. It’s insane.
Then of course there is the fact people are acting like they are the ones paying these player’s salaries. Like they’re the ones who are going to be personally shelling out the $300 million Kris Bryant makes on his first contract or something. It’s ridiculous. They will then try to make the case they actually do pay these players’ salaries when they buy tickets and whatnot….. not grasping the fact that they don’t have to buy said tickets if they feel they are too expensive or the $8 beers and $10 nachos and the $50 parking. Just don’t go. If enough people don’t go guess what happens. Prices will plateau if not drop…… or going to sporting events becomes and elitist affair which turns off the blue collar fan and they lose interest in the sport altogether so they are not only not going to games but they’re not watching them on TV either….. and as a result MLB will start targeting these fans aggressively to get them back to buying their product and watching games again….. how? By dropping prices to entice them to come back to the game….. and that my friends is your business/econ 101 course for the day. It amazes me how dumb people are thinking the HAVE to buy tickets to go see their team and drop a couple hundred on tickets, concessions, merchandise, parking, etc. I don’t know if you all know this, but they broadcast games for free on TV and on the radio. And if you’re an adult and still buying team merchandise….. what’s wrong with you. I mean outside of maybe a couple hats and 1…… ONE shirt (and if it’s a jersey you’re a dork IMO) there is no need for a grown ass man or woman for that matter to be buying team branded knick-knacks. Grow up already. You’re like the 30+ year olds who still play video games for about 3-4 hours a day and still watch cartoons/anime….. it’s pathetic and creepy. I mean nothing is sadder than grown adults who go to team conventions…… without children, and they run around trying to get as many autographs as they can and wind up buying $1,000 in team logoed sh**. Nothing is sadder and creepier than a 30-40+ year old dude worshipping and fawning over 20-something year old dudes.
Went on a tangent there, again, and I apologize. But this “they’re overpaid” sh** is getting fuc*ing old. How many times are people going to say the same dam* shi* in the comments section every time player salaries is brought up? Seriously. I mean I will bet my life that once Jake Arrieta signs the comments section will most definitely be filled to the brim with people leaving the ever insightful (sarcasm) comments of “overpay” or “wow, what idiots for giving him that much…. he’ll bust.” My life…. that’s how dam* confident I am in homers continuing to act like homers.
As long as contract lengths continue to hurt the signing clubs, you’re going to continue to hear from frustrated fans of those clubs. It’s not as simple as the “billionaires vs. millionaires” nonsense so many want to bring up.
As a fan of an organization, I care far more about my team’s long-term health than I do about the earning potential of any player on my team. That doesn’t necessarily mean that I don’t want to see particular guys rewarded for their contributions, but I don’t want to see that nearly enough to sacrifice my team’s ability to compete in the short or long term.
What industries are paying 50% to payroll? My background is retail and sales and payroll doesnt approach that.
It varies wildly from industry to industry as to the payroll % of “the pie”. You really need to compare MLB to NFL/NBA/NHL to decide if the players piece of the pie is appropriate.
” What they are complaining about is getting a fair share of the MLB revenue pie.”
True, but what does “fair share” mean?
Everyone’s definition is different.
Personally, I don’t care what percentage of revenues go towards the players, because picking a percentage is purely arbitrary.
I’m with Daniel Youngblood on this one. As a fan I don’t want my team saddled with bad contracts and paying out money that doesn’t benefit the product on the field.
Arbitrary definitions of “fairness” are irrelevant to me. Whether the players get 40% or 75% of revenue doesn’t change the circumstances of my life one bit.
wordy much?
Looking at the linked article about the XX(B) free agents from 2014-15 was an insane blast from the past.
Is there a list of all the players who fit that description this season?
It was unclear from his previous comments whether Freese was trying to be part of the solution or just whine his way out of town like Harrison.
Hopefully it’s the former, because this team desperately needs better leadership and has for years.
See the recent comments by the former leader of this team blaming everyone but himself for the team’s failure to advance in the postseason. Every single person reading this has as many career postseason RBI’s as he does…unless someone reading this has ever gotten even one single postseason RBI, I guess.
When the star players and the core of a team perform well and then still fall short…THEN you get to blame the front office. Then..
Trust me Miley sucks as does Guiardo. If the Brewers think these two losers are back end starters they are sadly mistaken!! These guys aren’t even AAA back end starters. These two, if allowed to be part of their rotation, will single handlly be responsible for the Cubs having a 5 game lead on them at the end of April. These two shouldn’t be allowed within 500 miles of Miller Park on opening day! The O’s ,who need starters more than the Brewers, dumped them!
I’m hoping at this point these borderline mlb/washed up arms are a bridge to when Stearns can snag Cobb or Lynn (prefer Cobb) without losing draft compensation. Nothing else makes sense to me (I admit I’m not the brightest when it comes to valuing draft picks or prospects..which leads me to this..)
I also don’t get why it was “smart” to give up 3 mlb ready, or near ready prospects in the Yelich deal, but losing a 2nd round (?) pick to sign a free agent is bad business (or that in addition to the guys already traded, fans would be ecstatic about a prospects-for-Archer deal).
Bryant is acting like getting paid what baseball players get paid isn’t enough … because the owners are more rich? What other job can you do that? I don’t get it. I can’t take a guy who’s going to make 200+ million dollars in his career seriously … when he talks about being concerned for his future earnings. If they negotiated such a bad CBA, how come 3-5 type SP who go 5-6 inning a start, make over ten mil a year? It’s also funny how no agents are complaining about how well relievers get paid now. If it’s really about owners not being fair … then why are they getting paid at an all time high? Perhaps the truth is that this is a result of value being distributed differently, due to the games evolution. Analytics have to do with it as well. No more stimulants and roids and now age is also a larger factor in FA. Did the players think salaries would just rise and rise forever with the market never adjusting one day? I read all these sites and fan graphs and I have a pretty good understanding an awareness of the business side of baseball. I understand why some of you guys liked his comments and get caught up in the players argument. But for me, I just wonder what ever happened to being happy and humble that you get to play baseball for a living, and make enough money that you and your children’s children will always be wealthy. If you want to make the argument about market share … what other job can you demand that from your boss? Not all these owners profit 250 million over the 15 years it might take a superstar to make it. I just don’t buy that argument. I think it requires more discussion and looking into, before I buy it.
F…… the boss.
Grow a pair and stand up for yourself and your colleagues.
Just because you make plenty to get by doesn’t mean you should settle for less than you’re worth. That’s a dumb way to get through life.
How come we never hear the owners complain about bad contracts? If we’re going to listen to players agents and owners have an honest conversation about the subject … how can it be honest without mentioning all the horrible contracts owners had to eat over the years? You never hear MLBPA talk about how lucky Ellsbury is to be making the fortune he is. Or guys like Wright being paid 20 mil a year (mostly by insurance, by still)to be hurt the whole time. It would be tedious to list the 30 examples I could come up with. The NFL doesn’t even get guaranteed money like these guys, and there’s more risk to the players, and the sport makes way more money. I just don’t think it’s good for the game and I’m tired of hearing the players and agents complain. God forbid owners spoke out publicly about the bad contracts they’ve been burned by. As a fan of baseball … I just don’t enjoy hesring this out of players. If youre one of the games superstars, you’re going to get the 250-300 mil contract. If you’re above avg or even “just” a really really good player then accept your 100 mil and shut up already. The owners own the team. They are business men. If the players keep expecting to make more money, then as fans we can all expect to keep paying higher ticket prices and parking and concessions. It’s just bringing baseball further and further away from being the blue collar, take your family to the ball park kind of sport. You guys wanna disgree and like Bryant’s comments that’s your choice. But then I hope you love paying $120 for a jersey and $10 for a beer. Keep enjoying the empty premium seats being empty because they are bought by corporations for a small fortune and then go unused. While the working man is bringing his kids to the game sitting in the mezzanine and upper decks spending $200 for a couple souvineers and food. You wanna say that’s all the owners fault … but are you guys actually saying that the players don’t get paid enough? That’s nuts. Greg Holland turned down 50 million dollars to be a 32 year old coming off a 3,60 ERA. People are nuts acting like these guys don’t make enough money, and I’m tired of hesring it. The whole damn game makes and charges way too much money.
Either way, the one who loses this battle between the players and owners …. are the fans. Either way the owners will keep getting richer and the players will keep making a fortune. As the balance between owners and players goes back and forth over the years while the market keeps adjusting and re-adjusting … it’s always going to the the fans who have to pay more and more as both the players and owners increase their profitability. That’s a fact. So get on Bryant’s jock if you need to. But we’ll be the ones paying for it one way or another. So the joke is on us. You think Bryant gives a crap if a good hard working man can’t afford to take his family to a game? Think he cares about how much we have to pay to have a couple beers and get a decent seat? I know I sound like sonny from Bronx take lol. But no, it’s cool … keep telling everyone he deserves more than the 250 mil he’s surely to get. Lol, I might lose sleep over this actually. How dare they undervalue these baseball players. What a tough profession, they should have to fight so hard for their 10-30 million annually.
The first post wasnt long enough? You replied to your own comment? Brevity, sir.
That’s because the owners are the one who say what they will and won’t pay. Baseball is a risk. People should get paid paid what they are worth. Everyone has an opinion. What if you job paid you min wage. Cause the feel that’s what you are worth. Maybe you make min wage. Don’t know. JUst saying. Believe me the owners make a lot more than the players. Just like the owner of the company. But wo his employees he wouldn’t do so well hu.
@mikew
Im sorry, but I cant just believe you. Do you have numbers to back up your claim? How much did the owner of Cleveland’s team make last year?
i would take 4 yr team control if there was a true salary cap in baseball
Moose in clear need of a landing spot…. Pirates’ in clear need of a solid 3B option.. I know it won’t happen but does anyone else see the irony here?
The White Sox are clearly worried that Jake Burger will not bounce back from the Achilles thing. I wish they would take Yolmer Sanchez more seriously. He had a 3.5 WAR last year after being bounced around and never really getting to feel like a permanent player. Plus, he is only 25. I think they may have a guy there that can make a few AS teams (2 or 3) over his career and be a solid player. Right now, I’d rather see Yolmer at SS over Tim Anderson any day of the week. Moustakas would be great for a few years if he came fairly cheap- but, doing all of this trading a rebuilding just to blow it on a large contract for a mediocre player would be a shame. Moustakas seems to me like an obvious Kenny Williams move. I hope Hahn knows better.
Yeah a big meh on Moustak. Much better off riding Davidson/Yolmer for what it’s worth. The window of contention just doesn’t align with Mous’ current availability.
I can see Freese as a future coach or manager.
Article XX(b) was not a good idea. Players just get let go.
I don’t think the White Sox will be half bad this year. Third place no question and could battle for at least a WC by 2019. Moose could play well to that park and they have an opening at 3B. I’d do a 3 year 45.
The value of sports has decreased. Look at the NFL and Movie industry. Both have suffered heavy losses due to becoming political. Baseball not yet but it has a trickle down effect. Add to that all the years our economy was so so and yet players in the MLB were still commando huge contracts with half filled stadiums. I just think now we are seeing an adjustment period in salaries. That’s why ownerships are not in a hurry to overspend.
Becoming political? As in what? Black Panther political?
About the service time counting toward free agency, as in Bryant’s and the Cubs’ case. To me, it is merely the ordinary case of a loophole being exploited. So it makes no sense to penalize another party for exploiting a loophole just because you didn’t like it or it gave someone else instead of you an advantage. But there is usually a way to reverse a loophole.
So, hypothetically, to close the loophole back to the player’s advantage, as in Bryant’s case, let his performance warrant it. If a player wins either of Rookie of the Year, or GG, SS, or receives MVP votes from any writers not in his home city, any of those in his rookie year, then his rookie year would count toward his free agency.
So obviously, that year would count towards FA for Bryant.
“I’ve had a good run in the big leagues”. That’s a reference to his 2011 World Series. I would hang my hat on that one as well.