Please use this thread all week to discuss any Mets-specific topic you wish.
The players and owners had another marathon bargaining session that lasted into Wednesday morning and more progress was made. The owners upped their CBT proposal to $230 million, with increases to $242 million by the end of the five-year deal. However, that proposal came with more penalties for those who exceeded that threshold, which has already been dubbed “The Steve Cohen tax.”
Since we already discussed the four owners who didn’t even want to go to $220 million, MLB must feel that the additional taxes will be enough to reign in the Mets, Dodgers and other big market teams – at least enough to pacify the swing owners to get MLB to 23 votes.
In a story by The Athletic, there was an interesting idea in the comments section, which proposed that any money received by MLB for any team that went over the CBT to go to the pre-arbitration player pool. At first glance this seems like a great idea. Until you remember that the whole idea is to take away money from the players and redistribute it to owners. It’s way more important for Bob Castellini to get more money than for it to go to Pete Alonso.
I feel fairly confident something will happen today. No logical reasoning why…
only off by 1 day Gus!
When I pop onto this page, I see photos of Jake and Thor.
Could use an update!
I mean, I pay good money . . .
According to MLBTR the Leauge earned $1.55 billions dollars just from the previous television deals. (ESPN, TBS and Fox) The Leauge is making so much money. The MLBPA just wants to get a small piece of the pie. Instead they are lockout of their jobs and other people which depend on baseball to make a living are suffering. These people aren’t even getting the crumbs. MLB shouldn’t have instituted the lockout. Their greed is so apparent. They should give the players their reasonable demands and the Owners should take care that they don’t get a hernia taking their money to the bank.
The League had three months since lockout to broach the issue of the International Draft. They put the issue on the table in the last week. This is bad faith negotiating especially when it wasn’t initially tied into the Qualifying Offer issue. It is the old bait and swift that an unethical character uses. The International Draft was always a non-starter issue for the MLBPA. To introduce it late in the negotiations jeopardized the whole potential settlement. Shame on the owners and it would serve them right if the MLBPA slaps an unfair labor practice upon them.
There is certainly a scumbag owner contingent on the MLB side. Again, this s show is about 80% small owner vs big owner and 20% owners vs labor. That is just pathetic. I mean, I get it that if you are a small market owner staring at Uncle Stevie and the Dodgers it makes things pretty tough, but geez, there is soooooo much national TV money to make that palatable for all franchises, without a salary cap. I do agree with steeper penalties for blowing way beyond the base threshold…the big market multi-billionaires can afford it.
I also agree that bringing in the international draft at this point is bush. That is a very complicated issue for the DR and needs to be planned properly well in advance of implementation.
OK, let’s boycott the first series of the season. Make them squirm a little when the seats are mostly empty the first 3 games. A nationwide boycott!
I don’t understand why the players have a problem with an international draft. If we have a domestic draft, what’s the problem? These kids aren’t even part of the MLBPA. I find it complete bullshit that the players care about unsigned kids but don’t seem to be engaged in minor leaguers. Complete bullshit and it’s inexcusable that they stumble at that when their entire focus was improving their pay scale but now they are taking up the cause of unsigned teenagers and disregarding the signed ones?
The original domestic draft was 1965. The MLBPA was established in 1966. The union didn’t have a say in the establishment of the draft. At the time, there wasn’t free agency and that was a priority for the union. Free Agency was established in 1976. Before 1965, the Owners made all the rules and since then the Union has been fighting an uphill battle ever since.
The International Draft is a issue that owners want to save money. The MLBPA said a non-starter so the Owners introduced it at the last minute and tied it to the Qualifying Offer which was already discussed and was thought settled. That is unethical negotiations. The MLBPA doesn’t want to give up this right they have; a right that their members want ; a right that is more lucrative in negotiations.