Major League Baseball, players union reach tentative agreement to salvage 2020 season

[batmagadanleadoff]

From 2016: Designated Hitter is the Highest Paid MLB Position https://blogs.fangraphs.com/designated-hitter-is-the-highest-paid-mlb-position/https://blogs.fangraphs.com/designated-hitter-is-the-highest-paid-mlb-position/

And...



Relievers aren't being overpaid… but designated hitters are: An investigation



https://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2017/1/11/14214912/relievers-overpaid-designated-hitters-salaries-mlb-free-agentshttps://www.beyondtheboxscore.com/2017/1/11/14214912/relievers-overpaid-designated-hitters-salaries-mlb-free-agents

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

Having Yoenis Cespedes on the payroll is a good thing again

[ashie62]

Giancarlo Stanton, Pujols and Miguel Cabrera are the three highest paid primary DH's

[G-Fafif]

[ashie62]

The goalposts keep moving. Not sure if the goalposts were/are ever up



60 games, 70....whatever

[ashie62]

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/phillies-facility-suffers-coronavirus-outbreak-eight-positive-tests-among-players-and-personnel/https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/phillies-facility-suffers-coronavirus-outbreak-eight-positive-tests-among-players-and-personnel/



The upsurge in Covid in Florida has found the Phillies. The Clearwater location is now closed as is the Blue Jays facility in Dunedin

[nymr83]

Yeah, covid may just wipe the game out before it starts anyway. Then the owners AND union walk away with a black eye here.

[batmagadanleadoff]

Benjamin Grimm wrote: Jeff Passan at ESPN reports that the current proposal also includes a 16-team postseason in 2021. This means that as many as four of the 16 playoff teams will be third place teams. If there are less than four third place playoff teams, there'll be fourth or even last place playoff teams, instead. Also, Manfred now wants ads on unis right now, for 2020.

Benjamin Grimm wrote: I can see the logic in having a 16-team postseason for a 60-game season. But not for a 162-game season, assuming that we have one of those in 2021. Which is ....? I mean, besides the money? Because with 16 playoff teams, we might get sub .500 playoff teams. This is just about the most awful thing baseball has ever proposed.

____________________



On the 16 playoff teams proposal...



Excerpt:

And it's absolutely gross as hell, a naked money grab that absolutely nobody but the owners and TBS are interested in. The odds of meaningful October baseball just went up for you, and your only reaction should be disgust. Eight postseason teams in each league. Eight. [***] The reason you should be against a setup in which the NL sends eight teams to the postseason ... is that it siphons excitement away from good teams and funnels it to bad teams. Not mediocre teams. Not almost-rans. Bad teams. The teams that should be too injured to make noise, or the teams that were never good enough in the first place. It swipes the thrills away from the good and kinda-good teams, and it dumps it into the laps of the unwatchable teams. [***] ... in that setup, the sport would be hard to watch for six out of its seven months, every single year. There would be so much baseball to not care about, and the added bonus of caring about a team that doesn't deserve it wouldn't be nearly enough.

https://theathletic.com/1879012/2020/06/18/extra-postseason-teams-would-help-the-giants-but-the-idea-still-stinks/https://theathletic.com/1879012/2020/06/18/extra-postseason-teams-would-help-the-giants-but-the-idea-still-stinks/

[Frayed Knot]

Unfortunately, the argument of 'more teams will be in it' is the reason most often cited FOR increasing the number of teams qualifying for post-season play (not just in baseball but all sports in this country)

and it's usually treated as if it's a no-lose situation, that there's no downside to jacking up the number higher and higher. Add to that the idea that some already treat baseball as being out of date and out

of touch for having "only" ten, or a mere 1/3, of their teams qualify and that just gives them more incentive.



Now I'm sure the league would argue that this is a temporary solution based just on the conditions put in place by Covid: shortened season this year / revenue make-up next year.

Yeah, the DH was "experimental" also until it morphed from a rule that needed periodic approval to continue to one that now needs super-majorities to reverse. And now, 48 seasons later, that plague is

still with us and is likely destined to be universal, probably in the next year or two and possibly in the next day or two.

[Ceetar]

add 4 teams and suddenly we're under half again. or 6 teams.



and you know, the NHL charged for expansions right? You could fund the entire 'losses' of 2020 with expansion fees.

[ashie62]

It increases the Mets chances of making the post season. I'm good



Wonder if they would consider making these changes for 2021 if 2020 gets shelved

[batmagadanleadoff]

=ashie62 post_id=39042 time=1592615532 user_id=90]
It increases the Mets chances of making the post season. I'm good



Wonder if they would consider making these changes for 2021 if 2020 gets shelved

[MFS62]

An article in National Review (of all places) that is against the universal DH.

https://www.yahoo.com/news/against-universal-dh-160712273.htmlhttps://www.yahoo.com/news/against-universal-dh-160712273.html



My favorite lines:

The triumph of the designated hitter over the National League is a triumph of intellectual sloth and self-delusion.

and

The argument for the universal designated hitter is a false promise destined to become a limitless mandate for further deformation of the game.

Later



disclaimer: I don't subscribe to that magazine, and occasionally only look at it for discussions of military hardware. But this was on my Yahoo sports page.

[ashie62]

=batmagadanleadoff post_id=39043 time=1592615931 user_id=68]
=ashie62 post_id=39042 time=1592615532 user_id=90]
It increases the Mets chances of making the post season. I'm good



Wonder if they would consider making these changes for 2021 if 2020 gets shelved

[Frayed Knot]

=Ceetar post_id=39041 time=1592615139 user_id=102]
add 4 teams and suddenly we're under half again. or 6 teams.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Players to vote today on whether or not to accept the 60-game offer from MLB.



I've also seen reports that say part of the deal is to start any extra innings with a runner on second base. (I hate this idea even more than I do the DH.) The article I read (wish I remembered where) said that this rule has been in effect in the minor leagues. That's not true, is it? Makes me skeptical that it's actually part of the proposal.



Arizona, incidentally, is currently the state where coronavirus is spreading most rapidly, and Florida is in second place. The old plan of playing all games at spring training sites isn't looking at all viable now.

[Edgy MD]

Yeah, https://www.milb.com/gameday/red-wings-vs-mets/2019/06/03/575958#game_state=final,lock_state=final,game_tab=play-by-play,game=575958that's been the deal for the last year or two in the minors.

[Benjamin Grimm]

Huh! I guess I missed that. I thought it was just in the Arizona Fall League.



It's really a terrible idea.

[Edgy MD]

Yeah it is, but the real crime is the minor leagues being reduced to such meaninglessness that nobody really cares.

[ashie62]

Player reject by vote 33-5, Manfred mandates the 60 game season. The owners agree and await word by 5pm tomorrow if the players can report to camp within a week and agree on a covid protocol

[Frayed Knot]

Statement from MLB:



“Today, the Major League Baseball Players Association informed us that they have rejected the agreement framework developed by Commissioner Manfred and Tony Clark. Needless to say, we are disappointed by this development. The framework provided an opportunity for MLB and its players to work together to confront the difficulties and challenges presented by the pandemic. It gave our fans the chance to see an exciting new Postseason format. And, it offered players significant benefits including:



1) The universal DH for two years

2) A guaranteed $25 million in playoff pools in 2020

3) $33 million in forgiven salary advances that would increase the take home pay of 61% of Major League players

4) Overall earnings for players of 104 percent of prorated salary

5) Over the last two days, MLB agreed to remove expanded Postseason in 2021 in order to address player concerns



In view of this rejection, the MLB Clubs have unanimously voted to proceed with the 2020 season under the terms of the March 26th Agreement. The provisions listed above will not be operative.



In order to produce a schedule with a specific number of games, we are asking that the Players Association provide to us by 5:00 p.m. (ET) tomorrow with two pieces of information. The first is whether players will be able to report to camp within seven days (by July 1st). The second is whether the Players Association will agree on the Operating Manual which contains the health and safety protocols necessary to give us the best opportunity to conduct and complete our regular season and Postseason.”

[kcmets]

Doesn't sound very promising, or that either side cares. Just call it.



Where are they going to play? No city is safe, many are worse than

two-three weeks ago. Traveling wih a full team and staff? Who'd stay

in hotel, get in a couple of buses or fly with 50-60 people? Not me.



The tit for tat 'negotiations' are silly and both sides suck at trying to

make it look like they are trying to do it in good faith.

[ashie62]

No city is safe. The gathering of players, staff, and all the other personnel needed to make a season happen is fraught with danger of the worst kind



Kinda sad that Korea figured out how to make it happen and we did not

[Benjamin Grimm]

Here we go...

CBS Sports wrote: The Major League Baseball Players Association (MLBPA) informed the league Tuesday that players will comply with the league's imposed outline for a 2020 season. Players will report for another version of "spring" training on July 1, and the league's imposed 60-game season will start July 24, CBS Sports HQ's Jim Bowden reported Tuesday. The two sides are still working to finalize health and safety protocols, per Bowden, and there has not yet been an official announcement from the league.

60-game season. No DH in the National League. No expanded postseason.



Now let's see if this actually happens.



https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-players-agree-to-report-for-60-game-2020-season-opening-day-to-be-set-for-july-24/https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-players-agree-to-report-for-60-game-2020-season-opening-day-to-be-set-for-july-24/

[Benjamin Grimm]

Bob Nightengale has a positive outlook on this. He says we should embrace the chaos and enjoy all the strange quirks this season will provide. I can almost see his point; maybe this will be more fun than farcical. If only this wasn't overshadowed by the specter of a deadly disease.



https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2020/06/23/2020-mlb-season-coronavirus-chaos/3243957001/https://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/mlb/columnist/bob-nightengale/2020/06/23/2020-mlb-season-coronavirus-chaos/3243957001/

[TransMonk]

[TWEET]

[/TWEET]

[MFS62]

OK. That's done.

The next thing to wait for will be the first Joel Sherman column of the season (probably during Spring Training) that pisses us off.

Later

[Ceetar]

per the new admin rules, make sure if you're linking idiots like Sherman you mention the author so the rest of us know to ignore it.

[MFS62]

Lew Burdette would never have liked this rule change that says a pitcher can't lick his fingers.

A lot of attention will be paid to the “wet rag” rule, and deservedly so. It is going to be very difficult to break pitchers' habit of licking their fingers and touching their face in other ways.

https://www.yahoo.com/sports/wet-rag-among-proposed-rule-204744999.htmlhttps://www.yahoo.com/sports/wet-rag-among-proposed-rule-204744999.html

Or, remembering Lew, he would have intentionally licked his fingers once he found out what disinfectant could do on a ball.

Later

[Johnny Lunchbucket]

=MFS62 post_id=39233 time=1593006993 user_id=60]
OK. That's done.

The next thing to wait for will be the first Joel Sherman column of the season (probably during Spring Training) that pisses us off.

Later