The MLB lockout thread

[jd1020]

As if the NFL and NBA has more competitive balance than MLB because of a salary cap.

Do you even wonder why the MLBPA doesn't pursue a salary cap? Because it will do nothing but give the owners an ironclad excuse to cut spending. Something every single ****ing one of them can afford to do more of.

[suzzer99]

Originally Posted by jd1020

As if the NFL and NBA has more competitive balance than MLB because of a salary cap.

Do you even wonder why the MLBPA doesn't pursue a salary cap? Because it will do nothing but give the owners an ironclad excuse to cut spending. Something every single ****ing one of them can afford to do more of.

Football isn't competitive because apparently at any given time only like 10 humans in the world can play QB well enough to win a Superbowl w/o a generational defense.

But you really have to be in denial to look at the NFL and MLB and say MLB is just as competitive. The Chiefs could never keep Mahomes if it was run like MLB. He'd be gone after his rookie deal. Or if we did shell out, we couldn't afford to pay Kelce and Hill when their contracts come up. It would be Mahomes and a bunch of scrubs.

It doesn't matter that a bunch of different teams have won the WS recently. MLB games are very high variance. The playoffs are a crapshoot. But the Dodgers, Yankees and Sox are still favorites to make the playoffs every year, while teams like the Royals have to tank for a "window".

That the Dodgers only have one WS win is well within normal variance. They could just as easily have 3 or 4 WS wins, and then finally maybe everyone would admit Baseball's competitive balance sucks.

[jd1020]

Originally Posted by suzzer99

It doesn't matter that a bunch of different teams have won the WS recently. MLB games are very high variance. The playoffs are a crapshoot. But the Dodgers, Yankees and Sox are still favorites to make the playoffs every year, while teams like the Royals have to tank for a "window".

Good teams favored to make the playoffs. Breaking stuff.

[Ocotillo]

Originally Posted by jd1020

As if the NFL and NBA has more competitive balance than MLB because of a salary cap.

Do you even wonder why the MLBPA doesn't pursue a salary cap? Because it will do nothing but give the owners an ironclad excuse to cut spending. Something every single ****ing one of them can afford to do more of.

The owners already use the competitive balance tax as a reason not to spend. Last year the Phillies, Yankees, Mets, Red Sox and Astros had their payrolls in the $205-209.99 million range, just short of the $210 million competitive balance tax. Only the Dodgers and the Padres went over.

Look at Carlos Correa. In a non-competitive balance tax world, he'd probably have 4-5 teams legitimately interested in him. But with the CBT, it kind of gets narrowed down to 1 or 2 teams. Nobody even knows where he might end up. What a disgrace. He was the best defensive SS in baseball last year.

Before the outlier spending spree of November 2021, the last two non-COVID free agent markets were just so stagnant. Unlike the NFL where the big names sign within hours, it's been stale to follow MLB free agency and wait for Bryce Harper to sign in late February. Teams that should be putting bids on Harper, didn't because of the CBT.

[jd1020]

Originally Posted by Ocotillo

The owners already use the competitive balance tax as a reason not to spend. Last year the Phillies, Yankees, Mets, Red Sox and Astros had their payrolls in the $205-209.99 million range, just short of the $210 million competitive balance tax. Only the Dodgers and the Padres went over.

Look at Carlos Correa. In a non-competitive balance tax world, he'd probably have 4-5 teams legitimately interested in him. But with the CBT, it kind of gets narrowed down to 1 or 2 teams. Nobody even knows where he might end up. What a disgrace. He was the best defensive SS in baseball last year.

Before the outlier spending spree of November 2021, the last two non-COVID free agent markets were just so stagnant. Unlike the NFL where the big names sign within hours, it's been stale to follow MLB free agency and wait for Bryce Harper to sign in late February. Teams that should be putting bids on Harper, didn't because of the CBT.

Look at Carlos Correa in a year where there aren't 4 or 5 other options for a top tier SS. The guy probably has 3-4 teams legitimately interested in him as it sits with all but 1 of the other options signing. His market is already small because of the money he's going to get but its even smaller this year because a team like the Rangers could go sign Semien and Seager, or the Tigers signing Baez, or whoever is going to sign Story.

And like I said, the owners already don't spend so putting in a hard cap is giving them exactly what they want. Theres a handful of teams that go above the CBT but no one continuously goes over it every year because of the compounding penalties for doing so.

Every MLB franchise is worth over a billion dollars. You think teams like Royals can't put more money into their roster annually? What the **** does a hard cap do to balance the playing field? Nothing. Theres nothing even about the playing field. Every team isn't working with the same market. Every team isn't working with the same geographic location. Every team isn't working with owners that want to put a little more investment into their company. I dont follow NHL, but anyone saying that baseball doesn't have more parity than sports with a salary cap like the NFL and NBA, probably the NHL too but I dont know, are ****ing dumb. The answer isn't a salary cap and its why the MLBPA isn't fighting for one.

[Ocotillo]

Originally Posted by jd1020

Look at Carlos Correa in a year where there aren't 4 or 5 other options for a top tier SS. The guy probably has 3-4 teams legitimately interested in him as it sits with all but 1 of the other options signing. His market is already small because of the money he's going to get but its even smaller this year because a team like the Rangers could go sign Semien and Seager, or the Tigers signing Baez, or whoever is going to sign Story.

And like I said, the owners already don't spend so putting in a hard cap is giving them exactly what they want. Theres a handful of teams that go above the CBT but no one continuously goes over it every year because of the compounding penalties for doing so.

Every MLB franchise is worth over a billion dollars. You think teams like Royals can't put more money into their roster annually? What the **** does a hard cap do to balance the playing field? Nothing. Theres nothing even about the playing field. Every team isn't working with the same market. Every team isn't working with the same geographic location. Every team isn't working with owners that want to put a little more investment into their company. I dont follow NHL, but anyone saying that baseball doesn't have more parity than sports with a salary cap like the NFL and NBA, probably the NHL too but I dont know, are ****ing dumb. The answer isn't a salary cap and its why the MLBPA isn't fighting for one.

Speaking of Baez, the Tigers just invested six years, $140 million into him after he posted a 64% contact rate and 5% walk rate last season. Another thing that's never mentioned is that many teams eliminate themselves out of contention with foolish spending.

You bring up the Royals, the Padres were the Royals of the NL. They had fire sales in 1993 and 1999. They have arguably the worst market in baseball with the ocean to the west, the desert and Arizona's market to the east and Mexico to the south (which is every team's territory). They are the only franchise to hand out two $300 million contracts. The Padres have turned the small market can't spend argument on its ear.

[suzzer99]

$200M+ payroll creates good teams. Breaking stuff.

[jd1020]

Originally Posted by suzzer99

$200M+ payroll creates good teams. Breaking stuff.

3 teams. WOOOOOOOW!

Teams like the Browns must be really unlucky with everything being equal and all in the NFL. The NBA really put a stop to these super teams being formed with the addition of a salary cap. It's really incredible how the MLBPA doesn't just pick up on the parity shown in other sports.

[Rasputin]

I might miss watching the few Royal games a year I watch but if it's to keep from seeing or hearing Joe Buck then it's probably for the best. He literally ruins baseball and football too with Troy Achman.

[suzzer99]

Would either side be ok with the current CBT and a hard floor of $150M? Or maybe $120M is more realistic, I dunno.

[Ocotillo]

Originally Posted by suzzer99

Would either side be ok with the current CBT and a hard floor of $150M? Or maybe $120M is more realistic, I dunno.

The CBT will be at a minimum $214 million in this new deal, that's the owners' latest proposal. The players are countering with $245 million as the CBT.

The owners already proposed a salary floor of $100 million but the MLBPA didn't take it seriously because the CBT was $180 million in the same deal.

I don't think we're going to have a floor in this deal. The MLBPA has already proposed lowering annual revenue sharing by $30 million because they feel like the small market teams like the Rays and the Pirates aren't using the revenue sharing money toward payroll.

[suzzer99]

Originally Posted by Ocotillo

The CBT will be at a minimum $214 million in this new deal, that's the owners' latest proposal. The players are countering with $245 million as the CBT.

The owners already proposed a salary floor of $100 million but the MLBPA didn't take it seriously because the CBT was $180 million in the same deal.

I don't think we're going to have a floor in this deal. The MLBPA has already proposed lowering annual revenue sharing by $30 million because they feel like the small market teams like the Rays and the Pirates aren't using the revenue sharing money toward payroll.

Well I can think of one solution to make small market teams spend more money.

[Ocotillo]

Originally Posted by suzzer99

Well I can think of one solution to make small market teams spend more money.

The small market teams are going to spend more in this CBA anyway because minimum salaries are going up and it looks like pre-arb players, that perform at a high level, are going to get paid early.

I think the MLBPA has been weary of a salary floor because it believes it will give teams an excuse to go over the threshold and justify not spending more because they met the requirements.

[suzzer99]

I swear before this year the answer about why the MLB can't work like the NFL was always that too much of the revenues are local instead of national, and big-market owners will never share that much money with small market owners.

Am I crazy or was that always the refrain for decades?

[suzzer99]

Well at the very least they would time their non-tanking window to coincide with the new ballpark.

Well on second thought those are the two teams who seem to have figured out how to win w/o tanking.