Update: Baseball is Back (As lockout drags on, poll indicates MLB could be charting path to irrelevance)

Omar said:
WTF?
www.espn.com

Report: MLB stops testing players for steroid use

Major League Baseball has stopped steroid testing for the first time in nearly 20 years due to the expiration of the drug agreement, according to The Associated Press, a move the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency says causes concern to "those who value fair play."
www.espn.com www.espn.com
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Will we see pumped-up players we don't even recognize when this all gets settled? Discaimer: didn't read the article.
 
EagleGuy said:
Will we see pumped-up players we don't even recognize when this all gets settled? Discaimer: didn't read the article.
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I dont think much of anything will change unless the no Roid testing gets extended.
I think it would be comical if this all gets worked out, a new agreement on Roid testing comes into play but they push that testing out 6-12 months....essentially to allow those who are using to let it run its course!
 
Omar said:
WTF?
www.espn.com

Report: MLB stops testing players for steroid use

Major League Baseball has stopped steroid testing for the first time in nearly 20 years due to the expiration of the drug agreement, according to The Associated Press, a move the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency says causes concern to "those who value fair play."
www.espn.com www.espn.com
Click to expand...
Why is this surprising to you? There is no agreement in place between the MLB and the players' union, so of course they cannot test them until there is a new agreement, which of course will include testing.
EagleGuy said:
Will we see pumped-up players we don't even recognize when this all gets settled? Discaimer: didn't read the article.
Click to expand...
Only stupid players would use the gap between the 2 labor agreements to start using steroids. So yes, there will be a couple. Everyone knows that testing will resume once the new labor deal is in place.
 
wolves82 said:
Why is this surprising to you? There is no agreement in place between the MLB and the players' union, so of course they cannot test them until there is a new agreement, which of course will include testing.

Only stupid players would use the gap between the 2 labor agreements to start using steroids. So yes, there will be a couple. Everyone knows that testing will resume once the new labor deal is in place.
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I misunderstood. I thought no steroid testing was going to be part of the new deal.
 
I went from watching games every day to not watching at all. Don't miss one bit and like others found much better things to do with my life. Can care less if they play or not.
 
wolves82 said:
Why is this surprising to you? There is no agreement in place between the MLB and the players' union, so of course they cannot test them until there is a new agreement, which of course will include testing.

Only stupid players would use the gap between the 2 labor agreements to start using steroids. So yes, there will be a couple. Everyone knows that testing will resume once the new labor deal is in place.
Click to expand...

Most professional athletes are stupid so they may not know that.......
 
vamp2syd said:
I went from watching games every day to not watching at all. Don't miss one bit and like others found much better things to do with my life. Can care less if they play or not.
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"Much better things to do" includes reading Yappi threads on topics you supposedly have no interest in? Sounds like a full life.
 
I was excited when they came back after the Rona, but only to watch them, the Reds at least, do some freaking wierd blm tribute. Some black rope thing, stand up, kneel, everyone looking around like WTF do we do next?

Then they kept spelling MLB wrong on the mound advertising and i lost so much interest in the game that I would have to say I watched less than 9 innings last year.
Its not even like I am forcing myself to not watch to take some stand, I just have zero intest in watching.
 
DH for the NL has been pretty much a foregone conclusion. Plenty of more important issues where the owners and players association are pretty far apart:
- minimum salary for pre-arbtration guys - only about $50,000/year apart
- pre-arbitration bonus pool, players asking $100 million, owners increased offer from 10 to 15 Million
- compensation balance tax (aka luxury tax) very far apart also

sports.yahoo.com

Sweeping MLB proposal leaves union underwhelmed, all but ensuring spring training delay

The league's latest proposal is robust in scope, but unlikely to spur a rapid end to the lockout.
sports.yahoo.com sports.yahoo.com
 
wolves82 said:
DH for the NL has been pretty much a foregone conclusion. Plenty of more important issues where the owners and players association are pretty far apart:
- minimum salary for pre-arbtration guys - only about $50,000/year apart
- pre-arbitration bonus pool, players asking $100 million, owners increased offer from 10 to 15 Million
- compensation balance tax (aka luxury tax) very far apart also

sports.yahoo.com

Sweeping MLB proposal leaves union underwhelmed, all but ensuring spring training delay

The league's latest proposal is robust in scope, but unlikely to spur a rapid end to the lockout.
sports.yahoo.com sports.yahoo.com
Click to expand...
Not any substantial movement by the owners.
 
thavoice said:
I was excited when they came back after the Rona, but only to watch them, the Reds at least, do some freaking wierd blm tribute. Some black rope thing, stand up, kneel, everyone looking around like WTF do we do next?

Then they kept spelling MLB wrong on the mound advertising and i lost so much interest in the game that I would have to say I watched less than 9 innings last year.
Its not even like I am forcing myself to not watch to take some stand, I just have zero intest in watching.
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The BLM tribute was league wide and I'd say baseball has the mildest of the major pro sports leagues. You should watch some NBA games.

But I do think the worst of it is over. The initial push really pushed alot of fans away and I think, especially in the NFL, behind the scenes they told guys it was hurting the product, which hurts their ability to....(all together) MAKE MONEY. When you put it in terms like that, Everybody understands. All these guys see their favorite color...GREEN!!

I'll be ready when baseball comes back. Big fan, follow the Reds on a daily basis. If the big guys don't want to play, then we'll watch minor leaguers in Reds uniforms. It's still pro baseball.
 
wolves82 said:
DH for the NL has been pretty much a foregone conclusion. Plenty of more important issues where the owners and players association are pretty far apart:
- minimum salary for pre-arbtration guys - only about $50,000/year apart
- pre-arbitration bonus pool, players asking $100 million, owners increased offer from 10 to 15 Million
- compensation balance tax (aka luxury tax) very far apart also

sports.yahoo.com

Sweeping MLB proposal leaves union underwhelmed, all but ensuring spring training delay

The league's latest proposal is robust in scope, but unlikely to spur a rapid end to the lockout.
sports.yahoo.com sports.yahoo.com
Click to expand...
They are light years apart. The minor league pay thing is kind of crazy to me?

This labor dispute could be a death knell for MLB so to speak. Their popularity is already waning and this will only push people further away.

I call for a boycott. ;)
 
irish_buffalo said:
They are light years apart. The minor league pay thing is kind of crazy to me?

This labor dispute could be a death knell for MLB so to speak. Their popularity is already waning and this will only push people further away.

I call for a boycott. ;)
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Exactly. I buy in to five games a year and our drafting of games is coming up soon.

I considered dropping out when they changed the team name, but didn't.

I usually don't go to all of them, I give some away.
 
wolves82 said:
DH for the NL has been pretty much a foregone conclusion. Plenty of more important issues where the owners and players association are pretty far apart:
- minimum salary for pre-arbtration guys - only about $50,000/year apart
- pre-arbitration bonus pool, players asking $100 million, owners increased offer from 10 to 15 Million
- compensation balance tax (aka luxury tax) very far apart also

sports.yahoo.com

Sweeping MLB proposal leaves union underwhelmed, all but ensuring spring training delay

The league's latest proposal is robust in scope, but unlikely to spur a rapid end to the lockout.
sports.yahoo.com sports.yahoo.com
Click to expand...
Back in the day the Braves, wtih Maddux, had a competition with their SP for hitting. I know Maddux stated his goal was to have an avg higher than his ERA!

I used to be against the DH in the NL. After not hitting in the minors, and the apparent lack of interest in hitting at the big league level, and the fact that teams do not bunt anymore lead this to be the only option left.

Plus, it ads another salary/position essentially as teams can look for a big hitting DH instead of just their platoon like guys on the bench.
 
I know that I originally said that I was pretty sure the start of the season would be pushed back, but I am hearing a few optimistic comments being made by people in both camps.

Important meeting today at 1pm in NY. In simplest terms, the 30 MLB owners need the games to be played to make money. The players need the games to be played to make money. So they should be very much aligned. Get over the greed issues, compromise a little on both sides, and get it done. Season starting late is lose-lose.
 
wolves82 said:
I know that I originally said that I was pretty sure the start of the season would be pushed back, but I am hearing a few optimistic comments being made by people in both camps.

Important meeting today at 1pm in NY. In simplest terms, the 30 MLB owners need the games to be played to make money. The players need the games to be played to make money. So they should be very much aligned. Get over the greed issues, compromise a little on both sides, and get it done. Season starting late is lose-lose.
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I've said over and over that 162 game is idea for the current structure of major league baseball. Many fans want less games, but your not going to have less games and pay the players the same. So yes, the owners WANT the games to begin at the start of the season. Can they get the union to agree? Who knows. The only leverage the union has is to force owners to miss games. So this is where we are at.

I've also said that these guys on both sides can't be dumb enough to miss games, can they?? Taking into account the lack of market share baseball has year after year. But when these things happen, you don't get common sense.
 
Baseball is not profitable until Memorial Day.

Owners said as much by how they set up the schedule around COVID.

Baseball requires butts in the seats more so than any other sport. That doesn’t happen in earnest until June. Payroll is the same in April as it is in July.

Owners will gladly sit out the first 2 months.
 
Indiandad said:
Minor leaguers report in 2 weeks.
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We still might head over to watch from the fence. As I mentioned before this is my favorite part anyway. All the bloat is inside loafing and the kids are out back working their cans off to earn a spot. You can usually talk to the kids as they are shagging fly balls during BP. Always fun. The owners have already said they will not have minor leaguers play official games. I have tickets to Lakeland (Tigers), Dunedin (Blue Jays), and Fort Myers (Twins & Red Sox). Will need a refund.

Every year I try to hit different parks. I always hit up Lakeland since I am a Tiger fan and I really like the Blue Jay facility. Both places are remodeled yet intimate with that old school Florida Spring Training feel. Right before Covid struck in 2020 I went to the Yankee's Steinbrenner Stadium in Tampa for the first time. Yuck. It has levels and decks and feels like a big league ball park. Never again. The Red Sox have a nice park in Fort Myers that even has a mini green monster.
 
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Joker Marchant Stadium (Tigers - Lakeland, FL)
1645191642476.png

I love that you can grab a cold one and hang out on the fence or the sit in the grass.
1645191704885.png
 
Indiandad said:
Baseball is not profitable until Memorial Day.

Owners said as much by how they set up the schedule around COVID.

Baseball requires butts in the seats more so than any other sport. That doesn’t happen in earnest until June. Payroll is the same in April as it is in July.

Owners will gladly sit out the first 2 months.
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Disagree. https://jordanbean.medium.com/analyzing-mlb-attendance-and-temperature-6cb2b1af2bd4 The chart here (I think for 2007-2017) indicates that attendance is certainly higher in the summer, but nothing to sneeze at in April/May. April / May around 27,000 per game, June around 31,000. Both sides need all of these games.

Another important factor is that if a delay happens and a month or two are missed, a percentage of fans simply won't come back, to the TV or the ballpark. MLB has enough perception problems without causing this seismic one themselves. They can't be this stupid, can they?

Yesterday's meeting was under a 1/2 hour. Both sides exchanged counter-proposals, and they agreed to meet daily starting Monday.
 
Indiandad said:
Baseball is not profitable until Memorial Day.

Owners said as much by how they set up the schedule around COVID.

Baseball requires butts in the seats more so than any other sport. That doesn’t happen in earnest until June. Payroll is the same in April as it is in July.

Owners will gladly sit out the first 2 months.
Click to expand...
Actually, baseball was profitable during the COVID lockdown with no fans in the seats. It just wasn't AS profitable.

Tickets and concessions are just gravy for these billionaires.
 
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