Thursday, October 26, 2006
No Strike till 2012!
The owners and the players union did something very uncharacteristic this week. They came to a new labor agreement without the threat of a strike or lockout first. The last agreement was reached in August 2002, just hours before the players were set to strike. This new agreement runs through the 2011 season.
The last strike, of course, wiped out the last third of the 1994 season including the playoffs and World Series, and continued into the Spring of '95, when the owners trotted out their fat, old, and decrepit replacement players as some sort of threat to the players union. I vaguely remember a story of an obese replacement player sitting on and breaking a stool in the Yankees clubhouse.
It took a lot for MLB to recover from that fiasco. Steriods. Juiced balls. Smaller ballparks. Now that baseball is drawing more fans than ever before, both sides are finally wise enough to divvy up the millions and spread the wealth around without a work stoppage. It's good to see the millionaires play nice with each other.
"I think you always have a better relationship when both sides are making money," Detroit manager Jim Leyland said as he attempted to close his overstuffed wallet.
In other MLB news:
Derek Jeter and Ryan Howard won the Hank Aaron Award, as the best hitters in each league. These two guys most likely will be the MVPs, too.
Gary Sheffield was pissed all season that the Yankees didn't pick up his $13 million option for 2007. Now he's angry that they are. He was hoping to become a free agent, and land a 3-year deal with someone. He also doesn't want to play first base. "I don't want to play first base a year for them. I will not do that." Also, "I don't know what they're (Yankees) going to do," Sheffield said. "Maybe they picked it up just to trade me. If they do that, if I just (go) to a team for one year, there's going to be a problem. A big problem. I will not do this." Strong words from the Sheff.
Rain in St. Louis washed out Game 4 of the World Series. They try again tonight with Bonderman facing Suppan. Cards up 2 games to 1 over the Tigers.
The last strike, of course, wiped out the last third of the 1994 season including the playoffs and World Series, and continued into the Spring of '95, when the owners trotted out their fat, old, and decrepit replacement players as some sort of threat to the players union. I vaguely remember a story of an obese replacement player sitting on and breaking a stool in the Yankees clubhouse.
It took a lot for MLB to recover from that fiasco. Steriods. Juiced balls. Smaller ballparks. Now that baseball is drawing more fans than ever before, both sides are finally wise enough to divvy up the millions and spread the wealth around without a work stoppage. It's good to see the millionaires play nice with each other.
"I think you always have a better relationship when both sides are making money," Detroit manager Jim Leyland said as he attempted to close his overstuffed wallet.
In other MLB news:
Derek Jeter and Ryan Howard won the Hank Aaron Award, as the best hitters in each league. These two guys most likely will be the MVPs, too.
Gary Sheffield was pissed all season that the Yankees didn't pick up his $13 million option for 2007. Now he's angry that they are. He was hoping to become a free agent, and land a 3-year deal with someone. He also doesn't want to play first base. "I don't want to play first base a year for them. I will not do that." Also, "I don't know what they're (Yankees) going to do," Sheffield said. "Maybe they picked it up just to trade me. If they do that, if I just (go) to a team for one year, there's going to be a problem. A big problem. I will not do this." Strong words from the Sheff.
Rain in St. Louis washed out Game 4 of the World Series. They try again tonight with Bonderman facing Suppan. Cards up 2 games to 1 over the Tigers.
