Mike's Mets - Let It Burn

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Let It Burn

By Mike Steffanos May 31, 2020

A couple of weeks ago there was abounding optimism that an agreement would be worked out and we would see Major League Baseball in 2020. Recently, that optimism is deflating faster than a week-old Mylar balloon. Buster Olney is the latest baseball writer to express his incredulity that we don't seem to be getting any closer to an agreement between the owners and players.

Olney's main point is that both the owners and players must see that, if an argument over money is what keeps baseball dark this year, the fans won't forgive them whenever Major League Baseball does get around to coming back. It's a valid point, particularly if other sports manage to maneuver their way back into the public eye this year.

I think that one of the key points of this article is the one Olney makes about the owners:

Sources say there is a group of owners perfectly willing to shut down the season, to slash payroll costs and reduce losses, and the disparate views among the 30 teams have been reflected in the decisions to fire and furlough. The Pirates' Bob Nutting used the shutdown as an avenue to suspend team contributions to employee 401K plans -- savings best measured monthly in the tens of thousands of dollars rather than the millions that would actually be difference-making for a franchise probably worth at least $1 billion. The Oakland Athletics' John Fisher decided to eliminate the $400 weekly salaries of minor leaguers, which might save the franchise about the amount of the team's unpaid stadium rental bill. On the other hand, clubs such as the Tigers, Padres and Royals demonstrated greater humanity, with the Royals' John Sherman deciding to pay his minor leaguers.

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