now underwater basketweaving or synchonized swimming....phew! those are REAL sports! no one asking for another million dollars there... ;)

i never watch baseball anymore, anyway, till the world serie's then i could care less, it has become boring, hockey rule's.:D :D ;)

I will say it again.... Baseball sucks lacrosse is better!!! :D :D

Or to qoute the shirt my friend has.....

"Lacrosse: The sport that MEN play during BOYS Baseball season" :D :D :D :D :D :cool: :cool:

Later,
Nick

Belle I hate to quote people, but this statement really stuck out at me. Is this why you think they are striking (or thinking about it)? I seriously doubt this is the reason. As I said before, all they want is their fair share, just like the american worker. It just so happens that their fare share is in the millions. All of the major league teams took in a combined 3.4 billion dollars last year, and yet most of the teams still say openly that they lose money every year. Most people know that is for tax purposes, but the general public might not realize this. I'm sure there are people who think these owners actually take money out of their pockets to keep the franchises going. Gimme a break, these owners are getting rich off of what the players do on the field.

Unit There is no doubt in my mind that Bonds, Sosa, and McGwire were (or are still) taking some kind steroids. But to say that they are the reason Barry is hitting so many more homeruns is just not right. First of all, this is a dumb arguement because theres no way to prove anything.

Barry has gotten noticeably bigger, so has Sosa, and McGwire did too. You ever look at Frank Thomas? I have been within 10 feet of both Thomas and McGwire, and they are both big SOB's! Frank has to be everybit as strong as all 3 of these guys. Why isnt he hitting 60 or 70 every year? Its sure as hell not because he isnt taking steroids. Its in his mind. I dont know if you have followed Bonds' career or not, but he has not been the most mature player to ever step on the field. Especially when he was with the Pirates. I'm saying the real reason Barry is hitting more hr's is because he is (or feels) more mature. He is starting to come into his own.

The situation in Minnesota is terrible. They have a great team! They are they youngest team in the AL (or possibly a close second to TB) and they also have the lowest payroll. Yet they are on their way to winning the AL central for the second straight year. Thats quite an anomoly in todays game. Its absolutely absurd that MLB wanted to retract a winning team. Hell, they just expanded again 2 years ago, why dont they make up their minds!

Oh yeah. The people here who have voiced their opinions on MLB, and at the same time said they are not fans and dont even like baseball: Those peoples opinions mean nothing to me.

Andy

Ok well then they have miraculously deluded the American public into thinking they are greedy losers, when all they wanted was their "fair share"! :)

No offense, but this thread wasn't created to mean something to YOU...it was an open discussion on a NON-BASEBALL forum, so you should have probably assumed not everyone here was going to be a fan :rolleyes: This isn't some argument over batting averages or game rules...It doesn't take an avid game watcher to realize the shortcomings of players that put their paycheck before their JOB...entertaining Americans.

Ahh.... theres nothing too miraculous Belle, the american public will believe anything.. hehhe...

Quite the contrary Belle, this thread really didnt mean anything to me, nor did I think it was created for me. I just like to talk baseball!:)

Andy

Andy,
The reason they are having this fight is not becuase they don't think they are getting their fare share now. That is what Arbitration is for. The reason they are striking is because of the

revenue sharing and luxury taxes the owners are discussing to keep the game on a more even playing field. The players are sticking their noses into this duscussion within management for fear that a conclusion will be reached they don't like.

Why? Because a luxury taxes is just a fancy name for a Salary Cap. Players are afraid that they won't be able to negotiate huge salary increases like A-rod got, and that mediocre middle aged players will suffer the brunt of this.

I work at a CPA firm. It is mine and my co-workers work that gets the partners paid mostly. We cover the overhead and our own paychecks. Then the partners get paid. They take the risk of ownership and get rich of us. They all have BMW's I have a Ford. I do the work, they get the big check. Same with players and owners is baseball. Can we form a union and demand more money? No. We'd all get canned and replaced by people who got laid off at Andesen.

Bonds makes 90k+ a game. The idea that he will not be able to make 100k+ a game in three years is the theory behind the strike. I grew up watching baseball and I think its crap. I'd play the sport for what he makes in a game a year. And I'd be happy. Players need to pull their head out and realize there are thousands of guys busting their asses in the minors who would kill to get the chance to stand in the batters box at Fenway. I say let the 'pros' walk, and call up some rookie ball players. I'd pay money to see that. They still LOVE the game.

Well as for me I hope they strike! What better way for these guys to hurt their wallets and their egos? I think a strike will be great for the sports fan , I too like Baseball but the prices are insane , not only the stuff they call 'food' but the ticket prices are out of control! After this season we will no longer support the overpaid salary of the enitre league in itself . Our season tickets will be up for grabs, Edison Field Section - F121 , Row M, Seats 4,5,6,7 @ $45.00 each is just a lil too much ta pay when these guys wont play with a hang nail !
As we already know "WE" do pay their salary and can do somthing about it, Yes I know that it will take several seasons to hurt them to the point of doing something about it but I have all the time in the world do they?, As Belle said, " let them play in a empty park for all I care" This may just be the pill to cure if not only sedate the sickness that is baseball today. I enjoy the game and as a family we have fun at the ball park, But we have found another and less expensive way to enjoy baseball, We simply drive 30 min into Rancho Cucamonga and see the minor league teams play, I have to admit I have had a much better time there then at any major league park. The players , officials , employees, and the fans are some of the nicest people at 1/4 of the price. They let you know as soon as you get in the parking lot that you are a big part of what they do and where the want to go. An autograph for the kids ? hell yes from all the players if you want and it's free!! What you dont have a tailgate and you wanna BBQ? Great no need to Have a tailgate They supply the picnic tabels here!

Well I USED to like baseball....

I enjoyed the barrage of baseballs, toilet paper, beach balls, and other throwing items at the Angel game tonight. it was quite fun.

Cool lol hey was there anyone in our seats ? lol

joe drive up to tn , we will go to nashville & watch a pred's -vs red wing's hockey game, to h--- with baseball come on man, hockey rules, road trip bud, :D :D

You have to understand that the 3.4 billion figure was most likely a "revenue" figure, which does not take into consideration all of the operating, financing, and investing expenses associated with the organization as a whole.

Tax implications asside, it is very likely that the owners of these teams ARE in fact sustaining a year to year loss. Try explaining the operations of a business to an uneducated ball player and you may very well acheive the Nobel Prize for it. These morons are good with a stick and a ball, not understanding the complex structures and operations of a business......

Finally, these team owners are holding out for the final SALE of their asset for the investment to be worthwhile. It's not the yearly profits that have produced dollar signs in their eyes, but the end pay-off when they finally dump it off on some other unsuspecting Jewish bastard.

:D

More Baseball
 

Andy669:

I'm not a fan, just a casual observer but as baseball is a large part of the American sports scene and much in the news right now, some of us take a mild interest in it.

I haven't memorized 100 years of stats and don't know any of the players except the big names but I see, as others do, a bunch of mega-millionaires - on both sides - killing what was once a great sport. Too bad.

Unit:

I heard it said on a radio sports show that attendance went up after the last strike. I can't prove it and it doesn't sound logical but since when have most sports fans been logical?

I agree with most of your acid observations on various professional sports. I have always believed that sports - in general - are given way too much importance in America (and elsewhere). However, that's what people want and so, they shall have it, including the juiced up near-middle-aged mega-millionaires posing as athletes, the basketball gangstas, etc. Then we have Mike Tyson.

Well, I commented on the strike to see what response I would get and I made no pretense to having any real knowledge of the fine points and while I learned a bit more, it still seems stupid and both sides appear as greedy as I assumed they were.

Hey, I'm a capitalist and I have no trouble with players raking in all they can get...owners too...but the abuse of the paying fan (absurd ticket prices, drugged up arrogant players who think they are gods) is simply stupid and deserves the criticism it receives here and elsewhere.

.

The company I work for made 150,000 a month 5 years ago. Now
we make 600,000 a month but I am not making 4 times more money.

Maybe we should all strike too.:rolleyes:

There is a difference here though. You probably have at least a vauge idea of what happens in a business arena. Therefore, you understand that with increasing revenues, there usually are increasing expenses.

These ballplayers are too busy hiring hookers and snorting coke to take the time to understand the elementary concepts of business.....:p

You have these tickets this year? Or was that seasons past?

This season

Well, there was an agreement made, so there will be no strike, but I want to make a few points that were kinda brought up throughout the thread. Most people won't agree with what I am saying, but the owners are completely full of **** on this whole revenue sharing and luxary tax issue. They claim that they are losing money and say that small market teams can't compete with the big market teams, which isn't exactly true. The Twins and A's are two of the lowest paying teams in baseball yet they are in first place in their divisions. The Ranger's and the Mets are two of the highest paying teams yet they are both in dead last in their division. Money doesn't solve the problem...it's recruiting and scouting. The owners just want to make more of a profit which is why they refuse to show their books to anyone. If they were losing so much money, why not prove it by opening their books. Minnesota is a perfect case. They want a new stadium because they claim that is why they are losing money in the old stadium, yet when Gov Ventura asked them to open the books so he can verify, they wouldn't do it. If the owner's were really losing money like they claim, the average salary in the league wouldn't be 2.4 million. The teams that are "poor" would constantly lose players and their payroll would continue to decrease. If you look at most of the teams payrolls over the past few years, they have gone up, not down which tells me that they are obviously making enough money to pay more money to their players. The players are making millions, but the owners are making even more....and they want to make even more profit by keeping salaries under control.

Check your PM. Nice Avatar, BTW.