tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132588.post5929590992315272184..comments2023-09-11T10:35:26.165-04:00Comments on The Flagrant Fan: So Stephen Strasburg SignedWilliam J. Taskerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02313204947130235560noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132588.post-22850269923769866952009-08-20T07:22:08.973-04:002009-08-20T07:22:08.973-04:00Great comments. But I still don't buy any draf...Great comments. But I still don't buy any draftee not getting himself signed. I understand about leverage, but leverage is fine if you end up with something at the end. If you end up with nothing, then you have nothing. I am all for players getting what they can once they prove they can play at the highest level. But the landscape is too littered with prized prospects that didn't pan out to invest millions on drafted players. The union fought hard to get the players a good piece of the revenue pie and I am not disputing that is the way it should be. But again, the players have proven they are big leaguers and should be protected as such. I see no reason to protect draftees that have not yet shown they can be major leaguers. Once they do that, they have arbitration and free agency to look forward to.<br /><br />I do understand about the Hardy and Gordan thing. The same thing happened to Wieters and Price earlier in the year. That is something the union should fight about, not whether unproven talent such as draftees should get compensation for skills they may or may not have.William J. Taskerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02313204947130235560noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132588.post-27398412122562986722009-08-20T02:15:10.604-04:002009-08-20T02:15:10.604-04:00For the Nationals' sake, I hope Strasburg isn&...For the Nationals' sake, I hope Strasburg isn't the next Mark Prior.Josh Borensteinhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17418664151302692734noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5132588.post-53370928367964900422009-08-20T01:16:51.462-04:002009-08-20T01:16:51.462-04:00Hey William-
Good post, as always. But a few thin...Hey William-<br /><br />Good post, as always. But a few things occurred to me that I thought worth sharing.<br /><br />First, Alex Gordon is struggling, no doubt, but his demotion to the minors is less about his performance and more about manipulating his service time to avoid arbitration. The Rays did a similar thing with Longoria--by sending Gordon to the minors, the Royals are preventing him from earning Super 2 eligibility. Similarly, the Brewers likely demoted J.J. Hardy to stop his arbitration clock.<br /><br />These maneuvers are both examples of why draft picks holding out from signings is a chancy but calculated risk, in my mind. Due to collectively bargained contract regulations and government approved monopolies, teams hold insurmountable leverage in salary negotiations with draftees. While it seems galling that a player paasses up $4 million guaranteed, it's important to remember that drafted players have very, very little stature from which to negotiate. Even Strasburg, the most touted prospect ever, is still subject to MLB-enforced slotting salaries. It seems unimaginable that someone would reject what to us seems like a princely sum, but (and I'm deeply sorry to find myself siding with Scott Boras on this), the threat of withholding services is really the only tool labor has to win salary considerations. <br /><br />All of this is muddled up because, unlike the typical labor dispute taking place in, say, an auto factory, the MLB dispute pits millionaires (players) against billionaires (owners). In most other non-sports industries, it's commonly accepted that you can earn as much as you can demand. If your services aren't worth what you demand, then you're out of luck. While what baseball draft picks are asking for and what they are doing seem ridiculous to us, well, that's the nature of the beast. But--and I say this as the proud grandson of a union organizer--it's not about the money, it's about the principle.<br /><br />Again, great post and great issues. There is no easy answer, and considering that the 15th anniversary of the strike has just passed, this is an issue that is likely to rear it's head again.RPMcSweeneyhttp://thenewenthusiast.comnoreply@blogger.com