G-Snarls

That's awesome

Woohoo!!! That is all Play ball

Hard cap will probably never happen Players association certainly doesn't want that, and powerful big markets teams certainly don't want that

That part is definitely true A higher floor would make teams like the Orioles and Pirates pay more middle of the road veteran players to fill spots or to tender contracts to borderline arbitration eligible players, etc. A higher ceiling would allow teams like the Yankees and Dodgers to pay for more higher end free agents without penalty More money for players. But not sure in the best interest of the league as whole.

Trading away useful veteran players when you have no chance of winning just makes sense no matter what. As sad as it was at the time, it was the right move to trade Stroman, Donaldson etc...

Well there's a divide of course... The players on any team are going to try to win games no matter what, out of competitiveness and pride. However, some front offices are sometimes clearly ensuring the team isn't good enough to win many games and therefore help get better draft picks. Those tear-down Cubs, Astros and Marlins teams were clearly destined to win <70 games and ensure better drafting for a few years. No one can seriously deny that. The questions are 1) Should you penalize teams that do this and 2) should you force such teams to spend money to bring themselves closer to the middle. Is that good for the game/players/fanbases?

MLBTR Stripling: MLB Tried To “Sneak Things” Past Union Late In Negotiations By Steve Adams | March 2, 2022 at 10:18am CDT There’s no indication when the 2022 season will start following a contentious set of labor negotiations that resulted in commissioner Rob Manfred canceling the first two series of the year. The general expectation is that further games are quite likely to be lost as well, given the acrimonious nature of talks to date. On the topic of those negotiations, Blue Jays right-hander Ross Stripling lobbed some fairly eye-opening accusations toward ownership and the manner in which their proposal suddenly changed late in the game. Stripling tells Shi Davidi and Ben Nicholson-Smith of Sportsnet that, as the two sides spoke late Monday evening and into the early hours of Tuesday morning, MLB’s proposal suddenly included notable changes regarding the luxury tax. Stripling implies that the changes extend beyond mere alterations to the threshold levels and penalty rates — instead featuring completely new items that had not been previously presented. “It got to be like 12:30 [in the morning] and the fine print of their CBT proposal was stuff we had never seen before,” says Stripling. “They were trying to sneak things through us, it was like they think we’re dumb baseball players and we get sleepy after midnight or something. … They pushed us to a deadline that they imposed, and then they tried to sneak some s*** past us at that deadline and we were ready for it.” Stripling went on to echo the sentiments broadcast by Giants lefty Alex Wood on Twitter yesterday, wherein Wood claimed that the reported optimism late Monday was “pumped to the media” by Major League Baseball as a public relations strategy. Wood and Stripling maintain that the players’ “tone” never changed Tuesday, as the league claimed via a statement from an anonymous spokesperson. Stripling, Wood, James McCann and several others have publicly stated that the union never felt the sense of optimism broadcast by the league and that MLB’s suggestions of a “change in tone” were an effort to cast blame on players for scuttling a deal at the last minute. Stripling’s comments, to an extent, also mesh with concerns raised by union leader Tony Clark at yesterday’s press conference. Speaking in the wake of Manfred’s cancelation of games, Clark revealed that during the late stages of negotiations, the league sought to enact a series of rule changes for the 2023 season that would see defensive shifts limited, the size of bases expanded and the implementation of a pitch clock. While Clark noted that the players were not necessarily opposed, the fact that MLB raised them so late in the process left the union with little to no time to discuss them — an obvious point of consternation. Stripling is hardly alone in his willingness to speak out and voice his displeasure with the manner in which negotiations transpired. Britt Ghiroli of The Athletic chronicled a series of player frustrations that were broadcast via social media, citing Wood, Evan Longoria, Anthony Rizzo, Michael Lorenzen, Kevin Pillar and others. As Ghiorli examines, the players’ ability to freely speak their minds — and share details like those laid out by Stripling, Wood and others — are fascinating new wrinkles to labor talks that did not exist prior to the social media age. While fans have understandably grown exhausted by the public jabs being traded (whether directly or via reports), the lack of any real momentum regarding a return to play and the general distrust between the parties only sets the stage for further exchanges of this nature.

lol

Francisco Liriano also retiring

Did recent "full tank" teams like the Astros and Cubs finish in the bottom 5 for more than 3 years?

Might not be the best solution but at least it shows MLB recognizes the problem

Career 4.3 WAR and approx 6MM in earnings

Travis Snider has also announced his retirement: Travis Snider (@lunchboxhero23) • Instagram photos and videos WWW.INSTAGRAM.COM 1,383 likes, 158 comments - lunchboxhero23 on January 13, 2022: "Thank you baseball. You have given me countless relationships and experiences I will cherish for the rest of my life. I am so thankful that I got to live out my childhood dream and share it with the people I love and care about. I have contemplated this day for for a while but the time has finally come for me to hang up the spikes. I’m grateful for these last couple of years and the challenges you presented me that finally led me to face one thing.. My EGO. I have tied so much of my self worth into my success on the field. Without that success I have spent many waking hours and sleepless nights trying to find a way back to the show. How to fix my swing. How to be a better teammate and a leader. What I have learned through those experiences is what gives me the confidence in this transition to becoming a “former player”. It is beautiful struggle sharing a clubhouse with 30 other dudes going to battle 100+ times a year. I will miss that the most. But I am looking forward to being a more present husband, father, family member, and friend. Thank you @isabsnider for your unwavering support and sacrifice for these last 10+ years. Gracias a @mariamardebau por toda su ayuda en la crianza de nuestros hijos y por estar allí para que yo pudiera estar lejos. To my teammates, coaches, trainers, front office, and clubhouse families.. thank you for all the amazing memories. Thank you to the @bluejays @pittsburghpirates @orioles @kcroyals @rangers @liducks @dbacks @marlins @braves for giving me the chance to wear a jersey and compete. And thank you to my family, friends, and fans who have supported me on this wild ride. I love you all and wish you nothing but health and happiness wherever this life takes us. With gratitude- Travis Snider".

Pretty much yes

Jon Lester retires "Hall of very good" career

https://www.dictionary.com/e/wp-content/uploads/2018/07/prank-call3.jpg

I sure would He could be the best hitter in the AL for a decade

I hope we can extend Teoscar actually Might be a solid stabilizer move if we can't nail down Bo and Vladdy just yet

Watching Bonds in the early 2000's was like watching a grown man play against a bunch of kids

Bonds' and Clemens' Cooperstown speeches will be very interesting if they do get in

I seriously hope so

Kelly Gruber

That's hilarious though cause he'll never throw another pitch for the Dodgers because they have a higher standard

If he likes Asian chicks he might be able to pitch in Japan

Long term what is it going to do for him though After an eventual fine and suspension the Dodgers will release him. No team wants him and the baggage at that point and I'm sure he knows that. So he'll take the money owed to him and run? Be a podcast/Twitter/radio bad boy?