Still No Baseball

It's June 1 and it's hard to believe the Phillies are undefeated this season. But then again, they haven't won a game either. The world has gone to hell and there's still no baseball.

More than 100,000 Americans have died from the coronavirus and more than 30 million people are out of work. There are riots in dozens of cities and the nation seems more divided than ever. It seems trivial to be worried about baseball, but hey, this is a baseball blog. So blog we shall.

The players and owners have traded proposals back and forth and from what's been reported, it seems the sides are really far apart. Back in March, the players agreed to have their salaries pro-rated based on the number of games played. Which seems perfectly reasonable. The owners, seeking to squeeze every dollar possible out of the agreement, changed their minds and decided the lowest-paid players would receive the greatest percentage of their salaries, while stars like Bryce Harper would receive something like 30 percent of what they were supposed to earn.

I'm firmly behind the players here. They're the ones taking all the risk. They're the ones who will be in close quarters with teammates with the spectre of a deadly contagious virus on their minds. The owners and multimillionaires and billionaires. They invested in baseball. But as everyone knows, just because you invest in something, there's no guarantee of making a profit.

John Fisher, owner of the Oakland Athletics and a man with a net worth of more than $2 billion, has decided to stop paying minor league players and furlough scouts and front office staff to save a couple of million dollars. Arte Moreno, owner of the Angels, the same guy who thought it was a good idea to sign Albert Pujols to a deal that keeps Pujols in California into his early 40s, has also let scouts go. You have to wonder how these guys got so rich when they makes such dumb decisions.

The owners need to realize that some revenue is better than no revenue. No fans will be in attendance and they'll be losing out on ticket and concession money. I'm sure they can find some way to make some extra cash while games are being played. But this country really could use a distraction right now. Sure, watching Korean baseball on ESPN2 is fun, but I didn't like watching Darrin Ruf when he was a Phillie. As I'm writing this, MLB Network showing Game 6 of the 2009 World Series. I won't watch it. I need new baseball. Just make a deal and play ball.