snyttri

Although Bonds seems to be cold and ambitious I think he has showed that he is a multi-dimensional person who can be warm and generous.

Cudos to Melvin for assembling a contender. I thought he would be fired before he put another complete team together. Gambling the future is worth the risk.

My guess is they are looking for more proven players. Loe and Gomez have not shown that much, unlike Podsednik and Vizcaino at the time of the Lee trade.

Not really sure what Williams is looking to add to his team at this point, though. A not very reliable White Sox reporter said they'd be looking for a Carlos Lee type return in a Carlos Quentin trade, so maybe some low salaried veterans. Their relief pitching is thin. Cowley Sun-Times

I think Marvin Miller stands out among some other worthy candidates. It's strange that there was a veteran's committee for executives and it didn't select Marvin Miller. No other executive they could have selected had as much impact on the game. Here's an argument for Mller's inclusion from Biz of Baseball: "Making the Case for Marvin Miller"

There are various consequences to electing a form of ownership. It doesn't seem unreasonable for clubs to experience some of the disadvantages as well as the advantages of the form of ownership they choose. C corporations may be too public. I don't know if all of the characteristics of an S corporation make it a realistic alternative for MLB clubs.

Five teams have seemed to regularly take profits while being subsidized, including some of the most profitable, according to this December '09 article in Biz of Baseball. A's, Rays, Marlins, Pirates and Royals. http://bizofbaseball.com/...editorials&Itemid=39

If you don't like taxpayer-funded stadiums, don't be mad at the team, be mad at the "pro-team" fans who were vocal about their opinions and the government who paid the money without demanding to look at the financials.[/i] I thank that is a bit like saying 'If you don't like bank robberies don't be mad at the bank robber, be mad at the bank teller who gave him the money and the security system that didn't stop him.' The owners come up with the plan to get a stadium built, take the crucial steps to get the stadium built and receive the profits from the stadium. They are more than a little responsible. It's unrealistic to expect county commissioners to win many power struggles with the oligarchy that runs professional sports and influences much of everything else.

http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp I don't think this thread needed to be sidetracked into a discussion of journalistic ethics because there doesn't seem to be a close call here. This has little to do with the comparison some have attempted to make of revealing a random individual's financial information with damage to the individual but no benefit to the public. MLB continually uses its powerful voice to try to persuade the public that it needs financial and legislative support to run its business. To make informed financial and voting decisions on an important American institution the public has a need to know how much of MLB's story is the truth and how much is a lie. The release of the financials is a blessing to anyone interested in the truth. If clubs want to try to keep their financial information private while at the same time loudly and publicly proclaiming that their financial situation requires drastic changes that will have significant public consequences they can try to do so. But it is a great story if what they tell they public is betrayed by their private records. Other than embarrassment if their press releases are contradicted by the records the clubs are not necessarily harmed by the release. If MLB wants it to become to seem unfair to have their private financial information in the newspaper they could begin with a moratorium on complaining about their financial situation to newspapers.

It doesn't seem to go by player importance since Mathews was not one of the original inductees. Logan and Mantilla have been important local alumni. You would think the player Thomson was traded for, Red Schoendienst, would also be on before Thomson. http://chicago.cubs.mlb.c...p;fext=.jsp&c_id=mil

It doesn't necessarily follow that because a fine can be appealed MLB is helpless. Making fines unappealable would invite abuse of authority.

I'm pretty sure that he would be against revenue sharing as well[/i] I wouldn't think that Cuban would be opposed to sharing revenue but as a big spender he would share interests with the owners who oppose revenue sharing such as payment of a luxury tax. Would he want to penalize himself as much for spending beyond the limit as the spending challenged teams would prefer?

"Make your union work for you." The pitchers union or the position players union? I think that is just an attempt to pass the hot potato. Opposing players have a conflict of interest that is best resolved by a third party (an umpire if you will).

Thanks for the info on Finley. I would like to have Cuban as the Brewers owner because he would probably make sure they were competitive. His ego would likely grate on the nerves but his persona has entertainment value and it would be worth it to have a winning team. We could help the Yankees fight spending limits.

Baseball players can't readily start their own league because MLB still has the exemption from the antitrust law it used to defend itself against the Federal League . Fan feelings are not uniform. Some fans would not like the unfairness of athletes, unlike everyone else in the workplace, being forced to stay with the same organization (Cubs?) for their entire careers or be denied the opportunity to fulfill their potential by doing what they are best suited for. The reserve clause was not a healthy system and some fans would be disconcerted to see its corpse re-animated. Players cannot know their value without a market. It would not be prudent for players to rely on the owners books unless a sport is in danger of collapse. Baseball's un-level playing field seems to have more to do with the owners failure to agree on revenue sharing than free agency. The Yankees were buying championships long before there was a Curt Flood.