What I hate about this time of year
by Adam J. Morris on Jan 21, 2010 10:53 AM CST
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PrintNow that arbitration figures have been exchanged, it is time for one of the most irritating, and laziest, genre of stories to start coming out.
The populist, "look at how Player X is going to quintuple his salary this year through arbitration after a mediocre season, while Joe Sixpack will be lucky if he gets a 2% raise."
Jim Caple leads it off this year, with a stupid story about Tim Lincecum:
Salary arbitration is a wonderful thing. A player submits a figure that represents about 10 times his previous salary (or in Lincecum's case, 20 times). His team submits a figure that represents about five times his usual salary. The two sides argue their respective cases in front of an independent arbiter, who can choose only one figure or the other. So the player wins the lotto no matter what.
Yep...Lincecum one of the best in the world at what he does, in a high profile, high dollar sport, "wins the lotto" because he will still get paid a fraction of what he could get on the open market.
I don't know that salary arbitration is a "wonderful thing" for the players, since it still includes artificial restrictions that prevent most players who file for arbitration from getting what they could receive if they could market their services to any team.
But I'm sure the owners liked it a lot better in the good ol' days that Caple seems to be nostalgic for, when a team could tell a player that he could either sign for what the team was willing to pay him, or he could sit at home and not get paid.
What is so infuriating to me is the intellectual dishonesty that is involved in writing a story where a writer talks about a player making "10 times his previous salary" or "five times his usual salary," without acknowledging that the owners have rigged the game so that the player's "previous salary" or "usual salary" is 5 or 10 times (or many, many more times) less than what the player is really worth.
When a case inevitably goes to arbitration and the team prevails, you'll see some hack talk about how the player "lost" in arbitration (the "lost" and "lose" are always in quotation marks in these sorts of stories), and this will "only" make $3 million, or will "only" get a 600% raise over what he made the year before.
In case you miss Caple's point, he veers off into faux populism later in his piece:
We can all identify with this in the real world, where employees have their own version of salary arbitration. It's called an annual performance review, but it works out just a little bit differently.
Like at an arbitration hearing, you meet with your boss and outline all your achievements. You talk about how you met all your goals from the previous year's review, how you capably filled in for the boss during his/her vacation, and that department productivity is up 22 percent. And then you politely ask for a 10 percent raise, hoping to get 5 percent. The boss nods sympathetically and congratulates you on your fine work, but then points out that you spent an awful lot of company time running the office NCAA bracket pool and talking about your fantasy football team, your TPS reports were always late, you left early too many times to coach your kid's soccer team, and there have been sexual harassment complaints regarding your screen savers.
Just like a player at arbitration, you walk away hurt and upset. Unlike a player, you don't walk away with a raise worth 10 times your previous salary. That's because the boss is also the arbiter. He/she lectures you on how profits are down, how the budget forecast is gloomy, how layoffs are possible, and finally, how you should feel lucky to get a 1.2 percent raise -- and oh, by the way, you'll need to work a couple weekends to earn it.
This is so stupid it makes my head hurt. And why writers seem so eager to pander to ownership's point of view and offer these asinine pieces painting the players as the bad guys in baffling to me.
This happens every year, and every year we get the same sorts of stories. And it infuriates me every time.
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what do you think Lincecums gonna get?
It’s gotta be close to record breaking figures right?
The bloggerformelyknownasBigBaddBubbaJ
lincecum filed for 13M and the giants proposed 8M
if they go to an arbiter, lincecum has to win this deal (he might not). the guy has won 2 Cy Youngs now and could very well win it the next two years.
A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.
Lincecum
The problem, for him, is that he can only benchmark himself against pitchers with his service time, rather than pitchers with his performance level.
by Darrell McKown on Jan 21, 2010 11:30 AM CST via mobile up reply actions
i guess you could take
the highest arbitration case awarded to a pitcher in the same arbitration year, compare their accomplishments and place a higher figure based on that.
what did Ryan Howard get in his first arbitration year?
A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.
10 mm
"JD gets complete blame or credit for what happens in 2010 and I think Nolan wants it that way. JD is paid to be a real GM and needs to start performing like one." - Josey Wales
by Michael Cave on Jan 21, 2010 11:39 AM CST up reply actions
heh
it’s worse than his “real world” in my job.
after my first year, i went into my annual meeting and got my typical 1st year 6% raise
next year i got the standard 3% raise
next year i got the standard 3% raise
before my next meeting we got 3.9% pay cut
and of course in my next meeting i got 0% raise.
i have pretty much 0 room to negotiate. i’ve looked around and i do make what my fair market value is at my job (give or take a percent or 2). and by year 3 at my job i’m happy to be making any money, happy to have a job.
of course, if i was making less than what others at other places make at my same job, i’m free to apply for a job over there.
just because a guy is making hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars doesn’t mean he shouldn’t be allowed to have a choice. that said, a team has invested A LOT into a player in the early years of their development and shouldn’t be “screwed” right away. you can see both sides.
" This is the inning that propels us to the playoffs. Mark it down."
- Rohn Warshington on Jul 27, 2009 9:19 PM EDT
5th inning against the Tigers
Cash Money
Two numbers I’ve seen floating lately that are striking…
1. Conan O’Brien gets $33 million for basically getting “fired” for low ratings.
2. Tiger’s wife is looking at $400 million. It pays to marry a slutty pro-golfer.
Compared to the working days (and realities) for most people, those are odd numbers.
and most players
take a couple years to really come into their own at the major league level.
A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.
Then some of those same people
will complain about how cheap an owner is if they don’t sign a top free agent.
G G G E-flat_______ F F F D__________....
He also uses "arbiter", rather than "arbitrator" as the one ruling in the arbitration case
While that’s not technically incorrect, it annoys me nonetheless.
"Dying ain't hard. It’s living in the wake of a thorough public humiliation that’s hard.--JDT217
Internet greatness http://www.lonestarball.com/2009/11/10/1125340/will-carroll-calls-out-josey-wales
he wants the involuntary servitude of the reserve clause
A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.
Arbitration
The process has numerous problems, although there’s no easy fix.
I think it has generally worked in favor of the players until the last few years, when the owners finally realized that it should work in their favor since the teams control whether or not you end up in arbitration.
by Darrell McKown on Jan 21, 2010 11:34 AM CST via mobile reply actions
The really comical thing
Is that Lincecum’s actually worth more than the number he submitted. Substantially more.
In the past two years, he’s posted WARs of 7.5 and 8.2, which put his value at 33.7 and 37 million. Lincecum’s asking for barely more than a third of his real value.
Question about WAR
so replacement level is basically 40 wins right?
So a replacement level player is worth nothing then? According to Lincecum’s numbers then each win is worth roughly 4.5 mil. So in order to win 100 games you need to have the players on your team worth a total of 270 mil?
"JD gets complete blame or credit for what happens in 2010 and I think Nolan wants it that way. JD is paid to be a real GM and needs to start performing like one." - Josey Wales
by Michael Cave on Jan 21, 2010 11:47 AM CST up reply actions
I guess you could put it that way
The Yankees had about a $250M value, adding up the hitting, pitching and the slightly negative fielding values on Fangraphs.
The current market is lower than $4.5M per win. That number was (as far as I think about these things) a good number for the free agent market last offseason, but the actual number per win during the 2009 season seems to have been closer to $4. This offseason the market rate for free agents has dropped to around $3.5M per expected win.
G G G E-flat_______ F F F D__________....
I really am intrigued
on whether either side brings WAR or UZR or any other sabermetric type of stat into play during talks.
"JD gets complete blame or credit for what happens in 2010 and I think Nolan wants it that way. JD is paid to be a real GM and needs to start performing like one." - Josey Wales
by Michael Cave on Jan 21, 2010 1:06 PM CST up reply actions
If it helps their argument,
I’d almost guarantee it.
'Waiting for a girl and she gets me into fights
Waiting for a girl we get drunk on Friday night'
Im sure you are right
I just wonder how intricate and involved the negotiations really get. For example, when the Angels signed Pinieiro did his agents bring up his GB%, his ERA+, etc? Or are they still stuck in the well he had 14 wins so that is really good so he should earn X amt? I know that several GMs are statheads but i wonder how versed players and agents are.
"JD gets complete blame or credit for what happens in 2010 and I think Nolan wants it that way. JD is paid to be a real GM and needs to start performing like one." - Josey Wales
by Michael Cave on Jan 21, 2010 1:22 PM CST up reply actions
All the above.
Kinda like the person that bullshits their resume with any fact/stat/etc. that sounds productive.
'Waiting for a girl and she gets me into fights
Waiting for a girl we get drunk on Friday night'
Isn't that all a resume is?
A bunch of BS…
by Anonymous New Guy on Jan 21, 2010 2:27 PM CST up reply actions
"Lincecum’s asking for barely more than a third of his real value."
Personally, I think getting either $8 million or $13 Million to play a kid’s game IS hitting the lottery, but what is even more irratating is proclaiming some guy to be worth $37 million per year based on some metric that was hatched on a warm rock. If the average team payroll is approximately $100 million, it seems more than a little foolish to proclaim one player to be worth nearly 40% of that figure, especially considering that the other 24 guys have to “scrape by” with dividing the other 60%. If the key operative word here is “real”, it’s not very “real” that one player is going to receive nearly 40% of his team’s payroll resources.
Is this for real?
There are so many asinine points, I don’t even know where to begin.
First of all, learn how to do basic math.
by brettgardner on Jan 21, 2010 1:12 PM CST up reply actions
What I don't understand
Is why you would compare one year’s payroll with the entire life of a contract.
by brettgardner on Jan 21, 2010 1:17 PM CST up reply actions
Whoops.
But you’re still dumb, so I don’t feel quite so bad.
by brettgardner on Jan 21, 2010 1:21 PM CST up reply actions
I think your point was covered
by Cave when he said based on that reasoning a 100 win team would need a payroll over 270 million. It was hypothetical
"calmer than you are dude" Walter (Big Lebowski)
by Arlington Stadium Legend on Jan 21, 2010 1:12 PM CST up reply actions
I don't get the "kid's game" argument
Why is it a “kid’s game”? Why not an “adult’s game”?
And “hitting the lottery” basically suggests getting a huge reward for very little investment or effort, which is insulting to Lincecum and others like him.
by Adam J. Morris on Jan 21, 2010 1:14 PM CST up reply actions
Those things
weren’t on his jump to cliche’s mat. It’s got lots of different cliches, and you jump to one so you know what to say…
"calmer than you are dude" Walter (Big Lebowski)
by Arlington Stadium Legend on Jan 21, 2010 1:15 PM CST up reply actions
The vast majority of people play baseball for free
How years have you practiced family law for free?
So if it is a "kid's game"
and vast the majority of people play baseball for free then why do you pay to see it?
"JD gets complete blame or credit for what happens in 2010 and I think Nolan wants it that way. JD is paid to be a real GM and needs to start performing like one." - Josey Wales
by Michael Cave on Jan 21, 2010 1:25 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
What difference does it make...
…that the vast majority of people play baseball for free?
by Adam J. Morris on Jan 21, 2010 1:24 PM CST up reply actions
Same as singing
'Waiting for a girl and she gets me into fights
Waiting for a girl we get drunk on Friday night'
yeah, it is just really lazy
complaining about how much money players make is really one of the dumbest story lines out there.
Yeah, major league players get paid a lot of money, especially once they hit free agency/arbitration, but even before (I bet 97% of LSB readers – maybe not some of the older attorneys – would like to have a major league minimum salary).
But there are two caveats to this money, particularly the league minimum. First, the vast majority of guys who go into professional ball never see anything close to a major league salary. The expected lifetime value for a decision to “go pro” is pretty low unless you’re a first round talent. Maybe not as low as the expected value of going to grad school, but pretty crappy. 90+% of players never see a big league dollar, and end up earning maybe 50K over 3 seasons on buses in the southeast or midwest.
Second, these players will earn 95% of their lifetime income in a few years. Take a guy who plays 4 years then retires. Maybe he’ll earn 1.5 million over that time. Most of that money is getting taxed at high rates since it is all earned at once, especially if they live in Cali or the northeast. So he can “retire” at 28 with say $500K in the bank and a nice big league pension. Well, that is pretty nice, and I’d love to have it; but his future earning potential at that point is probably far lower than most of us here who got our degrees and spent years 22-28 building skills and getting experience for later years.
So yeah, maybe the Lincecum’s aren’t sympathetic characters, asking for huge dollars in arbitration. But 90% of big leaguers aren’t near his level, and 90% of pros don’t ever even get that far.
Go Rice Owls!
Also,
http://cashmoneylife.com/2007/04/13/sports-pensions/ Pensions do not start until the player turns 62.
http://cashmoneylife.com/2007/04/11/how-much-does-a-professional-benchwarmer-earn/
"JD gets complete blame or credit for what happens in 2010 and I think Nolan wants it that way. JD is paid to be a real GM and needs to start performing like one." - Josey Wales
by Michael Cave on Jan 21, 2010 11:52 AM CST up reply actions
Even if they start at 62
that’s a pretty good deal. I guess my 4 year player example would have a nice guaranteed 40K a year in retirement. Could be worse.
Good links. I forgot about endorsements and per diems. But still, that money evaporates once they retire.
The golf pension plan is hilarious. Based on how many cuts you make? Wow. Talk about a meritocratic system.
Go Rice Owls!
True
it definitely could be worse. Tiger Woods should be taken care of during his retirement huh? ha
"JD gets complete blame or credit for what happens in 2010 and I think Nolan wants it that way. JD is paid to be a real GM and needs to start performing like one." - Josey Wales
by Michael Cave on Jan 21, 2010 1:16 PM CST up reply actions
Exactly
guy from TCU was a late round pick of the Rangers. Pitched professionally in the spring/summer, went to school in the fall. Flamed out after 3 years. Last I heard he was trying to get into the oil business as a land man.
"calmer than you are dude" Walter (Big Lebowski)
by Arlington Stadium Legend on Jan 21, 2010 12:17 PM CST up reply actions
Yep
I’ve never understood the whole “greedy athletes just looking to screw over us working folks” angle in sports business journalism.
Hey, writers- yeah, the players do make a ton of money. You know who makes a fuckload more money? The guys who pay their salaries!
You’d think that journalists, typically not the best paid of professions, would sympathize with labor over management.
Honestly, I think one of the best decisions I ever made as a writer was to take as few journalism classes as possible in college, and instead concentrate on courses that would develop my writing and critical thinking skills, like history, philosophy, and English. Professional journalists, as a whole, seem to have almost no understanding of the things they write about, particularly in sports and politics.
"To have the judgment and wisdom and personal touch of Nolan Ryan, and the tremendous group that JD has assembled, I think the Rangers on the baseball side are the envy of every franchise in baseball in terms of talent."
-- Chuck Greenberg
by RCCook on Jan 21, 2010 11:48 AM CST reply actions 1 recs
Shouldn't couch it as salary-arbitration player v. owner
The fact is, the player’s union is in favor of this system of underpaying younger players so more money is available for the established players. Though is everyone should “pay their dues” just like they did.
Interesting fact to maybe only me (Peter King’d) – membership dues in the union are $50 PER DAY for the season. That’s a crap load of money.
"You promised me, Eckstein, that if I followed you, you would walk with me always. But I noticed that during the most trying periods of my life, there have only been one set of prints in the sand. Why, when I have needed you most, have you not been there for me?" David Eckstein replied, "Because my little legs had gotten tired, and you were carrying me." And I looked down and saw that I was still carrying David Eckstein.
Then he grounded out weakly to second.
I'm glad a few folks read the captions
by Adam J. Morris on Jan 21, 2010 1:01 PM CST up reply actions
/ feeling old
'Waiting for a girl and she gets me into fights
Waiting for a girl we get drunk on Friday night'
who steals steve earles song style repeatedly
I can't help it. I’m an asshole.
-brettgardner on Jul 7, 2009 10:55 PM EDT
oops charlie robison? robeson? whatever...
I can't help it. I’m an asshole.
-brettgardner on Jul 7, 2009 10:55 PM EDT
Charlie Robison > Chris Robinson
"Dying ain't hard. It’s living in the wake of a thorough public humiliation that’s hard.--JDT217
Internet greatness http://www.lonestarball.com/2009/11/10/1125340/will-carroll-calls-out-josey-wales
YOU NEED A REMEDY!
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
by Cecilio's Guante on Jan 21, 2010 1:07 PM CST up reply actions
Lead singer for "The Black Crowes"
Southern Rock outfit who were huge in the early-mid 90’s.
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
by Cecilio's Guante on Jan 21, 2010 1:34 PM CST up reply actions
I'da figured you a Black Crowes fan.
Got that Faces/Stones sound.
'Waiting for a girl and she gets me into fights
Waiting for a girl we get drunk on Friday night'
When I went to college
as a music major I focused almost entirely on classical music and almost all of pop music released since then has just flown by me in a blur. I’m shockingly ignorant of most of pop culture since about 1990.
G G G E-flat_______ F F F D__________....
Holy shit, he does look like Lincecum...
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
by Cecilio's Guante on Jan 21, 2010 1:44 PM CST up reply actions
I've had people complain
about my Life is a Beach poster because it is so close to the other word…
"calmer than you are dude" Walter (Big Lebowski)
by Arlington Stadium Legend on Jan 21, 2010 12:16 PM CST reply actions
Umm, that's dangerously close to the word bitch isn't it?
and you know between you and me I think it’s a stitch, but some of the other employees found it offensive.
Look at the comments under Jeff Wilson's blog post on dallasnews.com. What a bunch of rocket scientists.- Keith Law
Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal!
His example is stupid
because that hypothetical situation still allows that person to leave that job if he can find another that pays him more. There aren’t many other jobs in the world where you lock your salary in 3-6 years in advance and just hope later on you are still being paid your market value. If a player gets to year 4 of that deal and he is vastly underpaid, his only choice is to holdout and hope they decide to pay him more.
"calmer than you are dude" Walter (Big Lebowski)
by Arlington Stadium Legend on Jan 21, 2010 12:19 PM CST reply actions
Don't know which pic is worse..
..this or that Sosa one.
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
by Cecilio's Guante on Jan 21, 2010 1:08 PM CST reply actions
Gabby Hayes?
(Wife) "So what do you want to watch on the T.V.? UFC or porn?"
(Husband) "Hmm... well, porn, I guess."
woops
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
by Cecilio's Guante on Jan 21, 2010 1:34 PM CST up reply actions
Gibby
Son of Mr. Peppermint!
"To have the judgment and wisdom and personal touch of Nolan Ryan, and the tremendous group that JD has assembled, I think the Rangers on the baseball side are the envy of every franchise in baseball in terms of talent."
-- Chuck Greenberg
Who was in my room last night?
I can't help it. I’m an asshole.
-brettgardner on Jul 7, 2009 10:55 PM EDT
Agree that the story is stupid and lazy.
I imagine, though, that Caple thinks he’s taking the side of the fans, not the owners, even though it’s a sentiment the owners (all billionaires themselves) must share. But I also think Caple and other writers are missing what really angers fans. For me anyway, I can totally understand trying to get paid as much as possible, it’s the BS you hear from players that pisses me off, like “It’s not about the money, i just want to win,” yet you never see one of them turn down a richer offer to play with a team more likely to win. I appreciated Padzilla’s candor when asked who he would sign with as a free agent, he said ‘the team that pays me the most money." It also pisses me off when a player makes statements that seem so out of touch with what the average fan must experience, like Milton Bradley complaining about not getting long term deals when he’s getting paid 5 million for his year in Texas. Personally, I’ve never been pissed at a player or agent for the figure they submit in an arbitration hearing. I do find it an interesting process though, because sometimes one of the parties looks to be way off. And on that note, why are the Ranger’s only offering Feldman 2.05 mil? If they go to arbitration I bet Feldman wins.
In that pic
he looks like the annoying kid from Dazed and Confused. He just needs to get paddled by 4 seniors after pitching his team to a W to make it so…
"calmer than you are dude" Walter (Big Lebowski)
by Arlington Stadium Legend on Jan 21, 2010 1:55 PM CST reply actions
Great scene
“Good game”
“Whatever”
'Waiting for a girl and she gets me into fights
Waiting for a girl we get drunk on Friday night'
Do us a favor
and leave through the left field gate. You know you’re going down, no need to take the rest of us down with you…
"calmer than you are dude" Walter (Big Lebowski)
by Arlington Stadium Legend on Jan 21, 2010 1:59 PM CST up reply actions
"calmer than you are dude" Walter (Big Lebowski)
by Arlington Stadium Legend on Jan 21, 2010 1:57 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
First, find a dinosaur picture...
then ask LSJ for the next step.
by bhudson on Jan 21, 2010 2:05 PM CST up reply actions 1 recs
Oh how I miss the days of vintage Finnerty when you could call him out on idiotic prospect rankings and his response was to criticize your picture-posing skills on GDTs
"Dying ain't hard. It’s living in the wake of a thorough public humiliation that’s hard.--JDT217
Internet greatness http://www.lonestarball.com/2009/11/10/1125340/will-carroll-calls-out-josey-wales
ha.
I don’t think this is directed at me…it would be pretty damn random if it was…but I think I literally followed this formula ver batim when I posted my first LSB pic. Ha. I’m such a generic jackass LSB’er :)
"...like some Russian priest fresh off a bottle of potato vodka and a box of cigars." -t ball
by rangerdanger on Jan 22, 2010 1:27 AM CST up reply actions
save the link
than hit the little tree icon, paste the link and hit post
"calmer than you are dude" Walter (Big Lebowski)
by Arlington Stadium Legend on Jan 21, 2010 2:06 PM CST up reply actions
This one
"Back on the scene, with a gangsta lean" RW
"When you have a weapon on your shoulder like he has, you can be cool." RW on Perez
And the little bastard threw it for a swinging strike three in a 3-2 count. He’s blessed. And ballsy.
You can change the sizing too, B3J
<img width=150 src=“http://”/>
Insert the bolded part above to change size so oc won’t get pissy :)
"Back on the scene, with a gangsta lean" RW
"When you have a weapon on your shoulder like he has, you can be cool." RW on Perez
And the little bastard threw it for a swinging strike three in a 3-2 count. He’s blessed. And ballsy.
assimilance
assimilance.
"...like some Russian priest fresh off a bottle of potato vodka and a box of cigars." -t ball
by rangerdanger on Jan 22, 2010 1:28 AM CST up reply actions
Ugh...the nose grabber? Almost ruined that movie for me.
"Sometimes you just want to sit back and watch somebody throw 100." - Jeff Passan on Neftali Feliz
"Baseball's all that's real" - JB
by Cecilio's Guante on Jan 21, 2010 2:14 PM CST up reply actions
New 24 drinking game
Take a drink every time Jack mentions his flight to LA.
"Back on the scene, with a gangsta lean" RW
"When you have a weapon on your shoulder like he has, you can be cool." RW on Perez
And the little bastard threw it for a swinging strike three in a 3-2 count. He’s blessed. And ballsy.
Welcome to our Union bashing world!
Where employee’s (who actually make the products and/or perform the services) get bashed and also small compensation, while owners/CEO’s get the gravy!
Read the other day….1980 CEO’s made 34 times what their average employee earned.
2008……CEO’s made 332 times the salary of the average worker.
Draw your own conclusions.
Are you sticking up for unions?
Just answer one questions, what are the 2 of the most struggling industries in the US?? Auto and Airline? What do they have in common?
Elvis has "shook up" Arlington!!
Awfully simplistic
to infer that those two industries are struggling because of unions. Hardly the only issue facing either, and it does nothing to refute the point about the CEO pay being way out of whack.
G G G E-flat_______ F F F D__________....
Though CEO's probably make less now than in the 80's
Its just that the nature of their compensation has changed. Salaries up, stock options down. Other perk’s removed. Since you now have to pay taxes on even non-salary compensation for employees (of which a CEO is an employee), there’s no incentive to provide compensation for CEO’s above and beyond their salaries.
That being said, the MLBPA (and other sports unions) are unique among unions. Most unions promote pay scales which help struggling employees get paid sums which they would otherwise not get in a true free market. In sports, unions promote free agency to allow employees access to free market salaries. A Lawyer who scored a $100 million dollar judgement for his firm would get a $10-20 million dollar fee for that judgement, and so on. Doctors routinely make 7 figures a year, and they don’t even have to be the top doctors out there. Most teachers get screwed, but there are some college proffessors who make good money. Lincecum is the best pitcher in the NL over the past 2 years. he should be compensated as such.
Oh my god! What can it be? We're all doomed! Who's flying this thing?
-Wash
Uncompetetive
business model!
In vino, veritas
Here's the point:
Joel Pinero just signed for 2 years at $16 million. Averaging, that’s $8 million per year.
The Giants have said that Tim Lincecum should make $8 million for next year.
Was Lincecum better than Pinero?
Well, same number of wins, same number of starts. ok. Lincecum == Pinero.
(ERA? Strikeouts? SHHHHHHHHH I’m trying to make a point here…..)
Oh my god! What can it be? We're all doomed! Who's flying this thing?
-Wash
This time of year?
Wait til day 2 of the season when every yahoo can point out to us that (insert player who went deep twice on opening day) is on pace for 324 home runs.
Life begins on opening day.
Oh my god! What can it be? We're all doomed! Who's flying this thing?
-Wash
I remember when Al Oliver did that in '83.
As a little kid I played the 324 in my head with great joy.
'Waiting for a girl and she gets me into fights
Waiting for a girl we get drunk on Friday night'
Arbitration
Fair case Adam makes on Lincecum being able to gain more if he were on the open market, but…
Lincecum is an outlier. If you look at total dollars received for all players through the arb process, they do gain substantially more.
Ask this…
Why do you think Marvin Miller didn’t want players to simply all be free agents? The system is designed on the arb side to allow increases that do not take market correction into account, and are tied to a period of time. This creates the boost for all players in the system. Allowing all players to hit the open market would depress their value due to lower demand.
While admittedly, editors gave the article more pop, below is my first of three articles for Yahoo Sports on the topic:
your link goes to an article about the Royals' Gordon and Tejeda
securing 1-year deals before going to an arbitration hearing. there may be some irony in that tale.
A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.
Remember that one time we thought Robinson Tejeda was going to be good?
"Dying ain't hard. It’s living in the wake of a thorough public humiliation that’s hard.--JDT217
Internet greatness http://www.lonestarball.com/2009/11/10/1125340/will-carroll-calls-out-josey-wales
Robinson Tejeda
Edison Volquez and of course Colby Lewis
Those were the days, weren’t they :)
A baseball game is simply a nervous breakdown divided into nine innings.
Look forward to the other installments
Miller should be in the Hall of Fame.
G G G E-flat_______ F F F D__________....
Thats funny
I could have sworn Adam and the LSB hive mind started hate campaigns against Mark Teixeira, Pudge Rodriguez, Mike Young, and any other player they didn’t like for signing big free agent contracts.
But now AJM bemoans the poor players who dont get to “market their services to any team”. I guess so, should they sign with another team with a higher offer, AJM can slander and criticize them as greedy fatcats ala Mark Teixeira, etc.
yeah this reminds me of my waiter buddy who rails on unions for ruining the world
and i was like, “dude, dont you make like $2.16 and hour?” and he was like, “yeah” and then i asked him. “dont you think youd make more than that if you and every waiter were in a union”
to which he looked back at me confused and carried on his rant about how unions were ruining the world.
I can't help it. I’m an asshole.
-brettgardner on Jul 7, 2009 10:55 PM EDT
Ha.
Adam fucking hammered that dude.
I would love to get Caple on here to publicly respond to this blood letting.
Just once, I would like to see the big boys duke it out. Just once.
“Intellectual dishonesty.” Ha. Ouch.
"...like some Russian priest fresh off a bottle of potato vodka and a box of cigars." -t ball
Lincecum looks like Maggie Gyllenhal
And that’s not a good thing.
Greetings from the Humungus, the Ruler of the Wasteland, the Ayatollah of Rock and Roll-A. I laugh at your puny plans.
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