TORONTO – Now that we’re mired in the muck, waiting for commissioner Rob Manfred to impose some form of ignominious season, it’s time to really re-evaluate the motives at play between Major League Baseball’s owners and their players.
Because, come on.
A full-scale labour fight at this point in time, amid a global pandemic that has ravaged economies, triggered unprecedented job losses and disrupted nearly every aspect of daily life? Throwing away an opportunity to dominate the sports market by eviscerating any and all goodwill toward the game in the process? Bickering over dollars and power after George Floyd’s death under a white police officer’s knee sparked a racial justice movement?
Like, read the room fellas.
Clearly, I was wrong to have believed all along that rational thought would ultimately prevail, and that the sides were simply engaged in the usual rhetoric inherent to such matters. At each juncture, the sides methodically danced around a middle ground, and I was certain the sparring was nothing more than one testing the other, looking for soft spots to be used in looming talks for the next collective bargaining agreement.
Seems not, and, to be clear, there’s a reasonable middle ground here: somewhere around 70-80 games, expanded playoffs, added jewel events and a touch of salary relief in exchange for like value, be it deferrals or something more creative like a share of playoff revenue that would have pushed player compensation beyond expected levels, or arbitration after two years rather than three.
Hence, if this was really about surviving the impact of COVID-19 for the owners, they would have landed there, quietly working out details behind the scenes without engaging in weeks of damaging public self-flagellation.
Instead, MLB leaked plans to offer a revenue share proposal that was essentially a salary cap, scratched that for tiered salary reductions that would pit players against each other, and then pushed for run-of-the-mill pay cuts, using the loss of gate revenue as justification.
Given the circumstances, players association head Tony Clark, in a statement Saturday night, had little choice but to essentially dare Manfred to follow through on threats to unilaterally set the schedule for a 2020 season.
Clark rightly pointed to the pro-rated salaries players agreed to in March, a concession that pushes into the billions, and argued further “concessions are unwarranted, would be fundamentally unfair to players, and that our sport deserves the fullest 2020 season possible.”
MLB responded a couple of hours later, saying, “we will evaluate the union’s refusal to adhere to the terms of the March agreement, and after consulting with ownership, determine the best course to bring baseball back to our fans.”
Wow. How magnanimous of them.
Disagreement over the March agreement that was supposed to establish a road map through the pandemic is at the heart of the dispute, and the differing interpretations of it have progressively spiked the acrimony, as Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich of The Athleticdocument so well.
Still, without getting too deep into the weeds over the legalese in question — even with all the leaks, we’re still working with only a partial picture — it’s worth asking what’s really driving the owners side here?
Why are they willing to risk the health of an industry that generated a record $10.7 billion in revenue in 2019, up from $10.3 billion the year before, according to Forbes, to save a few hundred million now?
The obvious answer all along, in my estimation, was that this was all happening with an eye toward the next round of collective bargaining, with the current deal set to expire after the 2021 season. Another factor is anything agreed to now sets a precedent for next year, when restrictions on public gatherings may again lead to games before empty stadiums.
Neither, however, justifies this current end, in which the owners spend weeks trying to turn the public against the players — the sole engine of their business – by painting them as greedy malcontents refusing to give fans the game they so desperately want.
Hate them now, spend-to-watch-them later is a pretty weird flex.
Even in Saturday’s statement, MLB sought to foment resentment between club employees and players, saying “the MLBPA’s position that players are entitled to virtually all the revenue from a 2020 season played without fans is not fair to the thousands of other baseball employees that clubs and our office are supporting financially during this very difficult 2020 season.”
Just gross, and there’s just no way to rationalize such premeditated behaviour as sensible unless a more nefarious dynamic is at work.
Manfred is being largely viewed as the villain in all this, but it’s worth remembering that he’s an employee of the owners, not their taskmaster. He takes their direction and executes their will, and that’s where the motive question really becomes pivotal.
Which owners are not only pushing for, but carrying the day in driving this confrontational agenda, and what do they really want?
In a radio appearance with Arizona Sports 98.7, Diamondbacks owner and managing general partner Ken Kendrick argued that a revenue-sharing model would have prevented all the current squabbling and the NHL, NFL and NBA — each capped — operate under the better model.
“Our system is built around players not having any high-water mark in what they can earn. What that generates is a very few players making even more money, frankly at expense of their brothers,” Kendrick said. “Why they don’t see that as reality and why they are adamant about not building a system, you know, with proper controls on downside and upside and overall caps — there’s a lot of money to be shared.”
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Is that a window into the real end? That owners are determined to try and break the union and get them to submit to a cap? Are they simply trying to further wear down Clark — weakened after getting soundly beaten in the last CBA — so they can have their way with him two Decembers from now?
Or is it worse?
There are legitimate cash-flow issues for teams, who continue to incur expenses without any revenue coming in. According to Forbes, MLB generated roughly $4.1 billion in gate and attendance-related revenue last year, which means they’ll take a hit of about 40 per cent if they play without fans all season.
It’s possible that the current financial pressures, in concert with issues in their other businesses, may be too much for some owners to carry. Some teams need the local revenue more than others — only the NFL can shut its doors and still make money thanks to its TV contracts — and if some are fighting for survival, player concessions are a sound way to prop up franchise values.
That’s so why it’s rich for owners to essentially tell players, “trust us, we can’t afford to pay you,” but have refused to provide real proof of financial hardship.
Ben Nicholson-Smith is Sportsnet’s baseball editor. Arden Zwelling is a senior writer. Together, they bring you the most in-depth Blue Jays podcast in the league, covering off all the latest news with opinion and analysis, as well as interviews with other insiders and team members.
Remember that it was former Toronto Blue Jays president Paul Beeston who once said:
“Anyone who quotes profits of a baseball club is missing the point. Under generally accepted accounting principles, I can turn a $4 million profit into a $2 million loss, and I can get every national accounting firm to agree with me.”
Remember, too, that it’s the owners who for years suppressed salaries, fought free agency, fought the formation of the union, twice illegally colluded against free agents and, in their zeal for a salary cap, blew up what was shaping up to be a special 1994 season.
That summer, they cost Tony Gwynn a shot at .400 (he was batting .394 when the players strike started Aug. 12), Matt Williams the chance to surpass Roger Maris’s record of 61 home runs four years before Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa did (he was at 43), and the Montreal Expos the opportunity at a post-season run that might have altered the franchise’s trajectory.
A quarter-century later, with the pandemic demanding more co-operation than ever, the owners are at it again. Until it’s clear exactly what they’re up to, the players are right to not trust them, and to galvanize for a fight to protect all that they’ve earned.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
Inter Milan winger Tajon Buchanan, recovered from a broken leg suffered in training at this summer’s Copa America, is back in Jesse Marsch’s Canada squad for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Suriname.
The 25-year-old from Brampton, Ont., underwent surgery July 3 to repair a fractured tibia in Texas.
Canada, ranked 35th in the world, plays No. 136 Suriname on Nov. 15 in Paramaribo. The second leg of the aggregate series is four days later at Toronto’s BMO Field.
There is also a return for veteran winger Junior Hoilett, who last played for Canada in June in a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands in Marsch’s debut at the Canadian helm. The 34-year-old from Brampton, now with Scotland’s Hibernian, has 15 goals in 63 senior appearances for Canada.
Midfielder Ismael Kone, recovered from an ankle injury sustained on club duty with France’s Marseille, also returns. He missed Canada’s last three matches since the fourth-place Copa America loss to Uruguay in July.
But Canada will be without centre back Derek Cornelius, who exited Marseille’s win Sunday over Nantes on a stretcher after suffering an apparent rib injury.
The Canadian men will prepare for Suriname next week at a camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
“We are looking forward to getting the group together again with the mindset that there is a trophy on the line,” Marsch said in a statement. “We want to end 2024 the right way with two excellent performances against a competitive Suriname squad and continue building on our tremendous growth this past summer.”
The quarterfinal winners advance to the Nations League Finals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., with the two semifinals scheduled for March 20 and the final and third-place playoff March 23, and qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Thirteen of the 23 players on the Canadian roster are 25 or younger, with 19-year-old defender Jamie Knight-Lebel, currently playing for England’s Crewe Alexandra on loan from Bristol City, the youngest.
Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies captains the side with Stephen Eustaquio, Jonathan Osorio, Richie Laryea, Alistair Johnston and Kamal Miller adding veteran support.
Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Theo Bair are joined in attack by Minnesota United’s Tani Oluwaseyi.
Niko Sigur, a 21-year-old midfielder with Croatia’s Hadjuk Split, continues in the squad after making his debut in the September friendly against Mexico.
Suriname made it to the Nations League quarterfinals by finishing second to Costa Rica in Group A of the Nations League, ahead of No. 104 Guatemala, No. 161 Guyana and unranked Martinique and Guadeloupe.
“A good team,” Osorio said of Suriname. “These games are always tricky and they’re not easy at all … Suriname is a (former) Dutch colony and they’ll have Dutch players playing at high levels.”
“They won’t be someone we overlook at all,” added the Toronto FC captain, who has 81 Canada caps to his credit.
Located on the northeast coast of South America between Guyana and French Guiana, Suriname was granted independence in 1975 by the Netherlands.
Canada has faced Suriname twice before, both in World Cup qualifying play, winning 4-0 in suburban Chicago in June 2021 and 2-1 in Mexico City in October 1977.
The Canadian men, along with Mexico, the United States and Panama, received a bye into the final eight of the CONCACAF Nations League.
Canada, No. 2 in the CONCACAF rankings, drew Suriname as the best-placed runner-up from League A play.
Canada lost to Jamaica in last year’s Nations League quarterfinal, ousted on the away-goals rule after the series ended in a 4-4 draw. The Canadians lost 2-0 to the U.S. in the final of the 2022-23 tournament and finished fifth in 2019-20.
Canada defeated Panama 2-1 last time out, in an Oct. 15 friendly in Toronto.
Goalkeepers Maxime Crepeau and Jonathan Sirois, defenders Joel Waterman, Laryea and Miller and Osorio took part in a pre-camp this week in Toronto for North America-based players.
Canada Roster
Goalkeepers: Maxime Crepeau, Portland Timbers (MLS); Jonathan Sirois, CF Montreal (MLS); Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota United FC (MLS).
Defenders: Moise Bombito, OGC Nice (France); Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich (Germany); Richie Laryea, Toronto FC (MLS); Alistair Johnston, Celtic (Scotland); Jamie Knight-Lebel. Crewe Alexandra, on loan from Bristol City (England); Kamal Miller, Portland Timbers (MLS); Joel Waterman, CF Montreal (MLS).
Midfielders: Ali Ahmed. Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS); Tajon Buchanan, Inter Milan (Italy); Mathieu Choiniere, Grasshopper Zurich (Switzerland); Stephen Eustaquio, FC Porto (Portugal); Junior Hoilett, Hibernian FC (Scotland); Ismael Kone, Olympique Marseille (France); Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC (MLS); Jacob Shaffelburg, Nashville SC (MLS); Niko Sigur, Hadjuk Split (Croatia).
Forwards: Theo Bair, AJ Auxerre (France); Jonathan David, LOSC Lille (France); Cyle Larin, RCD Mallorca (Spain); Tani Oluwaseyi, Minnesota United (MLS).
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
