Blog post

October 25, 2006 [LINK / comment]

MLB labor contract renewed

Bud Selig and Don Fehr were all smiles at the announcement of the five-year renewal of the collective bargaining agreement between MLB and the Players Association. It is the longest such agreement ever reached. The terms appear to be very complex, essentially a formula for ensuring that players and owners share in the wealth generated by the sport. There will be steady increases in minimum salaries, and in the thresholds to which the competitive balance tax applies. (The tax rate itself will stay the same, so Mr. Steinbrenner can rest easy.) As anyone who has studied Econ 101 knows, it is a flagrant violation of the principles of market economics, insulating both parties from the vicissitudes of supply and demand. Of course, a major part of the contract was an extension of the drug testing provisions beyond the existing 2008 end point. Also, "There will be no contraction during the term of the agreement." Selig boasted that this is baseball's "golden era," but the reason the economic trends are so good right now is because of the enormous public sector subsidy through all the recent stadium construction. For all the taxpayer money that has been spent, the players and owners sure as hell had better come to an agreement! See MLB.com.

Carpenter nails Detroit

The Cardinals' premier starter Chris Carpenter prevented the Tigers from scoring any runs last night, giving up only three hits in eight innings. Two of those hits were from Sean Casey, who had injured his calf muscle two weeks ago. Facing Jeff Suppan tonight (weather permitting), the Tigers are in a much more difficult position than most people had expected last week. They had the best win-loss record in road games this year (49-32), and now we'll see whether they can live up to that achievement.

Girardi passes on the Nationals

Joe Girardi, who managed the Marlins this year, announced he doesn't want to manage for the Washington Nationals next year, citing "family reasons." (Perhaps, but that's what they all say.) See Washington Post. Another leading candidate, Braves coach Terry Pendleton, has withdrawn his name from consideration as well.