Union chief Tony Clark dropped the mic Saturday night when he declared to his MLB adversaries, "Tell us when and where" to show up for work.
And the timeframe? Clark left that up to his lead negotiator, Bruce Meyer, who basically told MLB to hurry things up in another scathing letter exchange with deputy commissioner Dan Halem.
"If it is your intention to unilaterally impose a season, we again request that you inform us and our members of how many games you intend to play and when and where players should report," Meyer wrote in the Saturday letter obtained by Newsday. "It is unfair to leave players and the fans hanging at this point, and further delay risks compromising health and safety.
"We demand that you inform us of your plans by close of business on Monday, June 15."
That final sentence had to be a little knife twist, after MLB's last two proposals came with deadlines attached. Since the Players Association believes the owners have purposely tried to stall on starting this truncated season, in order to run out the clock and limit the number of games, Meyer made sure to drive home that point.
And judging by what's transpired already, the spiteful behavior from both sides, there is every reason to expect that commissioner Rob Manfred will ignore Meyer's request and do whatever the heck he wants as far as making a schedule.
But Manfred, and his 30 bosses, are in a tough spot right now. Do they really want to gut this season to a bare minimum of 48 games, as Manfred threatened, and use it as financial weapon against the players? Manfred has every right to do so, under the hotly-contested March 26 agreement, and the owners must be furious after Clark's power move. Would they burn down this season, and subject themselves to public scorn from the seething fans, just to make sure the players are scorched in the process?
Clark dared them to Saturday night when he called Manfred's bluff. By staying unified, the Players Association empowered Clark to go all-in, despite the risk of leaving hundreds of millions on the table without a deal. That boxed in the owners, who now are left with nothing but bad choices when it comes to their bottom line.
Do the owners urge Manfred retaliate by giving everyone less baseball? Strip the 2020 season to the studs and let the players earn as little as possible by scheduling 48 games? That would be a dangerously short-sighted choice. But the owners are taking a massive financial hit, due to the pandemic robbing them of gate revenues this year, and they are businessmen first, after all.
The other option? The owners suddenly don't sound as broke as they initially let on and somehow find the money to stage a 72-game season, despite having to pay those 100% prorated salaries. If the owners are to be believed, coming up with that type of cash could hurt them through the 2021 season _ curiously enough, right when the CBA expires. Maybe it would help to think of this as a long-term investment in baseball _ sort of like the new $3.3 billion deal with Turner Sports that leaked out Saturday _ while providing a stimulus package that could repair the sport.
Not only that, if Manfred floats the idea of a 72-game season, at full pay, it's possible the union could be coerced back to an agreement, which would bring significant benefits otherwise lost if the commissioner acts independently. The union's approval means expanded playoffs with as many as 16 teams (paying more than $800M to the owners) and necessary cooperation on things like mic'd up players. In the big picture, some goodwill couldn't hurt, either.
But that feels like too much to ask of these bitter foes, and if the owners were only willing to go to 72 games Friday at a guaranteed 70% rate, it's logical to see them dropping that number significantly. MLB already has determined that the regular season needs to end by Sept. 27 in order for the playoffs to be completed by Halloween and avoid a potential second wave of the coronavirus.
The date for Opening Day remains fluid, however, depending on the number of games. Friday's proposal suggested July 14, but that was for 72 games, and anything in the 50-range could delay the start until Aug. 1. Not surprisingly, the Players Association remains convinced that MLB's sole motivation for the October finish is to limit salaries.
"We believe your position is part and parcel of your general bad faith determination to play as few games as possible to punish players for refusing to capitulate to MLB's demands for massive pay cuts," Meyer wrote. "Players remain united in their stance that a day's work is worth a day's pay, particularly in a situation where players and their families are being asked to take on additional burdens and risks. Given your continued insistence on hundreds of millions of dollars of additional pay reductions, we assume these negotiations are at an end."
Now it's Manfred turn at the microphone. He guaranteed baseball this summer. Finally, we'll see how much.
