Curt Flood Would be Proud

As I was wandering around the web this morning, I came across an article at The Hardball Times that I think gives an interesting view of free agency from a different perspective. I liked it, so I figured it was worth a link. Head here: Who Wants to Subsidize a Billionaire? My favorite part is below:

It was this set of circumstances caused that Jim Pohlad [son of Twins' owner Carl Pohlad] to utter the statement: “There's loyalty and wanting to stay in Minnesota, and it varies from player to player.” What did Pohlad mean by this? In all practical terms in meant that Santana’s loyalty should translate into accepting less money than he is worth in baseball’s marketplace.

If Santana accepted this route, what would happen in the grand scheme of things—who benefits? Will the savings cause prices to watch Twins games to go down?

No.

Will it reduce the costs of going to games in the new park?

No.

Will your cable/satellite package that carries Twins games go down?

No.

Will the extra money be ploughed back into the roster?

Possible, but the Pohlad family’s track record indicates otherwise.

What then happens to the money Santana forgoes?

It goes right back into the pockets of the Pohlad family.

What the Pohlads are saying in effect is that the loyalty means that a kid from Venezuela who worked at his profession for 14 years to get to this point in his life should subsidize one of the wealthiest men in one of the richest countries on the planet.

The rest of the article is worth a read if for no other reason than to think about exactly what might go into your favorite team not re-signing a star player.

Thoughts...

I think Ron Darling is growing on me. I usually tune out announcers, but I find his ability to refer to baseball in the terms of the mid-1990's (California Angels, Mile High Stadium, etc.) charming. That said, if he's done with TBS come the end of the Cubs-Diamondbacks series, I won't be upset.

As for this blog, I've got a few ideas based on things I've already posted that I will be compiling and writing about. I'm not sure exactly when they'll be ready, but soon. I've also got a couple of ideas for regular posts, so those will be up shortly. I'm getting things organized and I should have regular updates again soon. In the meantime, if you're interested in the Brewers' won-loss record broken down in far too many ways, check out my recent diary on Brew Crew Ball.

MLB Tiebreaker Procedures

While hunting for the rules governing three-way tiebreakers in baseball, I came across a press release from 2003 outlining the procedures for dealing with ties. Given baseball's traditionally glacial speed when it comes to rule changes, I'm sure it still applies. You can find it here or under "MLB Tiebreaker Procedures" on the links list on the sidebar.

Midwest Diamond Report

I'm honored to report my blog has warranted a link at Midwest Diamond Report, Gregg Hoffman's current Midwest baseball and baseball history blog. For those perhaps unfamiliar with his name, Mr. Hoffman is a Milwaukee journalist with nearly four decades of experience. He can usually be found in the press box at Brewers home games. He also is the author of multiple books, not least of which is Down in the Valley, chronicling the 48-year history of Milwaukee County Stadium. He also runs Old School Collectibles, a website specializing in sports memorabilia and other items from halcyon days gone by.

Please give his sites a gander and a big thank you goes out to Mr. Hoffman for dropping the first link to my site out there on the Internet.