Baseball Labor Contract Reached

[terminator]

Remembering how disruptive the stoppages were before, it's nice to know we can go straight to thinking about 2007 now . . .

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061024/...ne/bbo_labor_1

Baseball officials briefed owners on details of their new labor contract Tuesday and planned to make the agreement public before Game 3 of the World Series.

Commissioner Bud Selig and union head Donald Fehr were to appear at a news conference Tuesday night in Busch Stadium. The five-year contract, which runs through the 2011 season, is subject to ratification by both sides.

Lawyers struck the deal last Friday night and Saturday during negotiations in New York, then worked on putting it in writing.

The current deal, reached in August 2002, is set to expire Dec. 19. After eight work stoppages between 1972 and 1995, baseball will be assured of 16 years of labor peace.

The deal continues, with minor modifications, existing luxury tax and revenue-sharing rules, provisions that funneled money from large-market teams to their competitors. Some amateur draft pick compensation for free agents who sign with new teams will be eliminated.

With the new labor contract, baseball's drug-testing rules also will be extended through the 2011 season. When the sides agreed to toughened drug-testing last November, they said that deal would run through the next labor contract.

[George Foster]

Not getting draft picks for free agent signings is just another sign that Bud could care less about the small markets. This will force small markets who have some sort of shot still in July, to move their best players to get something in return, if they are in the last year of their contract. Boston, Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, etc. have Bud right were the want him...in their hip pockets

[Patrick Bateman]

Originally Posted by George Foster

Not getting draft picks for free agent signings is just another sign that Bud could care less about the small markets. This will force small markets who have some sort of shot still in July, to move their best players to get something in return, if they are in the last year of their contract. Boston, Yankees, Mets, Dodgers, etc. have Bud right were the want him...in their hip pockets

Usually it's the teams that sign the big FAs benefit from the draft pick compensation since they can afford to let go of a big FA and go ahead and sign another one.

I don't think this will hurt the small market teams too much.

[George Foster]

Originally Posted by Austin Kearns

Usually it's the teams that sign the big FAs benefit from the draft pick compensation since they can afford to let go of a big FA and go ahead and sign another one.

I don't think this will hurt the small market teams too much.

At least with the old agreement, the smaller teams got something...now they won't.

[Patrick Bateman]

Originally Posted by George Foster

At least with the old agreement, the smaller teams got something...now they won't.

Then they can trade FAs to be before they hit the market at the deadline.

I don't think it will hurt smaller markets too much, and like I said, the large market teams benefitted too.

[Jr's Boy]

Once again the players control all the leverage in the negotiations.The inmates are still running the asylum,and still the only pro sports league with no salary cap.