Collusion II

[NYYFAN]

I wont be surprised if the players sue MLB with another "collusion" complaint.

The owners will use the new "TAXes" as a way to fight the charge...

Comments?

[Michaels07]

Give it another two weeks and see how it breaks.

[KLJ]

too early for that kind of talk....

[BobbyMurcerFan]

[rlsuth]

I very much doubt that the players will have a leg to stand on this time around.

Luxury tax that they agreed to and a declining economy. Very powerful weapons for the owners to fight that sort of charge.

[patrick.o]

Originally posted by rlsuth
I very much doubt that the players will have a leg to stand on this time around.

Me, too, and unlike last time I doubt that there is really any collusion going on. Teams are trying to figure out what the new deal means and the big spenders who are usually plucking guys up are being much more careful now. Soon a few of the bigger free agents like Thome, Glavine, Maddox, Clemens, and Matsui will be signed and players and teams alike will start to get a clearer idea of what the new market value is. Then the smaller salary teams will become active and the lesser free agents will start to drop. I anticipate that once a few guys are signed it will ignite a flurry of signings over a few weeks and then things will die back down.

[Buzah!]

teams can sign players without losing draft choices. That's the delay.

[Mr. Mxylsplk]

Not a chance.

[WIZ]

The owners are using the luxury tax threshold as a soft cap.It's only a matter of time before the union nails them again.If the owners say it's the economy they'll be required to open up their books to prove their claim.This will be a slam dunk for the players.

[clacson]

Of course, it doesn't help the owners when David Glass says that he's lowering payroll by $10 million even though he's going to see an increase in revenue sharing received.

Mind you, the Royals are going nowhere fast, and in a strict baseball sense, Glass might as well lower payroll but Royals fans won't see it that way......

There won't be many excuses for the owners when time comes along for a new CBA if certain teams fail to improve. I just hope the players are smart enough to fight them.

[YankeePride1967]

Originally posted by NYYFAN
I wont be surprised if the players sue MLB with another "collusion" complaint.

The owners will use the new "TAXes" as a way to fight the charge...

Comments?

It depends on the reason for the non-action. Did the owners get together or did each team individually decide? If they did it individually, it's not collusion.

[Stick Michael]

Originally posted by patrick.o
I doubt that there is really any collusion going on. Teams are trying to figure out what the new deal means and the big spenders who are usually plucking guys up are being much more careful now. Soon a few of the bigger free agents like Thome, Glavine, Maddox, Clemens, and Matsui will be signed and players and teams alike will start to get a clearer idea of what the new market value is...once a few guys are signed it will ignite a flurry of signings over a few weeks

Perfectly said, Patrick. Right now teams are just taking a wait-and-see approach with MLB's new CBA in place since no bigtime free agent has set the market yet. Like you said, once the precadent is set a flurry of moves will almost surely follow. Expect most, if not all, highly sought after free agents to be signed before Christmas.

James

[NYYFAN]

I saw mention of the "C" word in an article today...

So I bumped this back up...

[Spiker]

All it would take for MLB to be back in trouble with the players is for the commissioner to use his powers as both the commissioner and de facto owner of the Expos to be found fiddling around. For example, if the technicality that kept Contreras from being declared a free agent is suspicious. And evidence emerges that Selig ordered Minaya to postpone any trading until after the Dec. 20 deadline for tendering arbitration so as to flood the market with free agents, then these guys could be trouble for a third time.
However, you would think they'd finally get this colluding stuff down by now. I mean how hard can it be?
But does anybody really doubt that's what's going on?

[Carissa]

Something fishy?
http://foxsports.lycos.com/content/v...ntentId=806000

Is there some funny business going on with the late budget decision which Major League Baseball gave to the Expos? Like, maybe it is a deliberate attempt to confound the trading and free agent markets?

"I guess (their budget) came with the turkey," said Boras, considered the game's most influential agent and very vocal in the players union.

Boras stopped short of calling it collusion ("that's yet to be determined"), but said it was "always something you have to be guarded about."

Whether it was collusion or not, waiting for Montreal to get its budget and jump into the trade market with top-notch players has certainly slowed the usual winter pace.

[Murcer'swerebest]

Yeah, collusion . . sure. Witnesses for the defense, Jim Thome, Tom Glavine, Mike Remlinger, Chris Hammond, Mike Stanton, Marquis Grissom, Edgardo Alfonzo and Ray Durham. Case dismissed.

[NYYFAN]

Originally posted by Murcer'swerebest
Yeah, collusion . . sure. Witnesses for the defense, Jim Thome, Tom Glavine, Mike Remlinger, Chris Hammond, Mike Stanton, Marquis Grissom, Edgardo Alfonzo and Ray Durham. Case dismissed.

Players were signed during Collusion I also...