I don't think Rob is bad at his job. He made sure that all 30 owners squeezed the sport for every last dollar possible, and he did that. His bosses don't care if he kills the league in the process. Making sure they all are the best vampire squids they can be is the goal.
He is ghastly at one part of his job, that he is not supposed to make the real goals as naked as he has. Bud Selig was able to at least battle the PR war to a draw, even though he was a complete dweeb. Bud Selig has the same magnetism as Alka-Seltzer.
With more than enough national baseball writers still trying to carry his fetid water, it is no wonder that Manfred is already lost in this PR battle. We saw this last year during the haggling over what the season would be for the Pandemic season, and Manfred couldn't hide the money grab behind it. We know what the real motivation behind the owners is, but we don't throw a sheet over it.
Last night, when the labor dispute became official, he released a letter to baseball fans trying to explain the situation. In the second paragraph, he makes a mistake by saying that owners were forced to institute the lock out. We all know that isn't true. No one made them. They made a decision. There is nothing imminent that is making the situation worse. I said last night that there were no games. There are no bills due. There is no check being missed from TV networks. Everyone knows that this is optional.
The MLBPA is accused of trying to destroy competitive balance. If you are a baseball fan, you really need his newsletter, and this has been one of Joe Sheehan's main tenets for a while.
MLB owners have been hiding behind the term "competitive balance" for decades, which has always been code for not wanting to pay the players what they currently do. The salary cap has always been seen as the key to competition between more teams, and MLB is the only league without one. 7 of the league's 30 teams have appeared in the World Series in the past 10 years. The World Series has six teams that have won it. The first two teams to make the playoffs have only made the playoffs in 2020. The Padres are poised to join the ranks.
The NFL is said to be the bastion of parity. The championship round has been made by 15 of 32. Nine teams won the title. The Jets did not make the playoffs, but the NFL allows more teams to go to the playoffs.
The NBA is a dynasty-dominated sport. There have been seven champion in the past 10 years. The teams are in the finals. Hockey has been a dynasty sport. The last 12 Stanley Cups have been won by four teams.
In the past few years, as more teams have treated the luxury tax as a full out cap, have we seen fewer teams in the top tier, with the Dodgers or Astros basically appearing in the last four World Series, and the Dodgers adding a fifth to that if we count 2020.
Baseball doesn't have a competition problem because there is a ceiling keeping teams from competing for the top prize. They have to want to. Too many teams don't want to. That has nothing to do with a cap.
All the proposals the owners have made in the past weeks and months are proof that the owners are willing to compromise. It is all lies.
He can't make a connection with anyone. Whatever Selig was, he could communicate with fans that he loved baseball. He still wanted to steal the players blind and keep more money for owners than they needed, but he was able to get across that he enjoyed watching the game on a sunny day. The sport is run by Manfred, and he can't do that.
Let's hope the players learn that lying in the bed you made is not good.
