🚀 go-pugleaf

In <3i514q$b01@usenet.INS.CWRU.Edu> gk063@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Robert Phillip Blazunas) writes:


>Wow, I just learned that baseball owners want to charge children's
>teams for use of their names. Free use of pro team names has been
>an excellent source of goodwill and positive public relations for
>pro baseball for years, but alas, will now end.

>The only thing worse that pro baseball could do to further alienate
>the upcoming generation of paying fans would be to make the demand
>for royalty retroactive several years!

The current crop of owners (led by the Prince of Weasels, Jerry 
Reinsdorf) are perhaps the greatest collection of greedheaded, 
shortsighted Ferengi to yet grace our planet.  They seem to be bound and 
determined to kill the Goose That Lays Golden Eggs.  They've persued 
policies of unprecedented stupidity that seem designed to kill Baseball 
as we know it.  This is yet another example of their incredible 
short-sightedness and utter disregard for their own long-term interests.  
How these morons managed to accumlate enough capital to purchase 
franchises, though, is no mystery:  many of them are veterans of 
financial shell games and similar shenanigans which have nothing to do 
with delivering a product to customers.

In a previous article, gfrazier@efn.org (Gary Frazier) says:

>How these morons managed to accumlate enough capital to purchase 
>franchises, though, is no mystery:  many of them are veterans of 
>financial shell games and similar shenanigans which have nothing to do 
>with delivering a product to customers.
>
>
Without agreeing or disagreeing with you, I would be very interested if
you could deliver any facts supporting your statement.  Which owners do
you refer to?  How did they make their money?  I am not familiar with
how most of them accumulated their wealth and would be interested to hear
about the "financial shell games and similar shenanigans" that they used
to accumulate so much capital.  After all, It'd be a real hoot to 
eventually have my own team.

Whether or not the owners obtained the capital to buy the teams by using
questionable means (I really don't know) I think it is amazing how the press
is trying so hard to make them out to be such bad guys (and gals-  Ms.
Schott).  One of the most "subtle" ways they do this is the constant 
references to the "millionaire players and billionaire owners."  Does
anyone know if any of the owners are actually billionaires?
                                     ^^^^^^^^
True billionaires are very rare and I am not aware that any of the owners
actually fall into the category.  I'm sure someone out there knows and
will volunteer the information.  I'd appreciate it.

The players will cross the lines before long if the replacement players
actually get a chance to play.  There are three reasons they will do so:

1)  They are afraid that people will see that there are other people
that are capable of playing the game and that many people will be more
than happy to pay to watch them.  I will pay to see them play.  I find 
it really amusing that again the press is so willing to jump on the 
players' side and make the replacements look like such a bunch of bums.
The Plain Dealer today showed a picture of a very out-of-shape player.
The guy was obviously not to impressive looking, but I would bet that
he is not representative of most of the people in the camps.  There are
multiple levels of professional baseball players who play the game in 
a thoroughly entertaining level.  Most of the replacement players are
probably minor leaguers (admittedly not AAA), former big leaguers, and
former college players.  Most of them are not the chumps that the sports
page would have you believe.

2)  Many of them need the money.  This may be hard to believe, but it is
true.  Many of these "millionaire players" are broke.  They are just broke
at a higher level than the rest of us.  They may make a couple of million
dollars a year, they also spend more than they earn.  High incomes do not
make you rich (they certainly help though), spending less than you earn
makes you rich.  Many of them live in houses that cost several million
dollars, they drive cars that cost a couple of hundred thousand dollars, 
and they live all around extravagant lives (not to mention drugs, but I
think that is a minority).  It is not uncommon to see former athletes who
are broke just a short time after they stop playing, and these are often
people who "planned" for their retirement.  Players did not have time
to plan for this extended strike.  Obviously there are players who will
not fall into this dilemma either because they make such huge sums or
because they have been prudent with the money they have made.  Lenny
Dykstra is just the first to start talking about crossing the line.
Others will follow soon.  Notice that Fehr has not called for a player
vote.  Am I the only person who wonders if this is because he is afraid
of what he'd find.  The players are (like most others) essentially
greedy and they should be sweating by now.  The owners have won.  Players
will soon realize this and come back.  The players screwed the owners
last fall when they forced the cancellation of the World Series.  Now
the owners are screwing the players and hitting them where it hurts.

3)  Many players are husbands and fathers and they realize that if is
an irresponsible decision to turn down the paychecks they will receive
if they go back.  This consideration is more powerful than many give it
credit for.  It goes to the players' very manhood.  Their ability to
provide for their families.  Many will soon realize that they have the
opportunity to provide for a comfortable future for their families and
will begin to worry more as the strike progresses

Watch-  they'll come back.  They'll try to save face by saying they got
a deal they were happy with, but that will all be face-saving grandstanding.

Enough already.

RCP