Cleveland Sports Forum

Looks like a bunch of JAGs and underachievers. They're not on the 40 so why aren't they in Goodyear, now?

I suppose they are.

More than pure numbers are a cause of the contention. Players have accused teams of widespread service-time manipulation and are seething over MLB's increased number of rebuilding clubs, which the union calls tanking.

Issues such as the size and format of the postseason also have become divisive, but the luxury tax may be the single most difficult issue. MLB proposed raising the tax threshold from $210 million to $220 million in each of the next three seasons, $224 million in 2025 and $230 million in 2026.

A higher threshold likely would lead to more spending by large-market teams such as the New York Yankees, Boston Red Sox and Los Angeles Dodgers.

Manfred cited a "payroll disparity problem" on Tuesday, saying a significantly increased tax threshold would "weaken the only mechanism in the agreement that's designed to promote some semblance of competitive balance."

Players are unhappy with how the tax system worked during the last labor contract, which included surtaxes to discourage high spending.

Satchel Paige's AL debut was pitching magic

Negro Leagues legend threw back-to-back shutouts at age 42 (at least)

February 27th, 2022

Satchel Paige's debut was different, very different, from the other baseball pioneers of his time. Paige pitched in his first AL/NL game on July 9, 1948, and it was an event unlike anything before or since.

Paige was the seventh African-American player in integrated Major League Baseball. The first six were:

No. 1. Jackie Robinson, Dodgers (obviously)

No. 2. Larry Doby, Cleveland

Nos. 3 and 4. Hank Thompson and Willard Brown, St. Louis Browns. Theirs isn't an often-told story. The Browns were a dead-end team, and they wanted something, anything, to help, and Thompson and Brown were stars on the Kansas City Monarchs. It was a disaster. Thompson and Brown were treated terribly by teammates. Fans didn't come out to see them. Both struggled and never really had much of a chance to prove themselves.

Brown, a sensational Negro Leagues player who was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 2006, did make his mark by becoming the first African-American to homer in the American League. Thompson returned to the big leagues with the Giants two years later and ended up having a fine career, including two seasons in which he received a National League MVP Award vote.

No. 5. Dan Bankhead, Dodgers. Another sad story. Bankhead was an extraordinary Negro Leagues pitcher, but he could not deal with the unfair pressure of being the first African-American pitcher in the AL/NL. His son talked about how he pitched defensively for fear of hitting a batter and sparking a riot; Bankhead returned to the Dodgers three years later, in 1950. His big moment was homering in his first career at-bat.

No. 6.: Roy Campanella, Dodgers

There are four Hall of Famers among the first six, but none of them had a debut like that of Satchel Paige. And that's because nobody else was Paige. In the years before Jackie Robinson, most white baseball fans were either vaguely aware or entirely unaware of the Negro Leagues. Even the biggest names of Negro Leagues baseball -- Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston, Buck Leonard, Cool Papa Bell -- were mostly invisible in the larger world of baseball.

But everybody knew Satchel Paige. Baseball fans had known him for years. All the sports magazines had done stories on him. He was larger than life before he ever stepped on a big league mound. He was a favorite interview for many sportswriters, who loved his homespun wisdom and remarkable storytelling. Paige was baseball's Mark Twain, but with a much better fastball.

"By many, especially of his race, Ol' Satch was regarded as the greatest pitcher who ever lived," sportswriter Harry Grayson wrote. "No one disputes that he was a remarkable pitcher."

That's right: No one disputed it. This, in and of itself, was incredible for the time. Every other African-American player had to endure doubts, not only about their baseball skills but about their temperament and their intuition for the game. Numerous players -- Bob Feller prominent among them -- spoke openly about their doubts that Jackie Robinson could succeed in the AL/NL. Numerous columnists wrote generic columns again and again quoting baseball scouts saying that Black players lacked the intangibles necessary for big league baseball.

But Paige, he was immune to such nonsense. This might have been because of his legendary charisma; he was the most dynamic player of the day. But it was more likely because you couldn't see him pitch and not feel awed. Everyone revered him, particularly white big leaguers. Joe DiMaggio once said that he only realized he could play in the big leagues when he got a hit off Paige in an exhibition game.

"I know who's the best pitcher I ever seen and it's old Satchel Paige," Dizzy Dean said. "My fastball looks like a change of pace alongside that little pistol bullet ol' Satchel shoots up to the plate."

"It starts out like a baseball," Hack Wilson said, "and when it gets to the plate, it looks like a marble."



Ted Williams called him the greatest pitcher in baseball. So did DiMaggio. Feller called Paige the best pitcher he ever saw. Bill Veeck called him the best right-hander in baseball history. By 1948, Paige was a towering legend.

Nobody doubted that he could have been a huge star in an integrated Majors. There was a story going around that Paige was offered chances at AL/NL competition, but turned them down, explaining with a classic Satchism: "I couldn't afford the pay cut."

Paige undoubtedly did say that and other things like it. But his friend Buck O'Neil said that jokes like that were Paige's way of covering the pain.

"He really was making more money than any pitcher," O'Neil said. "But nobody seriously tried to get him to sign in the Major Leagues. He wanted that chance. Every so often someone would talk to him, and he would get excited about it. But then he said to me, 'Nancy, they were never going to sign Ol' Satch.'"

By 1948, most thought Paige too old to pitch in the AL/NL. He copped to being 40. He was at least 42. Most thought he was at five years older than that.

Then on July 6, 1948, Cleveland shocked everyone and signed Paige to a contract. "Fabulous Satchel Paige Signed By Tribe" was the headline in the Akron Beacon Journal. The whole thing was the brainchild of legendary showman and Cleveland owner Bill Veeck. Veeck did the signing in style. He kept it a complete secret. He smuggled Paige into Cleveland Stadium and had him put on a pitching demonstration. General manager Hank Greenberg and manager Lou Boudreau were there. They were impressed.

"Lou Boudreau said first I'd be a relief hurler," Paige told the press after the announcement. "But after the workout, he said he didn't know. He might want Ol' Satch to be a starter."

Satchel Paige won the press conference that day like he won every press encounter of his life. He talked about the 15 no-hitters he threw in high school and the 12 or so no-hitters he had thrown since. He talked about how he got his nickname Satchel. As Buck often said, nobody could sell like Satchel Paige.

"He showed me plenty," Boudreau said. "It was the first time I had ever seen him, and now I can believe some of the tall stories they tell about his pitching."

Veeck played it straight. Cleveland was tied for the league lead, and Veeck said that he had looked everywhere for a trade that could help the team. But in the end, he determined that his best bet was to sign Satch. As it turns out, he was right: Paige was fantastic and was a key player in the team's pennant-winning season.

But let's not kid anybody: Veeck, like Paige, was always selling. He didn't know for sure that Paige had anything left in the arm. But he did know for sure that Paige had plenty left as a drawing card. People couldn't wait to see Paige make his debut … but they had to wait for a couple of games. Cleveland blitzed the White Sox, 10-2 and 14-1, offering no real opportunity to bring Paige in.

"Pity poor Bill Veeck," United Press International wrote. "He bought a million-dollar gate attraction and his hitters won't give him a chance to use it."

Then came July 9, and that day Paige became the first African-American pitcher in AL history. It wasn't a dramatic moment in the game. Paige relieved a struggling Bob Lemon with Cleveland trailing St. Louis, 4-1. Paige pitched two uneventful innings, allowing a couple of hits and no runs, as Cleveland lost. He did thrill the crowd with his famous hesitation pitch, though.

Paige didn't pitch again for six days, and when he did come back, he blew a two-run lead by giving up a home run to Hank Majeski, but Cleveland won anyway. That's when he settled in. In Paige's next six relief outings, he had a 1.42 ERA, which led to him getting his first start. He won that. Then came one of the most amazing things in baseball history.



On Aug. 13 at Comiskey Park -- in front of more than 50,000 fans -- Paige threw a five-hit shutout. It was classic mysticism from Paige: he struck out just one, didn't walk anybody and did not allow an extra-base hit. It was beautiful stuff (Paige told reporters that his "hurry-up ball" worked particularly well) and it also put Cleveland back in first place.

Seven days later, in front of 78,382 in Cleveland -- the largest crowd up to that point to see a night game -- Paige did it again. He became the oldest pitcher in modern times to throw back-to-back shutouts.

"No matter what president Bill Veeck gave Satchel Paige," wrote Joe Reichler of The Associated Press, "he would be a bargain at twice the amount."

In another start 10 days later, Paige didn't get the shutout … but he allowed just one run against Washington. It was another Cleveland win. Paige was 6-1. He was the sensation of baseball.

But it was too good to last. Paige faded. Well, he was 42. After a rough start, he went into the bullpen and and played a less-than-crucial role for the final month as Cleveland held off the Yankees and Red Sox in one of the greatest pennant races ever. In the World Series, Paige pitched two-thirds of an inning in a lost game. He allowed a sac fly and forced a groundout.

All in all, Paige's 1948 season was remarkable; a 42-year-old man in his first year in the Major Leagues went 6-1 with a 2.48 ERA and two shutouts. The Sporting News named him Rookie of the Year. Paige was still an amazing pitcher, and he would go on to pitch well for a few more years. He went to Miami and pitched great in the Minor Leagues. Then, in 1965, at age 58, Paige came back to throw three scoreless innings for the Kansas City A's.

But what 1948 showed was best summed up by what Grayson wrote on the day Paige made his debut.
"It's too bad," Grayson wrote, "Satchel Paige wasn't given a big league chance 10 or 15 years ago."

https://www.mlb.com/news/satchel-paige- ... c285476048

A Legendary Talent That’s Hard to Fathom

By: Matt Kelly | @mattkellyMLB



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Negro Leagues history is filled with incredible stars who, because of the cruel discrimination of their time, never got to shine as bright as they should have.

The great Satchel Paige certainly fits that description, but his golden right arm and outsized personality helped him break past the Negro Leagues’ boundaries and into the national consciousness – perhaps more than any other African-American ballplayer before Jackie Robinson. Black or white, there was a time when nearly every American baseball fan knew of the name Satchel Paige.

We might never know how many games Paige won, though some speculate the total was well into four digits. We’ll never know how hard he threw, though many who saw Paige say no one – not even Walter Johnson or Bob Feller – threw harder. We might not even know Paige’s actual birthdate. But the fuzzy details that surround the lanky right-hander from Mobile, Ala., only served to enhance his legend. Paige’s staggering talent, both as a pitcher and a storyteller, made him a folk hero for the 20th century.

Here are some key points that we do know about Paige, the first primary Negro Leagues star to be inducted into the Hall of Fame in 1971.

• Leroy Paige’s famous nickname reportedly came from a moment of ingenuity. As a child, Paige worked as a porter at a Mobile train station to help support his family. Realizing he could make more money carrying multiple bags at a time, Paige constructed a pole-and-rope contraption that enabled him to carry up to four bags at a time. Paige’s co-workers said the contraption made him look “like a walking satchel tree,” and according to Paige, a moniker was born.

• Paige received his first pitching lessons while serving out a five-year sentence in a juvenile reform school in Alabama. His coaches at the school realized that Paige’s stringbean figure gave him an ideal frame to generate power off a mound. He also developed his famous windup.

“My coach showed me how to kick up my foot so it looked like I’d blacked out the sky,” Paige would later write. “And he showed me how to swing my arm around so it looked like I let go of the ball when my hand was right in the batter’s face.”

Added Paige, “I traded five years of freedom to learn how to pitch.”

• Paige’s Negro Leagues career began in the late 1920s. After his star rose with the Birmingham Black Barons, Baltimore Black Sox, Cleveland Cubs and Homestead Grays, Paige made his biggest Negro Leagues contributions with the Pittsburgh Crawfords and Kansas City Monarchs. He teamed up with four other Hall of Famers (Josh Gibson, Oscar Charleston, Judy Johnson and Cool Papa Bell) on the Crawfords, and Paige later recovered from a dead arm to help the Monarchs capture four Negro American League pennants from 1940, '41, '42 and ’46.



• Official Negro Leagues statistics are unfortunately incomplete (and exhibition/barnstorming contests even less so), but Paige kept his own tallies as he began dominating the competition. While they are impossible to verify (and Paige was known for being his own greatest spokesman from time to time), his estimated numbers are mind-boggling: More than 2,500 games pitched and roughly 2,000 victories, 250 or so shutouts, a personal-best of 22 strikeouts in a game, 50 no-hitters, a 21-game winning streak, a 62-inning scoreless streak, a day in which he notched three separate victories and a year in which he appeared in more than 150 games.

• Again, it’s impossible to follow up on any of Paige’s own record keeping. But two factors have helped his incredible numbers – true or false – pass on from generation to generation. First, he might have been the hardest-working pitcher in history, pitching not only in the Negro Leagues, but accepting barnstorming offers far and wide – from small-town sandlots to Major League exhibitions, and for teams ranging from Bismark, N.D., to Canada to the Caribbean – across more than 40 years. If there was a paycheck and a big crowd, Paige was often willing to take the ball.

Second, Paige’s talent was described as second to none. Hall of Fame owner Bill Veeck said Paige threw four of his five pitches directly over a cigarette when he auditioned for the Cleveland Indians. Joe DiMaggio called Paige the “best and fastest” pitcher he ever faced.

“Bob Feller seldom had an especially generous word to say about people who might have been considered as good as him,” said biographer Larry Tye. “The kinds of things that he told me in an interview that I expected to last 10 minutes and went on for two hours; the things that he told me made me think that if Bob Feller thinks [Paige] might have been the greatest ever, who am I to disagree with him?”



• Those aren’t the only tall tales attached to Paige. Many say that he would bring in his fielders and tell them to sit down before he struck out the side. And perhaps his most famous performance came in Game 2 of the 1942 Negro Leagues World Series, when according to legend, Paige walked the bases loaded in order to set up a showdown with Josh Gibson, the Negro Leagues’ greatest slugger – and struck him out on three straight fastballs.

Of course, with Paige involved, there was plenty of trash talk behind that heat.

“[Paige] said, ‘Now, Josh, I’m not gonna throw any smoke at your yoke; I’m gonna throw a pea at your knees,” Negro Leagues legend Buck O’Neil later recalled. “And boom! Strike three, he threw that ball about knee high. About 100 mph. Josh didn’t move the bat. The ballgame was over.”

• Paige was one of America’s most famous ballplayers, but he didn’t get his first Major League chance until 1948 – one year after Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier. Paige signed with Veeck’s Indians on July 7, his 42nd birthday, and went 6-1 down the stretch to help Cleveland claim the American League pennant. Paige became the first African-American to pitch in the World Series, coming out of the bullpen in Game 5, and the Tribe won the championship in six games. Cleveland hasn’t won a World Series title since.

• Paige later followed Veeck to the St. Louis Browns, earning All-Star Game selections in both 1952 and '53 – at the ages of 45 and 46 years old. He then went back to barnstorming, appearing with the famous Harlem Globetrotters basketball team in the late '50s and early '60s. At age 49, Paige signed with the Phillies’ Triple-A club in Miami and put together three straight seasons with 10 wins and a sub-3.00 ERA.

The hurler got one more crack at glory on Sept. 25, 1965, when at the ripe young age of 59, Paige started a game for the Kansas City Athletics and pitched three scoreless innings against the Boston Red Sox. Hall of Famer Carl Yastrzemski was the only Red Sox player to get a hit off Paige, who relaxed in a rocking chair when the A’s were at the plate.

• Ted Williams’ induction to the National Baseball Hall of Fame on July 25, 1966, was famous not only for the celebration of the hitting savant, but also for Williams’ advocation for the Hall to elect Negro League players.

“I hope that some day the names of Satchel Paige and Josh Gibson in some way could be added,” said Williams, “as a symbol of the great Negro [Leagues] players that are not here only because they were not given the chance.”

Williams got his wish five years later, when Paige was elected to the Hall.



https://www.mlb.com/history/negro-leagu ... chel-paige

Nice post, Joe.

Love the quotes

Yeah!

I wanted to add Paige's "Age" quote to my signature, but had too many characters.
I had to choose between Feller and Paige.
I chose Feller.
Nothing can be more true than Feller's quote.
Same for Paige's quote.
It was a tough choice.

Guardians ace Shane Bieber fully healthy after shoulder injury, should be ready for 2022 Opening Day

By R.J. Anderson 2 hrs ago CBS

Major League Baseball's owner-imposed lockout compromised the regular season last week, with commissioner Rob Manfred canceling the first two series on the 2022 schedule. Whenever and wherever Opening Day takes place later this year, Cleveland Guardians ace Shane Bieber should be ready and able to partake.

Bieber, who was limited to a pair of second-half starts because of a strained throwing shoulder in 2021, tweeted on Thursday that he's been 100 percent for a while and that he "can't wait to get things going":

Shane Bieber
Been 100% for a while now!! Been working in silence that’s just how I like to do it. Always appreciate the concern tho and can’t wait to get things going

Bieber, 26, made 16 starts last season. Just two of those came after Flag Day. Both were in September, and both were three-inning sprints in which he threw a combined 84 pitches. Overall, he accumulated a 3.17 ERA (139 ERA+) and a 4.06 strikeout-to-walk ratio. He made his second career All-Star Game during his absence, though he was unable to partake.

Bieber has emerged in recent years as one of the best starting pitchers in the majors. He won the 2020 American League Cy Young Award, and he has compiled a 2.92 ERA (157 ERA+) and a 5.48 strikeout-to-walk ratio in 388 innings over the last three seasons. He also finished fourth in AL Cy Young Award voting back in 2019.

Bieber is a pivotal player for the Guardians in multiple senses. His health and availability are vital if the Guardians, whose big offseason addition to date has been backup catcher Sandy León, intend to compete in the American League Central. Should the Guardians fall out of contention, Bieber could become an appealing midseason trade candidate. He's scheduled to qualify for free agency after the 2024 campaign.

It should be noted that the Guardians have expressed interest in signing Bieber to a long-term extension in each of the last two springs. It's unclear if Bieber's injury has changed the risk-reward calculus for either the team or the player for a deal to get done.

Guardians’ post-lockout approach, the rebrand, pitching plans and a Rule 5 draft conundrum: Meisel’s Musings



Sep 29, 2021; Kansas City, Missouri, USA; Cleveland Indians third baseman Jose Ramirez (11) bats against the Kansas City Royals during the fifth inning at Kauffman Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jay Biggerstaff-USA TODAY Sports
By Zack Meisel 20m ago

When Tom Hamilton reported to his first spring training in Tucson, Ariz., as part of Cleveland’s radio broadcast team in 1990, he was convinced the team would win the American League pennant.

“No,” Herb Score said, setting him straight. “We’re not. This is a bad team.”

Hope springs eternal as teams migrate to Arizona and Florida each February. Watch one player conquer a live batting practice session on a back field or record a few hits in a Cactus League game and you start envisioning the team eclipsing expectations.

It’s an annual custom: optimism in 30 camps and elation that a new season and warmer weather are around the corner. This year, though, hope and optimism have been replaced by apathy or disgust and disappointment. The constant back-and-forth negotiating and public posturing are surely turning away many people who are ready to say, “Wake me up when there’s actual baseball.”

Well, how about some musings on baseball (and the Guardians)?

1. Whenever this stalemate ends, baseball still needs to squeeze most of an offseason into a few days. Front offices have had three months to plan for the chaos, but will any teams’ approaches change (financially or otherwise) if the schedule includes fewer than 162 games? As things stand, Cleveland would lose its season-opening homestand.

Cleveland’s roster is positioned in a way that requires at least some maneuvering. The Guardians need an outfielder and some relievers, and maybe a first baseman or a catcher. They could clear out some of the prospect/middle-infield clutter in a trade to accomplish any of the above. Will they be as aggressive as it initially seemed they would be, though? Will owner Paul Dolan be as willing to boost the payroll as he and others in the organization suggested before the lockout? The club’s projected payroll, when including salary estimations for seven arbitration-eligible players and before taking into account potential pay decreases based on a shortened schedule, sits at about $46 million, even lower than the team’s Opening Day total from 2021.

It’ll be interesting to see how many teams have trade parameters in place the instant the lockout ends and how quickly free agents will jump at the first offer that allows them to report to spring training on time. Will the mad dash make certain players more affordable? Could Cleveland find it easier, for instance, to land a veteran reliever on a bargain deal (or even a non-roster one)?

This unprecedented offseason has left us with countless questions and, until we have a resolution, few answers. Cleveland’s front office usually works deliberately and allows things to fall into place over the course of the winter. They’ll have to operate in swift fashion whenever the frenzy begins.

2. One thing’s for sure: You couldn’t have scripted a worse set of circumstances for a team rolling out a sweeping rebrand. This could have been a momentous offseason, leveraging the bottomed-out payroll to make moves to grab the city’s attention, sell a bunch of new merchandise and build a buzz toward the 2022 season.

Get your new (Free Agent Left Fielder’s Name Goes Here) Guardians jersey in the team shop today.

José Ramírez will be signing his contract extension at Progressive Field and then shaking hands with fans who purchase new Guardians gear in the team shop.

Instead, the morning the Guardians made gear available, the team shop sign crashed to the ground, the new ballpark marquee was positioned off-center, supply chain issues have haunted the merchandise department, the club had to shoo away a local roller derby outfit, the front office didn’t complete any moves before the lockout (no, there are no Enyel De Los Santos Guardians jerseys available for sale yet) and the sport’s freeze has dragged on for more than three months to completely vanquish whatever minimal buzz there was.

The way this has all unfolded, the first glance anyone has had at a player donning a Guardians uniform is … a bunch of non-40-man-roster players in minor-league camp.

Check out (Low-A Second Baseman’s Name Goes Here) in his Diamond C cap! Grab yours today!

3. As The Athletic’s Ken Rosenthal and Jayson Stark reported, most MLB executives have questioned whether the Rule 5 draft should take place. It’s a pertinent topic for the Guardians, who put 11 prospects on their 40-man roster in November to prevent them from being selected. Those players aren’t permitted in minor-league camp and can’t have any contact with coaches, coordinators or analysts in the organization, so they’re all training on their own, just like the big leaguers. It’s a loss of valuable time and experience on the field and at the Arizona complex, certainly for prospects such as George Valera and Tyler Freeman, but especially for lower-level prospects with limited track records, such as Jhonkensy Noel and Jose Tena. Remember, a lot of these guys missed out on competition in 2020, too.

And now, there might not even be a risk of exposure to the Rule 5 draft. Obviously, no front office could assume the Rule 5 draft would be canceled — and we still don’t know if it will be — but adding so many players cost the Guardians flexibility. Fourteen of their 40 active players lack major-league experience, and any additions they make via free agency or a trade will cost somebody a job. (And it won’t be a prospect, or else why add them in the first place?)

Most teams have banned scouts from their minor-league camps to prevent opponents from gaining new insight on Rule 5-eligible players. The Rule 5 draft is typically held in early December, so teams had to rely on what they’d learned about players from the previous season. Now, prospects have had an entire winter to improve, so the teams seeking to poach an unprotected player could have an advantage. One name to keep an eye on if the Rule 5 draft does happen: Left-hander Joey Cantillo, who was left unprotected and could be someone another team stashes in its bullpen.

4. Cleveland’s starting pitchers have grown accustomed to the unpredictable, so while the traditional, annual offseason routine would be preferable, they’re once again training to be ready whenever they get the green light. In 2020, they kept their arms in shape until the league resumed activity in July. Shane Bieber and Zach Plesac enjoyed the best seasons — albeit shortened — of their careers that summer. Cal Quantrill is confident he can carry a heavy burden. (He suggested to me at the end of last season he wanted to log 300 innings in 2022, and I think he was only half-kidding.) Quantrill proved last season, as he bounced among various roles, he can adapt to whatever is tossed his direction. Bieber, Plesac and Triston McKenzie have all been throwing at the MLB Player Association’s training site in Scottsdale, Ariz.

The rotation isn’t an area of concern, even as the lockout bleeds into the season. It’s the position-player group, a collection of hitters lacking big-league experience, that is at a disadvantage. New hitting coach Chris Valaika hasn’t been able to build relationships with Andrés Giménez or Owen Miller or Nolan Jones or Gabriel Arias or Bobby Bradley or Steven Kwan. He hasn’t been able to learn their tendencies and preferences or offer feedback on their swing mechanics or decision-making in the batter’s box. There will be a ton of ground to cover in a shortened spring training.

but adding so many players cost the Guardians flexibility. Fourteen of their 40 active players lack major-league experience, and any additions they make via free agency or a trade will cost somebody a job. (And it won’t be a prospect, or else why add them in the first place?)

several other problems this causes to Cleveland:
Nearly all of the 11 "new guys" on the roster are not ready for the majors this year so they will use up one of their limited number of minor league options. If they didn't need to worry about maybe losing 20 year olds like Noel in the draft, there would be no reason to add them to the roster this year. Now they will be punished for planning ahead.

And since they will have to add free agents to the opening day roster, or minor league fillins like Sandy Leon, they will be forced to DFA players who otherwise there'd still be room for on the roster.

Guardians lose big from this [apparent] decision.

of course if they don't bother playing this year the biggest losers are the kids on the roster who lose another year of development

Here's the daily boring long detailed story about the negotiations with only one bit of good news: no more games cancelled yet; that happens later Wednesday after talks are scheduled to break down again.

I haven't bothered to delete the miscellaneous links to other stories in the article, since I don't imagine anyone will want to bother reading it all anyway

Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association plan to pick up talks on a new collective bargaining agreement Wednesday morning after deep-into-the-night discussions produced enough progress toward a potential deal for the league to put off canceling another batch of regular-season games.

Nearly 17 hours of bargaining starting Tuesday morning and ending past 3 a.m. ET yielded some breakthroughs on the 97th day of MLB's lockout, but the union requested to reconvene with player leaders Wednesday before responding to the league's proposal, according to an MLB official.

MLB had threatened to cancel the season's second week, an act that could have grave consequences at a particularly sensitive time in bargaining. The ultimatum from the league, which locked out players Dec. 2, was simple: With a new basic agreement, players would report to spring training sites this week, free agency would reopen, and following a shortened spring training, a 162-game season that offered players full pay and service time would begin.

Players spent hours Tuesday night and Wednesday morning discussing the league's request for an international draft, a subject the union has in past negotiations rejected and that does not have significant support from a rank-and-file with nearly one-third from Latin American countries. Additionally, players continued to balk at the league's latest offer on the competitive-balance tax, which would start at $230 million in 2022 and end at $242 million in 2026, sources said.
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Other proposed deal points imbued hope around the game Tuesday that an agreement to save a 162-game season and prevent the parties from descending into even worse labor chaos would materialize. The league had proposed a six-team draft lottery, 12-team postseason and 45-day window for MLB to change on-field rules, all of which matched the union's previous offer.

Tying the international draft to the removal of direct draft pick compensation -- in which teams are penalized a draft choice for signing a top free agent -- left the union contemplating the wisdom of overhauling the game's international system, sources said. The international market, which provides an endless supply of talent, is rife with problems, foremost among them being that children as young as 12 are agreeing to contracts they can't sign until they're 16. The league believes a draft would help clean up a system that historically has seen team officials take kickbacks for signing players and trainers give performance-enhancing drugs to teenagers.

The late night resembled eight days earlier, when a 17-hour negotiating session bled into the next day amid a deadline MLB had set to cancel regular-season games. The parties picked up talks hours later, only to see them fall apart before commissioner Rob Manfred canceled the first week of the season.

The MLBPA has said if the league refuses to concede to full pay and service time, it will remove expanded playoffs -- a key to a new basic agreement for MLB -- from its proposal. With the sides long unable to agree on core economics issues, the potential subtraction of a vital gain for the league and an additional item to bargain for the union -- full service time is paramount -- would add even more difficulty to discussions.

Service-time considerations are vital to players, who reach salary arbitration after three full years of major league service and free agency after six. Players receive a full year of service if they spend 172 days on a major league roster. There are typically 186 days in a season, and if more than two weeks of the season are canceled, recouping service would become part of any further negotiations.

Had the sides agreed to a deal, the second-longest work stoppage in baseball history would have ended and some semblance of normalcy would have returned after months of fraught negotiations. Now baseball finds itself in its most difficult position yet, with new obstacles to traverse as the game attempts to find its footing among an increasingly displeased fan base.

Talks had ratcheted up Monday, when the league made a proposal that bridged the significant gap in the competitive-balance tax, a key issue as the urgency of the situation crested. Bargaining continued all day Tuesday on a new basic agreement, which governs almost all aspects of the game.

Baseball's core economics had been front and center in the labor talks before the international draft discussions joined them. While MLB has moved $20 million on the first threshold of the CBT from its 2021 number, the league requested a fourth tier to discourage runaway spending, sources said. Previously, the three tiers of the CBT were from the first threshold to $20 million over, the second from $20 million to $40 million and the third everything over $40 million. The new threshold would penalize teams that exceed the $230 million number by $60 million or more.

Among the league's other proposals, according to sources:

• A $40 million bonus pool for players who have yet to reach salary arbitration; the union is seeking $75 million

• Minimum salaries starting at $700,000 and increasing to $770,000 by the fifth year

• The shortened window for MLB to unilaterally implement rules changes -- among them a pitch clock, ban on defensive shifts and larger bases in the 2023 season

• Player uniforms featuring advertising for the first time, with patches on jerseys and decals on batting helmets

• The National League adopting the designated hitter

• Draft pick inducements to discourage service-time manipulation

• Restricting the number of times a player can be optioned to the minor leagues in one season to five

Talks on a new basic agreement began last year and moved slowly leading up to the Dec. 1 expiration of its previous version. The league and union made little progress in the months prior, and Manfred locked out the players just past midnight on Dec. 2. A 43-day gap in negotiations ensued, and by the time the scheduled opening of spring training in mid-February rolled around, the gulfs between the parties' financial positions were significant enough that the possibility of losing regular-season games grew stronger.

Manfred's cancellation of Opening Day a week ago roiled players, who, after a 2016 negotiation that led to drastic economic consequences, were intent on making significant financial gains beyond 2022. Player salaries have dropped over the past four seasons despite growing revenues that topped out at an estimated $10.7 billion in 2019. The significant rise in franchise values -- which have almost quadrupled over the past two basic agreements -- became a rallying cry for players.

At the same time, the league, content with the current economic system, has pushed back on the massive gains players hoped to reap. While the potential guarantees for younger players amount to around $100 million, the game's uncapped system allows teams to spend less on older players to balance out the added costs.

I posted this elsewhere but - as someone who has followed these issues as they have evolved - great progress has been made towards each others' positions.

Small stuff now. That said, not over yet. International draft the big one left.

I appreciate your interpretation and your positive conclusion

Hey civ - I wasn't too far off on that one. It just felt close.

What’s next for Guardians with MLB lockout over? Outfield and bullpen top front office’s to-do list



CLEVELAND, OH - JUNE 16: Cleveland Indians third baseman Jose Ramirez (11) celebrates after making it safely to third base after being caught in a rundown between first and second base during the third inning of the Major League Baseball game between the Baltimore Orioles and Cleveland Indians on June 16, 2021, at Progressive Field in Cleveland, OH.(Photo by Frank Jansky/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
By Zack Meisel 6h ago 35
OK, where were we? Oh, that’s right. So, they go by the Guardians now. You might have seen their new navy cap with the pointy red C, or seen sketches of their uniforms or seen their team shop sign plummet to the sidewalk. They have a lot of the same players — the ones worthy of a roster spot, at least. They did complete a significant reshuffling way, way back, many eons ago, in November. There’s a lot of front office work remaining, and a lot less time to complete it, because by the time you finish reading this article, spring training will commence.

How did we get here?
Cleveland’s most noteworthy move this winter was to replace Ty Van Burkleo, the league’s longest-tenured hitting coach. Chris Valaika, his replacement, is 22 years younger and will also head the organization’s hitting instruction, not just work with the big-league hitters. Valaika is regarded as a sharp mind, someone who has embraced data and technology since the tail end of his playing career. He’ll have to play catch-up, though: He has not been permitted to communicate with players on the 40-man roster during the lockout, so he hasn’t had a chance to establish relationships with his new pupils.

The Guardians’ other moves were, well, considerably less profound. Sandy León rejoined the organization on a minor-league deal to provide catching depth, though if he’s in the Opening Day roster plans, that screams trouble. León’s slash line the past five years: .192/.258/.298. The club already employs a light-hitting, defensively sound catcher in Austin Hedges.

Cleveland jettisoned Harold Ramirez, J.C. Mejía, Scott Moss and Kyle Nelson off the roster to create space for a slew of prospects who needed protection from being exposed in the Rule 5 draft. The Guardians also traded for right-hander Tobias Myers, who could factor into the pitching plans at some point in 2022.

In late November, the team opted to rearrange more than a quarter of the 40-man roster, which meant a few things:

1. Cleveland has a deep farm system filled with prospects the front office believes aren’t far from contributing at the big-league level. Cody Morris, Steven Kwan and Richie Palacios, for example, could enter the mix early this season.

2. The 40-man roster is comprised of 14 players with no big-league experience, which makes what was already the league’s youngest roster even greener.

3. Those prospects the club added to the 40-man roster — those who could compete for an Opening Day role as well as top prospects such as George Valera and Brayan Rocchio — have not been allowed to train at the team’s facility during the lockout or communicate with coaches.

What is the urgency level?
It’s quite high, for a few reasons.

One, the organization has vowed to build up its roster following a gradual tear-down that peaked in 2021 with a paltry payroll and the trade of Francisco Lindor and Carlos Carrasco. The front office has insisted it would upgrade the lineup and demonstrate a greater appetite for spending money to field a formidable roster. There was no evidence of either before the lockout. The Guardians’ payroll sits at an estimated $46 million, and that includes projections for salaries for their arbitration-eligible players. That would place them at or near the bottom of the major leagues for the second consecutive year, with a figure that represents about half of what their payroll was in 2001, when a postage stamp cost 34 cents, “Shrek” was in theaters and Valera and Rocchio were newborns.

Second, the team has essentially completed its rebrand (and in a pretty underwhelming manner). The lockout, the roller derby saga, merchandise delays and the overall polarizing nature of the topic have contributed to a lack of buzz about the new name and branding, but the Guardians moniker will re-enter the public forum as the season begins. And with that, it would make sense for the organization to do everything in its power to put as thrilling of a product on the field as possible to make that transition as smooth and as galvanizing as possible. They’re ushering in a new era. They have an opportunity to make it so falling signs aren’t what people remember most.

Third, and the most pressing issue: The roster is far from balanced. It’s not just that it’s an incredibly young, inexperienced group. There are 11 starting pitchers and only six relievers. There are 14 infielders. There’s a stockpile of similarly aged middle infielders and no simple way to swiftly sort through them to determine who will thrive in the majors and who will not. This is a roster, paired with a minuscule payroll, that is begging for some maneuvering, whether via trades, free agency or both.

What’s next?
First, the front office will want to strike deals with the club’s seven arbitration-eligible players. Shane Bieber, Franmil Reyes, Cal Quantrill, Amed Rosario, Bradley Zimmer, Josh Naylor and Hedges still need contracts for the 2022 season.

Myles Straw has center field handled, Kwan is an intriguing hitter (just ask The Athletic’s Keith Law), Palacios could soon force his way into the picture, Naylor and Nolan Jones will eventually be healthy enough to earn consideration and yet … this team still could use an established outfielder or two, or an outfielder and a first baseman, or an outfielder and another catcher. Simply put: The Guardians need a couple of additions to the lineup. They have plenty of trade ammunition in the form of middle infield or starting pitching prospects. If they wanted to dangle a big-league starter, teams would line up around the block, but they probably don’t have to go that route at this time.

The free-agent market had only started to sizzle when the lockout began, so that’s another option.

Outfielders who already signed: Starling Marte, Avisaíl García, Chris Taylor, Mark Canha

Outfielders who are still available: Nick Castellanos, Kris Bryant, Michael Conforto, Seiya Suzuki, Kyle Schwarber, Joc Pederson, Eddie Rosario, Jorge Soler, Tommy Pham, Andrew McCutchen

The front office has had more than three extra months to plan for how to attack this post-lockout/pre-spring training period of madness.

And, finally, will the prospects of a new minority (and, eventually, majority) owner alter the organization’s M.O.? Spring training is typically when the front office converses with players and their agents about long-term contract extensions. They don’t always amount to something, but it would be surprising if the club didn’t at least exchange perspectives with Bieber, José Ramírez and perhaps a few others.

(Photo of José Ramírez: Frank Jansky / Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)