B. Harper goes off on Manfred's Salary Cap talk

[3dender]

Y'all are a bunch of bootlickers... Harper's a badass for doing that and he's absolutely right.

Manfred's a weasel for trying to sway the next CBA directly with the players, outside of negotiations, and Harper was 100% right to call him out and kick him tf out of their space.

He goes around and talks to all the teams to get their thoughts. Harpers out of line.

Where did you see that reported? If he brings up salary cap on his clubhouse tours that's not just "getitng thoughts," that's a political mission.

[desertrat23]

There will be no 2027 season. And agree with those who said we should have tried to sign Harper.

[Hazelwood72]

Y'all are a bunch of bootlickers... Harper's a badass for doing that and he's absolutely right.

Manfred's a weasel for trying to sway the next CBA directly with the players, outside of negotiations, and Harper was 100% right to call him out and kick him tf out of their space.

And you are no fan of the game if you don’t see how critical a salary cap is to the future of the game. Harper may be a bada$$ on the field but a sounds like a jacka$$ off of it.

Owners need to get on the same page. Stop this bullshyt system of inducing small market teams to go along with the status quo by throwing some revenue sharing $ at them. Way past the time to fix a system where only large market teams can reasonably expect to win a championship. NFL model works. Small market teams like Kansas City, Buffalo, etc have chance of winning it all.

If it takes a lockout, strike, to fix it, grow a pair and do it. If not, I hope fans stay away in droves.

Great points, and not only does the NFL model work but also the NHL model. Hockey is absolutely entertaining and it’s hard to predict who will go deep in the playoffs every year. Or even MAKE the playoffs. The New York Rangers, second richest team in hockey, didn’t make it this past season. Everyone predicted great things for the Nashville Predators after spending big bucks on Stamkos and O’Reilly, but they missed the playoffs by a lot.

Baseball salary structure is TOTALLY out of whack and if takes a strike, let it happen!

[3dender]

Y'all are a bunch of bootlickers... Harper's a badass for doing that and he's absolutely right.

Manfred's a weasel for trying to sway the next CBA directly with the players, outside of negotiations, and Harper was 100% right to call him out and kick him tf out of their space.

And you are no fan of the game if you don’t see how critical a salary cap is to the future of the game. Harper may be a bada$$ on the field but a sounds like a jacka$$ off of it.

Owners need to get on the same page. Stop this bullshyt system of inducing small market teams to go along with the status quo by throwing some revenue sharing $ at them. Way past the time to fix a system where only large market teams can reasonably expect to win a championship. NFL model works. Small market teams like Kansas City, Buffalo, etc have chance of winning it all.

If it takes a lockout, strike, to fix it, grow a pair and do it. If not, I hope fans stay away in droves.

You think the Harpers of the game are holding the owners hostage to get those deals? Of course they're not, the owners willingly sign players to those contracts bc they know they can afford it. They just complain a ton about it on the back end, and during CBA negotiations, because they don't want fans to think they can afford it for everyone.

And if you don't mention a salary floor in the same breath as a salary cap, then you may be a fan of the game but you're also the exact mark that the owners depend on to keep funding their yachts.

[11WSChamps]

The owners and their high handed way of doing things made their own bed long ago.

A salary cap and revenue sharing is the only way but it's going to take a massive work stoppage and some major numbers juggling for the game to get there.

The Cardinals driving payroll into a ditch is no accident.

Cardinal ownership if nothing else are shrewd business people and are hedging their bets.

[Just Whit]

Y'all are a bunch of bootlickers... Harper's a badass for doing that and he's absolutely right.

Manfred's a weasel for trying to sway the next CBA directly with the players, outside of negotiations, and Harper was 100% right to call him out and kick him tf out of their space.

He goes around and talks to all the teams to get their thoughts. Harpers out of line.

Where did you see that reported? If he brings up salary cap on his clubhouse tours that's not just "getitng thoughts," that's a political mission.

ESPN He never said salary cap, Harper jumped up and said it. Manfred also was on a panel with some sports writers also.

[Backesdraft]

Y'all are a bunch of bootlickers... Harper's a badass for doing that and he's absolutely right.

Manfred's a weasel for trying to sway the next CBA directly with the players, outside of negotiations, and Harper was 100% right to call him out and kick him tf out of their space.

Totally agree that Manfred is a stooge. That said, painting Harper as some heroic figure in this is just as unproductive. Flat out saying the players are willing to lose an entire year so they can continue to inflate salaries is basically an eff you to the fans. Let’s say there IS a lockout and then when it is finally resolved there still is no resolution to the parity issue and you have 5 teams with a legitimate chance to win and that’s it…how many fans do you think will come back? The answer is not many. Baseball is struggling to get fans now…it’ll be dead on arrival if the players get their way.

The last CBA it was not the players who decided not to play, it was the owners who locked them out. Bc they know most people (like you) will just reflexively blame the players anyway.

In any labor struggle, the labor deserves a fair slice of the revenue. If they have to shut down production to get it they still deserve solidarity from other workers.

So the question is do you feel more solidarity with labor or with bosses, who can absolutely afford to pay them more but choose not to and will gladly let them shut down production to avoid doing so.

I literally started my post by saying “Manfred is a stooge.” I’m not reflexively blaming the players. What I AM saying is most fans seem to think a salary floor/cap is a good solution. So the optics aren’t great for the players when management is throwing out there a viable solution to a real problem and a star players reaction to that suggestion is to tell management to get the eff out of their locker room.

[bakker]

Y'all are a bunch of bootlickers... Harper's a badass for doing that and he's absolutely right.

Manfred's a weasel for trying to sway the next CBA directly with the players, outside of negotiations, and Harper was 100% right to call him out and kick him tf out of their space.

Totally agree that Manfred is a stooge. That said, painting Harper as some heroic figure in this is just as unproductive. Flat out saying the players are willing to lose an entire year so they can continue to inflate salaries is basically an eff you to the fans. Let’s say there IS a lockout and then when it is finally resolved there still is no resolution to the parity issue and you have 5 teams with a legitimate chance to win and that’s it…how many fans do you think will come back? The answer is not many. Baseball is struggling to get fans now…it’ll be dead on arrival if the players get their way.

The last CBA it was not the players who decided not to play, it was the owners who locked them out. Bc they know most people (like you) will just reflexively blame the players anyway.

In any labor struggle, the labor deserves a fair slice of the revenue. If they have to shut down production to get it they still deserve solidarity from other workers.

So the question is do you feel more solidarity with labor or with bosses, who can absolutely afford to pay them more but choose not to and will gladly let them shut down production to avoid doing so.

Another option is to look at the issues as they are and not be so simplistic as to stand in "solidarity" with any side based on bosses v. labor. That's silly and simplistic. As to the lockout of course there was because absent that the players could go on strike at any time during the season absent an agreement. If the players had agreed there would be no strike (even absent an agreement) during the season there would have been no lockout.

[Red Bird Classic]

Harper can go F himself. The disparity in salary between superstars and regulars in MLB is shocking and it's currently the only of the Big 4 sports that doesn't have a salary cap. One team literally signed a billion dollars of contracts past offseason, and others are dumping salary to just stay profitable.

If he truly said it in that context, another overpaid superstar detached from reality. Keep talking like that, Bryce, when there's only 10 teams left in MLB that draw enough fans because no one wants to watch their team get slaughtered by a juggernaut every year, see how well your league is doing then.

What a doosh.

The disparity in payroll between teams is a team problem. It's not a player problem. Baseball can not have a salary cap without real revenue sharing, something like the NFL system.

The teams have to settle this between themselves.

[vegascardsfan5890]

Let teams spend what they want. I hate the salary cap. Hate it in hockey and hate it in the nba

[Red Bird Classic]

Screw Harper. Never liked him. Always felt he was a blowhard.

I feel little sympathy for the owners. ALL of them can spend as much as they like. I feel like we need both a salary cap AND floor.

Bob Nuttig shouldn't be able to put a AAAA team on the field every year. Los Angeles shouldn't be able to run the table with free agency, either.

There needs to be parity. The lack of it is what will kill the game.

Can't have a salary cap and floor without much greater revenue sharing. Teams sharing TV money, for example, that's where parity will come from. Not the players.

[Red Bird Classic]

This just shows how bad it's going to get if owners insist on a salary cap.

No doubt one is needed.

Players will literally tell the commish to "%^&* off" if he delivers that message from the owners when the new CBA talks get underway.

I know I sound like Johnny one note, but you can't have a cap without a lot more revenue sharing.

[3dender]

Y'all are a bunch of bootlickers... Harper's a badass for doing that and he's absolutely right.

Manfred's a weasel for trying to sway the next CBA directly with the players, outside of negotiations, and Harper was 100% right to call him out and kick him tf out of their space.

Totally agree that Manfred is a stooge. That said, painting Harper as some heroic figure in this is just as unproductive. Flat out saying the players are willing to lose an entire year so they can continue to inflate salaries is basically an eff you to the fans. Let’s say there IS a lockout and then when it is finally resolved there still is no resolution to the parity issue and you have 5 teams with a legitimate chance to win and that’s it…how many fans do you think will come back? The answer is not many. Baseball is struggling to get fans now…it’ll be dead on arrival if the players get their way.

The last CBA it was not the players who decided not to play, it was the owners who locked them out. Bc they know most people (like you) will just reflexively blame the players anyway.

In any labor struggle, the labor deserves a fair slice of the revenue. If they have to shut down production to get it they still deserve solidarity from other workers.

So the question is do you feel more solidarity with labor or with bosses, who can absolutely afford to pay them more but choose not to and will gladly let them shut down production to avoid doing so.

Another option is to look at the issues as they are and not be so simplistic as to stand in "solidarity" with any side based on bosses v. labor. That's silly and simplistic. As to the lockout of course there was because absent that the players could go on strike at any time during the season absent an agreement. If the players had agreed there would be no strike (even absent an agreement) during the season there would have been no lockout.

Sometimes it is that simple... a lot of times actually.

Salary floor is way more important than a salary cap. Teams like the Marlins and A's and Pirates getting more in revenue sharing than they're spending on their payroll.

The owners already have a natural salary cap it's the point that it becomes personally painful for them bc they stop making enough money.

[okcardfan]

All the players need to say is no cap until full revenue sharing because without both it will not work

100% correct. Cap on salaries? Okay, Cap on net income (by taxation and TRUE revenue sharing).

The greed of ballplayers is understandable, given the greed of the owners. Nobody would pay any money to see the owners play a kid's game.

[Red Bird Classic]

All the players need to say is no cap until full revenue sharing because without both it will not work

This is right. No point taking about a cap without dealing with revenue disparities.

[Cranny]

There will be no 2027 season. And agree with those who said we should have tried to sign Harper.

Is this the guy some posters wanted to sign?