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From: mom@sftri.UUCP (Mark Modig)
Newsgroups: net.sport.baseball
Subject: Impending strike
Message-ID: <481@sftri.UUCP>
Date: Sun, 4-Aug-85 16:54:25 EDT
Article-I.D.: sftri.481
Posted: Sun Aug  4 16:54:25 1985
Date-Received: Mon, 5-Aug-85 07:45:52 EDT
Distribution: na
Organization: AT&T Bell Laboratories, Summit N.J.
Lines: 39

As far as I am concerned, both sides can just rot.  The owners
haven't made any terrific proposals, but at least they've made some
proposals.  The players' response can be summed up in one word: NO.
Not even "No, but maybe something like this..", just "No."  They
even flatly rejected the comissioner's proposals; Marvin Miller
called the comissioner an amateur.  I hardly
think you can blame the lack of movement solely on the owners.  

It is also true that the players cannot be expected to solve the
owners' financial problems for them, but they could help, if they were
interested.  The players want a share in all of the owner's
new-found wealth from TV, etc.-- Fine.  They should also therefore
be expected to bear some of the burden if things don't work out as
planned.
In the interest of the long-term outlook, salaries should
be slowed down somehow-- I rather liked the Commissioner's proposal
as a starting point.  The players not only don't want to slow things
down, they want to accelerate them.  I don't think there is an
immediate problem with this, but no business grows forever; the
participants now are, I think, in danger of mortgaging the future
for present benefits.  Also, the owners should distribute income
among themselves better to help shore up weaker franchises, or move
franchises to more profitable locations (tough to do, but this IS a
business when it comes right down to it). Baseball is not a "free
market", either, as some people seem to think.  It is entertainment--
and each team has an interest in seeing that the other teams do 
reasonably well financially (gotta have someone to play against, right?)
This means both the players and owners have an interest in making
sure that teams make money.

Overall, though, neither side seems overly concerned with the future,
the fans, or really anyone else but themselves.  I, for one, feel
there will be a strike, and it may last a while.  But I could really
care less at this point, since I have resolved not to attend another
ballgame (if any) this year.  I call upon all other fans to do the
same.

Mark Modig
ihnp4!sftri!mom