Union sets Feb. 24th deadline for new CBA

[BigDFan5]

NFL | Upshaw to meet with agents; union sets deadlines
Thu, 16 Feb 2006 17:59:48 -0800
Mark Maske, of the Washington Post, reports <A href="http://www.kffl.com/team/77/nfl">NFL Players Association chief Gene Upshaw is scheduled to meet with the players agents as a group next week in Indianapolis at the NFL Combine. The meeting will come as the agents prepare to begin negotiating contracts for players at a time of great uncertainty, with the union and the league's team owners still significantly apart in their negotiations on an extension of the sport's collective bargaining agreement. The union regards Feb. 24 as the deadline for a labor deal. Union officials say if that deadline passes without a deal, the free-agent market will open as scheduled March 3. Upshaw has said if there's no deal by the time the union's executive board meets March 9, he'll recommend to the players then that they put in motion the process to decertify the union as a tactic to prevent a future lockout by the owners.

 

[Yeagermeister]

They need to get it done before they have a lockout or strike and ruin the sport like baseball did.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

They need to get it done before they have a lockout or strike and ruin the sport like baseball did.

But these are smart grown men on both sides... you don't think they would allow the sport to destroy itself do ya?

 

[notherbob]

Good question. Why don't you ask a few of the smart, grown hockey or baseball owners?

 

[fortdick]

They need to get it done before they have a lockout or strike and ruin the sport like baseball did.

They could just do something tricky like baseball did. They wound the ball tighter so they would have more homeruns and McGuyer and Bonds hitting 70 a year brought everyone back.

Maybe they can pump the ball harder so there will be 70 yard field goals worth 5 points. OR maybe legalize pushing off by the offense so receivers can catch more TDs.

 

[Yeagermeister]

They could just do something tricky like baseball did. They wound the ball tighter so they would have more homeruns and McGuyer and Bonds hitting 70 a year brought everyone back.

Maybe they can pump the ball harder so there will be 70 yard field goals worth 5 points. OR maybe legalize pushing off by the offense so receivers can catch more TDs.

More like they looked the other way on steroids

 

[fortdick]

More like they looked the other way on steroids

Guys been doing roids for years. All that won't get you 70 homeruns. The ball was juiced. Funny how a 37 year old record falls four times in three years, then HRs go back to normal.

 

[Yeagermeister]

Get the CBA deal done just because it will screw the skins

 

[AdamJT13]

Get the CBA deal done just because it will ***** the skins

If only they could get it done after this season -- make the Skins try to get under the cap with all of the restrictions of the final capped year, make them deal with it for a whole season, then pull the rug out from under them just when they think there will be an uncapped year.

It won't happen that way, but that would be ideal.

 

[GTaylor]

Since the balls were juiced answer me this:

How many 500+ feet home runs were there after the strike? Or better yet, how many MORE 500 feet homers were there after as opposed to before the strike?

Balls weren't juiced, expansions thinned out rosters and newer ballparks focused more on hitters than they did pitchers.

And where baseball failed isn't in the strike, although that bullet did come VERY close to hitting the heart, it was in the aftermath. After a brutal strike/lockout it's important for the owners/players union to work together to promote and heal the sport (Like the NHL is doing now and the NFL did in the late 80s/90s), baseball owners and players union, instead of working together, fought like madmen over negotiations. Think about it, had it not been for "Juiced" or the Balco hearings the Players Union would still be treating steroids as nothing more than "smoking"... *Sigh*

 

[fanfromvirginia]

Adam--wouldn't the ideal situation be for them to get it done sometime shortly after March 3 so that the Skins sink lower into cap heck/hell? Or is that not how it would work?

 

[MichaelWinicki]

Since the balls were juiced answer me this:

How many 500+ feet home runs were there after the strike? Or better yet, how many MORE 500 feet homers were there after as opposed to before the strike?

Balls weren't juiced, expansions thinned out rosters and newer ballparks focused more on hitters than they did pitchers.

And where baseball failed isn't in the strike, although that bullet did come VERY close to hitting the heart, it was in the aftermath. After a brutal strike/lockout it's important for the owners/players union to work together to promote and heal the sport (Like the NHL is doing now and the NFL did in the late 80s/90s), baseball owners and players union, instead of working together, fought like madmen over negotiations. Think about it, had it not been for "Juiced" or the Balco hearings the Players Union would still be treating steroids as nothing more than "smoking"... *Sigh*

The things that I believe fueled the whole "Home-run binge" that actually started in late 80's was:

1. Smaller ballparks.
2. Thinner handled bats that players could swing much faster than their predecessor.
3. The lack of the "bean-ball" threat. Players like Bonds could stand right on top of home plate.
4. Year-long physical training and strength building. You can place steroids in this category too.
5. A preference by MLB to push offense.
6. In some years the balls did appear to be more tightly wound that in others. There a historical precedence for that.

 

[Yeagermeister]

3. The lack of the "bean-ball" threat. Players like Bonds could stand right on top of home plate.

If you wore the body armor he does you wouldn't care either.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

If you wore the body armor he does you wouldn't care either.

That figures into it.

 

[fortdick]

All the things mentioned did contribute to the HR binge, but think about it. McGuyer and Sosa hitting over 65 in the same year, Bonds coming right after to hit more, then a sudden drop off. Ruth's 60 HR record stood for 34 years, then Maris broke it by one, playing 8 more games. That record stood for 37 years, then it was demolished in a three year span. Now, 50 HRs is the big mark again. It was even reported in the media that they were winding the balls tighter down in the Dominican, or wherever they make them.

I played against some great players in the 70's. Dave Parker was huge! He didn't needs roids to hit the ball 500 feet. Kingman could hit a pop up 400 feet! Jack Clark hit a piss poor change up of mine so far it interfered with air traffic routes! And no one hit the ball further than Frank Howard.

The home run derby played between Sosa and McGuyer brought more people back to baseball after the strike. That ended abruptly after attendance was back up. Suddenly, no one can come within 20 of Bonds' record. You can't explain that with conditioning and nutrition.

P.S., the bat handles can't be any thinner now than they were before. the Louisville L2 was as thin as you can make 'em without then breaking.

 

[Glenn Carano]

The things that I believe fueled the whole "Home-run binge" that actually started in late 80's was:

1. Smaller ballparks.
2. Thinner handled bats that players could swing much faster than their predecessor.
3. The lack of the "bean-ball" threat. Players like Bonds could stand right on top of home plate.
4. Year-long physical training and strength building. You can place steroids in this category too.
5. A preference by MLB to push offense.
6. In some years the balls did appear to be more tightly wound that in others. There a historical precedence for that.

Great post. Who knew Mikey knew so much about baseball? Don't forget expansion thinning out the rosters. There are plenty of pitchers on big league rosters who don't deserve to be there. Great hitters eat up these mediocre/AAA pitchers, absolutely mash against them.

 

[Glenn Carano]

All the things mentioned did contribute to the HR binge, but think about it. McGuyer and Sosa hitting over 65 in the same year, Bonds coming right after to hit more, then a sudden drop off. Ruth's 60 HR record stood for 34 years, then Maris broke it by one, playing 8 more games. That record stood for 37 years, then it was demolished in a three year span. Now, 50 HRs is the big mark again. It was even reported in the media that they were winding the balls tighter down in the Dominican, or wherever they make them.

I played against some great players in the 70's. Dave Parker was huge! He didn't needs roids to hit the ball 500 feet. Kingman could hit a pop up 400 feet! Jack Clark hit a piss poor change up of mine so far it interfered with air traffic routes! And no one hit the ball further than Frank Howard.

The home run derby played between Sosa and McGuyer brought more people back to baseball after the strike. That ended abruptly after attendance was back up. Suddenly, no one can come within 20 of Bonds' record. You can't explain that with conditioning and nutrition.

P.S., the bat handles can't be any thinner now than they were before. the Louisville L2 was as thin as you can make 'em without then breaking.

The bat handles are no doubt thinner. I've never seen so many broken bats as in the past few years. Who knows? The thing is the players are bigger today for whatever reason. You named a few guys above that were big guys back in the 70's, but that was the exception, not the norm. When they show old MLB games from the 70's or 80's on ESPN Classic or wherever those guys look downright small as compared to the guys today. The middle infielders back then were tiny, now we have SS's who are 6-2, 220. I don't know if it all has to do with steroids, but of course steroids is a factor. Guys now work out all offseason to get ready for the season, back then guys used spring training to get ready for the season. They're in much better shape today. Back then a 20+ HR season was a very good power year, now there are probably between 75 and 100 guys with 20 or more homers a season.

Just looked this up.
1960 26 guys had 20+ HR's
1970 54 guys had 20+ HR's
1980 34 guys had 20+ HR's
1990 45 guys had 20+ HR's
2000 102 guys had 20+ HR's

1987 was when the first discussed the ball being juiced. Wade Boggs hit 24 HR's that year and only reached double figures one other time in his career, 11 in 1994. That year 79 had 20+HR's.

 

[MichaelWinicki]

The bat handles are no doubt thinner. I've never seen so many broken bats as in the past few years. Who knows? The thing is the players are bigger today for whatever reason. You named a few guys above that were big guys back in the 70's, but that was the exception, not the norm. When they show old MLB games from the 70's or 80's on ESPN Classic or wherever those guys look downright small as compared to the guys today. The middle infielders back then were tiny, now we have SS's who are 6-2, 220. I don't know if it all has to do with steroids, but of course steroids is a factor. Guys now work out all offseason to get ready for the season, back then guys used spring training to get ready for the season. They're in much better shape today. Back then a 20+ HR season was a very good power year, now there are probably between 75 and 100 guys with 20 or more homers a season.

Just looked this up.
1960 26 guys had 20+ HR's
1970 54 guys had 20+ HR's
1980 34 guys had 20+ HR's
1990 45 guys had 20+ HR's
2000 102 guys had 20+ HR's

1987 was when the first discussed the ball being juiced. Wade Boggs hit 24 HR's that year and only reached double figures one other time in his career, 11 in 1994. That year 79 had 20+HR's.

Great post.

No doubt there are years when the baseball is juiced.

Take a look at the 1970's... up untill 1977, guys were winning homerun titles with totals in the 30's. Someone like Gene Tenace would hit 20 home-runs a season and be considered a "big threat".

Then 1977 came... expansion and a juiced ball gave us big home-run totals for that time period. Remember George Foster's 52? And that was in the NL where there was no expansion.

The Dodgers were the first team to ever have four 30 HR guys in the lineup at that same time. The Red Sox hit like 30 homeruns in 10 days. For the time it was an incredible burst of offense for one season.

 

[david_jackson]

Baseball hijacked thread....It must be the off season