Seems like this is pretty much the reason the players union exists.

I've watched some baseball games in the past few days and, man, those stadiums are PACKED! How can teams be complaining about a lack of fans when there isn't a single empty seat?

DslainteC: I've watched some baseball games in the past few days and, man, those stadiums are PACKED! How can teams be complaining about a lack of fans when there isn't a single empty seat?

People have nothing else to do. Just wait until the NFL and the NBA start playing.

Nabb1: DslainteC: I've watched some baseball games in the past few days and, man, those stadiums are PACKED! How can teams be complaining about a lack of fans when there isn't a single empty seat?

People have nothing else to do. Just wait until the NFL and the NBA start playing.

When do those seasons start?

DslainteC: I've watched some baseball games in the past few days and, man, those stadiums are PACKED! How can teams be complaining about a lack of fans when there isn't a single empty seat?

Teams over the entire season have had empty seats. The stands are always full in the playoffs(unless your the Braves). What the union is worried about is that 5th starters aren't going to be getting 10 mill a year anymore like they did 4 years ago. The top tier will still get paid the big contracts, but Carlos Silva might have to settle for a 2 million dollar deal this time around.

$100 a ticket? I traveled to NY in May to see the Yanks play the Phils, and I was thrilled to be paying $200/ticket through ebay. Granted, I had really good seats, but still ...

Getting a pay cut from $14 million to $13 million is a lot tougher than you guys might think.

"I think that each market has its own dynamic. Last year's market had a fairly high number of elite players like [CC] Sabathia and [Mark] Teixeira that dominated a lot of attention...

Wow. If only there were some common thread between those players that would explain why they got such large contracts? I guess we'll never know.

over-inflated player values are finally starting to come back down to earth. Ignoring the high priced free-agents who havent done dick to help your their respective teams and just focus on pitching.

Menche is a 10 million dollar a year pitcher...

That is all.

FTFA: "I'm not desperate to sign a contract extension,' Pujols told a radio station recently. "I still have one year remaining and a club option for 2011. I leave the rest in God's hands.'

I love how Jesus athletes aren't greedy, they're just going along with God's plan.

/I know, I know... cool story, troll

BarryToink: FTFA: "I'm not desperate to sign a contract extension,' Pujols told a radio station recently. "I still have one year remaining and a club option for 2011. I leave the rest in God's hands.'

I love how Jesus athletes aren't greedy, they're just going along with God's plan.

/I know, I know... cool story, troll

I think by "God" Pujols meant his agent Dan Lozano.

BarryToink: FTFA: "I'm not desperate to sign a contract extension,' Pujols told a radio station recently. "I still have one year remaining and a club option for 2011. I leave the rest in God's hands.'

I love how Jesus athletes aren't greedy, they're just going along with God's plan.

/I know, I know... cool story, troll

He would probably be better off putting it in his agent's hands. I don't know how much interest God has in negotiating baseball player's contracts.

This year's free agent list is pretty ugly. Some guys are going to get really overpaid (AHEM CHONE FIGGINS) but a lot of it is guys that it should surprise no one when they don't get much of a bite.

And the middling guys who get slapped as Type A free agents could sit for a while.

KiwDaWabbit: Getting a pay cut from $14 million to $13 million is a lot tougher than you guys might think.

One interesting way of looking at it is one of acclimation. We've allowed ourselves to become immune to the extremely high salaries of the normal, day-in-day-out players in the league.

Jayson Werth is the leading HR hitter this postseason, beating out Arod and Tex on the Yankees and his own monster teammate and Subway pitchman Ryan Howard. And yet he ONLY makes $2.5M this year... what a bargain, right?

No... while he's got better output than many others at a lower cost, he's still making 2,500,000, or $15,500 per game in the regular season. The whole league could snap back to paying their players a 1/10th range of what they do now and you know what... most of them would still be rich.

Of course, if the players are carting this kind of bank, then we all know that the owners must share an office with a 5", open-ended pipe that spews money all day. It is all a rip-off that results in me having to watch way too many "I'm a PC" commercials every time the pitching coach goes out to the mound.

factoryconnection: most of them would still be rich.

So what? They would still bring in the same amount of revenue, so what your post is basically saying is "Give less money to the people who make the sport what it is, and more money to the already filthy rich owners"

Baseball makes a ton of money. The players get their fair share. DEAL WITH IT.

The average MLB ticket is nowhere near $100. You can get upper deck and bleacher seats for $15 and under.

Blood Goblet: The average MLB ticket is nowhere near $100. You can get upper deck and bleacher seats for $15 and under.

There are tickets at New Yankee Stadium for $5. You can't see the opposite outfield, but you can see the entire infield, 2/3 of the outfield, and there are HD screens on the wall so you won't miss what happens when the ball goes out of view.

If you're paying $100 for a baseball ticket, you're not worrying about the price of tickets, because there are much cheaper options for the same game at the same park.

Kid Mojo: Thank God for I blame the Yankees

FTFY

The owners would never collude to keep salaries down. This is just more paranoid behavior by an increasingly irrelevant union.

The MLBPA is still the strongest union in pro sports. Both the NFLPA and the NBAPA are about to get taken to the woodshed. The MLBPA has successfully kept DRUG TESTING out of baseball for a century.

factoryconnection: Of course, if the players are carting this kind of bank, then we all know that the owners must share an office with a 5", open-ended pipe that spews money all day. It is all a rip-off that results in me having to watch way too many "I'm a PC" commercials every time the pitching coach goes out to the mound.

deltabourne: so what your post is basically saying is "Give less money to the people who make the sport what it is, and more money to the already filthy rich owners"

Well, no, that's not true at all. I'm fairly certain that I called out the owners for making far more money, and thus the need for so many ads in addition to everything about MLB being expensive. Perhaps my open-ended pipe analogy was too esoteric.