A Different Approach

I see where the Mets are taking a go-slow approach with centerfielder Luis Robert Jr. They think—or hope—that a gradual gear-up during spring training will allow Robert to avoid the injuries that plagued him throughout his years on the South Side. Good luck with that. I’m serious. If they can find a way to help Robert avoid the hamstring and hip issues he’s been prone to, then everyone else in baseball should take note. If only they mentioned what kind of program the training staff was going to implement. Instead, it sounds like they’re borrowing a page from the Tony La Russa playbook, ca. late 2021. That’s when La Russa announced his players weren’t going to go 100 percent in order to save themselves for the playoffs. We lost to the Astros anyway. Analytics have turned baseball into a function of size and muscle, an approach that practically guarantees injury; Robert is just susceptible sooner than others. Less muscle, more flexibility, I say, but what do I know?

Rain or Shine, Win or Lose

After the Bears went 5-12 in 2024, they still found a way to raise season-ticket prices by an average of ten percent. What do you think happened after they went 11-5 last season and actually won a playoff game? How about 13.5 percent, on average? Good ol’ Kevin Warren announced the news in a letter to season-ticket holders. If the team president mentioned the disparity between the increase and annual rate of inflation (2.7), I missed it. I keep thinking of the character in “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” who, when asked to show his badge, responds. Well, you know what he said.

“For Smart Fans”

Who says there’s no reward for taking your 94-year old mother-in-law grocery shopping? I found Lindy’s Baseball 2026 Preview on the magazine rack at Jewel. Oh, and my mother-in-law’s an angel, pretty much. After a quick look through Lindy’s, I was impressed. They’re against a salary cap, and they see the White Sox headed in the right decision. That’s all I ask. OK, not really. I want a lot, starting with a new owner and…

Obsolete?

The NBA had its All-Star game yesterday, or was it three? No, four? Who knows, who cares? It doesn’t matter the sport. All-Star games just don’t matter anymore. It’s reached the point where NFL Pro Bowlers play a game of flag football. Whoopee, and no, thanks. Baseball is a little different. The NBA has its slam-dunk contest, MLB Home Run Derby, which is probably the more popular. Still, the game doesn’t generate the interest it once did. Again, regardless the sport, players basically don’t want to risk injury for an exhibition contest. In the olden days before free agency, the respective sports had distinct personalities, e.g., AL vs. NL or NFL vs. AFL. American Leaguers really disliked National Leaguers and vice versa. The one non-stupid move Bud Selig made during his time as MLB commissioner was to give homefield advantage in the World Series to the league that won the All-Star Game. No more. I don’t blame the players for wanting to protect themselves. That said, I miss the intensity of the old MLB All-Star games. Maybe next life.

Priorities

In a world I’m not part of, Casey Wasserman is a big deal, or he was until a few days ago when he announced he was selling the talent agency he named and headed. Wasserman acted before his business turned to ashes after his name was connected to sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein in the latest Epstein documents’ release. According to emails Wasserman sent, he—how to put this politely?—expressed a keen interest in Epstein procurer-of-underaged-females Ghislaine Maxwell. People don’t want to be represented by people who associate with the likes of Epstein and Maxwell. Or, maybe I should say, they don’t anymore. Though Wasserman is selling his agency, he’s staying on in his capacity as chair of the authority for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The board’s executive committee found no indication that Wasserman had any dealings with Maxwell other than what was spelled out in the emails, which were sent years before Epstein’s and Maxwell’s convictions. So, the board is saying one of two things, that Wasserman is too important to be sacked or that it’s only sports. It looks bad for all involved either way.

Cap This

Evan Drellich did a story in The Athletic the other day about a possible salary cap in baseball. The crocodile tears shed by owners is nothing short of hilarious: Good of the game, competitive balance, blah, blah, blah. If small- and mid-market teams were starved for revenue, they would be dusting off blueprints of the old Yankee Stadium, which early on after its 1923 opening could seat over 80,000 fans. Instead, the A’s are building a stadium in Las Vegas with a capacity of just 33,000. Why not go after those extra fans as a way to close the revenue gap with the big guys? Because a salary cap is so much easier for the lazy set, that’s why. Drellich quotes Rockies’ owner Dick Monfort, who told the Denver Gazette last season, “The only way to fix baseball is to do a salary cap and a floor. Something’s got to happen. The competitive imbalance in baseball has gotten to the point of ludicrosity now. It’s an unregulated industry.” Beware rich people calling for regulation of their business. Forget for a moment that the Rockies are a terrible organization and have been for a long time; they last finished over .500 in 2018. What I really find amazing is how owners think they bring something of value to the game, that fans go to the ball park to see the people in the owners’ suite and not the players on the field. If I’ve said it once, I’ve said it a hundred times. No salary cap in baseball without a windfall profits’ tax on the sale of teams, with that money going to the players.

A Lottery to Get Behind

Eric Koreen had an interesting article in The Athletic today on the practice of tanking by NBA teams. Apparently, the league fined the Jazz $500,000 and the Pacers $100,000 for sitting players without cause. Utah is 18-38 and Indiana 15-40. Team fines are like pulled punches; neither should be confused with the real thing. Want to make a statement? Fine both teams $5-$10 million. But no commissioner, in this case Adam Silver, is going to do that because team owners don’t like their employees—which is what Silver is—levying fines that hurt. Koreen went on to make a suggestion I found interesting, to say the least—abolish the draft and substitute a lottery for all non-playoff teams. My God, that’s brilliant. Not only would this work in the NBA but MLB and the NFL as well. It makes so much sense you know it won’t happen.