Cubs: Players reject owners offer, demand when they’ll play

The Chicago Cubs and the rest of the MLBPA rejected the offer, asked when they’d play again and go from there.

The Chicago Cubs, as well as the MLBPA, rejected the owner’s proposal. The end? We will know by June 15 when the league unilaterally imposes a short schedule. What they did decline was a 72-game schedule and an 83% prorated pay. Sheesh.

The owners are, well, you know. And the players? They just want to play ball.  Pure and simple. They inquired where and when, and go from there–only by the 15th. I don’t think it will be done by then. It’s a ‘soft’ close. But by the 15th, we need to get something done. Players. Owners. Somebody. ANYBODY.

So here’s what we have. A 50 game season–give or take. No expanded playoffs. No player participation in extras (Home run derby, All-Star Game, etc.) So what we have here is a failure to communicate.

A ‘letter’ from Tony Clark says it all.

This could have been avoided. 70-something games. $10 million per team in revenue–not lost by it. More games, earlier return—some positivity to it. Unfortunately, a terrible summer just got worse. Player hostility just got worse. A work stoppage? After 2021, we will know how serious they are.

A stop to the 2021 season means fans will be affected. And after the 1994 strike? I don’t see a quarter of the fans coming back–if not more. They represent the ‘casual’ fan. And casual fans don’t come back after a strike. We’ve built up more–but they will go alongside them.

This is a fact, not fantasy. 2021 will be the year that matters. The players feel like they’ve ‘blindsided’ by this–and they have been. I mean, the teams haven’t opened the books for their finances. Why?

It’s the worst of the worst-case scenario. The players? Tell us when and where and will and they’ll be there. The repercussions? 2021. The players will be a little less lenient–if at all–with their demands. Are the owners opening their books? There’s a start. But it’s going to take more than that–a LOT more than that.