Red Sox players threaten to pull out of Japan trip
2008-03-19 09:24
by Bob Timmermann
The Boston Red Sox players have not taken the field yet for their Grapefruit League game against Toronto and are threatening not to go to Japan unless coaches and other staff receive extra payments for the trip. There is also a debate over whether families could come along the trip, which would also involve a stop in Los Angeles upon returning from Tokyo.
ESPN is supposed to televise the game today from Fort Myers.
I was watching this on ESPN. It seems like the reasons for the stoppage of this minor league game keep changing. Is it because of promised compensation for coaches and staff or is it because of travel accomodations for family of the players?
ESPN is doing a crappy job of covering it -- getting interview after interview with players with no word from either the Red Sox or MLB.
MLB, the league of snafus. Does the NFL run into issues like this when they stage international contests? To be fair, arrange an event like this is complicated, with many details in the planning, but not pulling it off smoothly is bad PR at the very least.
Of course, the players are a collective bargaining unit and the coaches are not, so I don't quite understand how their negotiations can be related.
Lots of striking going around, of late. Personally, I'm on strike against True Blue L.A. until I'm convinced that they're not being mean to Hillary Clinton.
It'll be interesting to see what ESPN's spin on this will be if the Japan trip is actually canceled. Do they really have more of a vested interest in this than just broadcasting rights? (They sure act like they do...)
5
We've never been struck before, I thought it would have an effect but apparently when Diamondback fans who wear corduroy go on strike, the effect is negligible.
One side of the partnership is firmly on the side of the guy who can talk for 37 minutes and not bore you.
11. That's what I thought, so I wonder why they would be getting the same $40k stipend as the players. Did MLB at one time formally agree to it and then backed off? Or was it some kind of gentlemans agreement that fell through. I guess meeting half way might be the easiest way out of it. $10-$20k for the coaches and staff? Seems like a lot of money to me.
According to Lowell and Schilling, promises were made and then rescinded:
"Some of the promises have already been taken away, now this," Schilling said. "As far as the players are concerned, [withholding the coaches' bonuses] can't happen."
''When we voted to go to Japan, that was not a unanimous vote,'' Lowell told the Globe, "but we did what our team wanted us to do for Major League Baseball. They promised us the moon and the stars, and then when we committed, they started pulling back. It's not just the coaches, it's the staff, the trainers, a lot of people are affected by this."
8- You're part of the Kos/industrial complex. It was only a matter of time before it spread. I'm still preparing my GBCW for a diary, but I hope it won't be necessary.
ESPN is doing a crappy job of covering it -- getting interview after interview with players with no word from either the Red Sox or MLB.
Of course, the players are a collective bargaining unit and the coaches are not, so I don't quite understand how their negotiations can be related.
We've never been struck before, I thought it would have an effect but apparently when Diamondback fans who wear corduroy go on strike, the effect is negligible.
One side of the partnership is firmly on the side of the guy who can talk for 37 minutes and not bore you.
I have no idea what the smarter side is thinking.
vr, Xei
vr, Xei
"Some of the promises have already been taken away, now this," Schilling said. "As far as the players are concerned, [withholding the coaches' bonuses] can't happen."
''When we voted to go to Japan, that was not a unanimous vote,'' Lowell told the Globe, "but we did what our team wanted us to do for Major League Baseball. They promised us the moon and the stars, and then when we committed, they started pulling back. It's not just the coaches, it's the staff, the trainers, a lot of people are affected by this."
Anyway, glad they worked it out. Japan is pretty expensive so I can see why they wanted some more of the incidentals covered.
Comment status: comments have been closed. Baseball Toaster is now out of business.