WEBVTT - Jon Morosi, MLB Negotiating Table 0:00:00.960 --> 0:00:05.480 Boom. If you thought four hours a day, minutes a 0:00:05.480 --> 0:00:09.200 week was enough, I think again. He's the last remnants 0:00:09.200 --> 0:00:12.480 of the old republic, a sole fashion of fairness. He 0:00:12.560 --> 0:00:15.480 treats crackheads in the ghetto cutter the same as the 0:00:15.600 --> 0:00:19.600 rich pill poppers in the penthouse the clearing House of 0:00:19.640 --> 0:00:23.439 hot takes break free for something special. The Fifth Hour 0:00:23.560 --> 0:00:32.480 with Ben Maller starts right now in the air everywhere, 0:00:32.520 --> 0:00:36.760 and a very very happy Friday to you. Do we 0:00:36.840 --> 0:00:41.080 have baseball ow hell now, but we do have the 0:00:41.120 --> 0:00:45.800 Fifth Hour with Ben Maller and Danny g back for 0:00:45.880 --> 0:00:51.720 another weekend here. And we're always debating the the balance, 0:00:51.800 --> 0:00:53.960 But who do we have on on Friday? We like 0:00:54.040 --> 0:00:58.720 to bring somebody in and chat. And so this week, 0:00:59.360 --> 0:01:01.880 considering the big story that we've talked a lot about 0:01:01.960 --> 0:01:05.000 on the Overnight Show has been the labor dispute in 0:01:05.080 --> 0:01:08.959 Major League Baseball. Who better to comment on that. That's 0:01:09.000 --> 0:01:11.600 someone that has covered baseball for years, that is a 0:01:11.600 --> 0:01:13.520 friend of mine. I've known this guy for many, many 0:01:13.600 --> 0:01:18.120 years from MLB Network and he's all over this here 0:01:18.240 --> 0:01:21.199 on Fox Sports Radio all the time. You have seeing 0:01:21.280 --> 0:01:25.319 him over the years as a reporter on baseball coverage 0:01:25.319 --> 0:01:29.959 on Fox Sports and FS one, and he's multidimensional. He 0:01:30.000 --> 0:01:36.000 covers hockey as well for the NHL Network. John Paul 0:01:36.080 --> 0:01:39.959 Morossi better known It's just John Morrossi, and he joins 0:01:40.040 --> 0:01:43.240 us now on the Fifth Hour with Ben Maller and 0:01:43.360 --> 0:01:47.240 Danny g to talk all things baseball, labor. What We're 0:01:47.240 --> 0:01:53.320 gonna try to make this relatable in layman's terms, because listen, 0:01:53.480 --> 0:01:55.560 I'm not that bright. So let's just get into it 0:01:55.680 --> 0:01:58.400 right now, and we welcome to John to the show. 0:01:58.720 --> 0:02:02.240 And the thing that has annoyed so many, including yours 0:02:02.280 --> 0:02:07.560 truly who love baseball, John, is the delay in getting 0:02:07.600 --> 0:02:10.280 the talk started. Now. I know they talked a lot recently, 0:02:10.440 --> 0:02:13.560 but this should have been done months ago. Why do 0:02:13.680 --> 0:02:18.960 you think both sides ended up procrastinating so long to 0:02:19.120 --> 0:02:23.720 get the negotiation jump started. Well, Ben, it's an excellent question, 0:02:23.919 --> 0:02:26.760 and it's been asked by people close to the process 0:02:26.840 --> 0:02:29.040 and people who are fans of the game and love 0:02:29.080 --> 0:02:32.920 the game. I think the reality is that both sides 0:02:33.040 --> 0:02:39.320 perhaps needed the deadline, which effectively was the deadline that 0:02:39.400 --> 0:02:42.200 we saw pass on Monday or Tuesday. We should say, 0:02:42.320 --> 0:02:46.600 uh to not sacrifice any regular season games that perhaps 0:02:46.880 --> 0:02:49.960 we were not going to see a real negotiation, a 0:02:50.040 --> 0:02:54.680 real grinding of those last details until that arrived. So 0:02:55.480 --> 0:02:58.079 I do think if there is any blame on that, 0:02:58.280 --> 0:03:01.440 it's somewhat universal to say that there were aspects of 0:03:01.440 --> 0:03:04.840 this that could have been worked through earlier. But I 0:03:04.880 --> 0:03:09.800 suppose the facts that deadlines tend to motivate was perhaps 0:03:09.880 --> 0:03:12.960 evident by the reality that we didn't see a deadline 0:03:13.000 --> 0:03:15.560 missed on Tuesday, and then a deal happened the next day. 0:03:15.639 --> 0:03:18.160 This is I think on some level we are all 0:03:18.320 --> 0:03:22.000 creatures of deadlines and and routines, and in this respect, 0:03:22.000 --> 0:03:25.280 and for better or worse, this is a deadline sort 0:03:25.280 --> 0:03:27.919 of a game, whether it's a trade deadline or arbitration 0:03:28.360 --> 0:03:32.160 salary figure deadline. Unfortunately been this was one deadline that 0:03:32.280 --> 0:03:35.400 was missed, and I think the blame is is shared 0:03:35.440 --> 0:03:37.440 around the game, and the reality is the fans of 0:03:37.560 --> 0:03:39.920 those that are are suffering the most right now. All right, 0:03:39.960 --> 0:03:42.120 So I have a theory, John. I was on the radio, 0:03:42.120 --> 0:03:44.280 I do the Overnight show and whatnot, and we were 0:03:44.320 --> 0:03:46.680 on the air when all this was was going down, 0:03:47.280 --> 0:03:50.520 and because they went past two in the morning, and 0:03:50.600 --> 0:03:54.280 my theory is if they had just stayed there until 0:03:54.360 --> 0:03:57.880 the sun came up. They if you believe the reporting, 0:03:57.880 --> 0:04:00.440 they were close to a deal on Monday and that's 0:04:00.440 --> 0:04:02.880 why they came back on Tuesday to to finish it. 0:04:03.000 --> 0:04:05.280 My theory is they would have gotten something done they 0:04:05.520 --> 0:04:09.800 the moment they left. Both sides left. Then then other 0:04:09.880 --> 0:04:13.360 people entered the conversation and were able to change their mind. 0:04:13.360 --> 0:04:15.520 People go to bed, they wake up, they have different 0:04:15.560 --> 0:04:18.640 feelings from the night before. Uh. Do you agree with that? 0:04:18.720 --> 0:04:20.880 Do you think if they just stayed a few more hours, 0:04:21.240 --> 0:04:23.560 we would have had a deal done Monday At six 0:04:23.560 --> 0:04:24.920 in the morning, they would have gone out and had 0:04:25.120 --> 0:04:30.080 eggs and bacon and then played baseball. It's possible, Ben, 0:04:30.160 --> 0:04:33.080 I suppose we'll never know. A couple of points on 0:04:33.240 --> 0:04:36.720 that where I I believe that that your argument is 0:04:37.120 --> 0:04:40.200 valid in a couple of different ways. Number One, even 0:04:40.240 --> 0:04:44.200 on Tuesday morning, we heard different different opinions between the 0:04:44.320 --> 0:04:47.160 union side and the league side as exactly how close 0:04:47.240 --> 0:04:51.080 they were the night before. Perhaps MLB thought they were 0:04:51.160 --> 0:04:54.160 close to a deal, the Union seemed to think they 0:04:54.200 --> 0:04:57.800 were close enough to continue talking. And those are two 0:04:57.839 --> 0:05:02.760 different related but to different conceptions of what was going on. Uh. 0:05:03.040 --> 0:05:05.839 I also think that to your point, it's a correct 0:05:06.080 --> 0:05:10.680 point to make that both sides of this are made 0:05:10.760 --> 0:05:15.000 up of rather diverse constituencies. And on the MLB side, 0:05:15.240 --> 0:05:19.840 this is not always the will and the best negotiating 0:05:20.440 --> 0:05:24.520 wisdom of Rob Manford Dan Halum. It is what can 0:05:24.560 --> 0:05:27.520 I put out there that two thirds of the owners 0:05:27.520 --> 0:05:30.240 will ratify. And on the player side, it's the same 0:05:30.279 --> 0:05:33.440 thing between large salary earning players and those that are 0:05:33.480 --> 0:05:36.440 earning closer to the minimum. The analogy I've made is 0:05:36.880 --> 0:05:40.560 to a majority leader or a minority leader of the Senate, 0:05:41.000 --> 0:05:45.200 and when a negotiation is happening on legislation, the individual 0:05:45.640 --> 0:05:50.320 whims or beliefs of that majority or minority leader might 0:05:50.680 --> 0:05:54.560 be X. But if that set of values is not 0:05:54.720 --> 0:05:58.120 going to pass with the three the two thirds majority 0:05:58.200 --> 0:06:01.320 of of your constituency, of your caucus, if you will 0:06:01.400 --> 0:06:04.160 to use this example, it's not gonna work. And so 0:06:04.279 --> 0:06:06.839 I really think Ben that this is a time where 0:06:07.640 --> 0:06:12.479 the beliefs along those uh continuums of players and owners 0:06:12.520 --> 0:06:15.719 are quite diverse. There are a lot of different interests 0:06:15.839 --> 0:06:19.160 that the Dodgers have or the Yankees have that are 0:06:19.240 --> 0:06:23.720 fundamentally and perhaps diametrically in opposition to the Rays or 0:06:23.760 --> 0:06:26.160 the Pirates or the Royals. It's there's a different set 0:06:26.160 --> 0:06:29.080 of circumstances. And what I think has happened right now, Ben, 0:06:29.120 --> 0:06:32.320 is there's been a real difficulty in arriving at what 0:06:32.400 --> 0:06:35.040 that compromised point is. That the final point I'll make 0:06:35.080 --> 0:06:41.480 on this this particular topic is it is disappointing, vexing, confusing, 0:06:41.560 --> 0:06:46.000 whatever word you'd like to choose. That the issue that 0:06:46.320 --> 0:06:49.800 is probably the most significant one right now, which the 0:06:49.839 --> 0:06:52.840 CBT threshold and what that number is going to be, 0:06:53.480 --> 0:06:58.080 is in it a number and a behavior that is 0:06:58.320 --> 0:07:02.240 entirely within the purview of the teams. Nothing in this CBA, 0:07:02.360 --> 0:07:07.520 Ben says the cb A threshold, or the CBT threshold 0:07:07.640 --> 0:07:11.840 rather is two twenty million dollars and everybody's got to 0:07:11.880 --> 0:07:13.960 spend that amount of money. That's not at all what 0:07:14.040 --> 0:07:16.480 it says. It just says that's the maximum that you 0:07:16.480 --> 0:07:20.880 could spend before you begin incurring penalties, which is entirely different. 0:07:21.120 --> 0:07:24.240 And so it really is up to to the discretion 0:07:25.000 --> 0:07:27.800 of each team if you want to spend up to 0:07:27.840 --> 0:07:31.880 that level or not. And the irony is that you 0:07:31.960 --> 0:07:36.160 consider the World Series two years ago, you had the Dodgers, 0:07:36.240 --> 0:07:39.320 one of the richest teams in the game. We're pushed 0:07:39.320 --> 0:07:41.320 to a sixth game and perhaps could have been a 0:07:41.360 --> 0:07:44.720 seventh had a decision been different with respect to pitching 0:07:45.480 --> 0:07:47.600 against the team with one of the lowest payrolls in 0:07:47.600 --> 0:07:51.480 the sport. So, I I don't know. It's really you 0:07:51.560 --> 0:07:54.200 take a take a step back and consider where the 0:07:54.240 --> 0:07:57.960 economics of the game are on either side. It is 0:07:58.320 --> 0:08:00.880 to meet a little bit baffling that the number that's 0:08:00.920 --> 0:08:03.960 holding everybody up is the number that affects half a 0:08:04.000 --> 0:08:07.600 dozen teams. Really, and even then, is that the discretion 0:08:07.840 --> 0:08:11.400 ben of those teams. No one is ever forcing a 0:08:11.440 --> 0:08:16.880 team to spend close to at or above the CBT threshold. 0:08:16.960 --> 0:08:19.800 And yet it's that number that seems to be the reason, 0:08:19.840 --> 0:08:22.000 the chief reason at least why we don't have spring 0:08:22.040 --> 0:08:24.120 training open right now. Well, and the other thing to John, 0:08:24.400 --> 0:08:26.680 just to follow up and piggyback on what you were 0:08:26.720 --> 0:08:28.880 saying that I used to work in San Diego and 0:08:28.920 --> 0:08:31.880 the Padres always kind of small market team. I remember 0:08:31.920 --> 0:08:34.760 many fire sales for the Padres back in the day 0:08:34.760 --> 0:08:37.160 when I was getting started in radio, and they are 0:08:37.400 --> 0:08:40.120 they're a big swinger now and there you know, to 0:08:40.200 --> 0:08:44.000 my knowledge, the San Diego market has not changed that 0:08:44.080 --> 0:08:48.360 they're one of the smaller market teams in baseball. And 0:08:49.080 --> 0:08:51.679 is it true, John, that there's other teams that are 0:08:51.760 --> 0:08:54.640 upset with the Podres because they went out and spent 0:08:54.760 --> 0:08:58.720 a gazillion dollars on Manny Machado and a couple other guys, 0:08:58.760 --> 0:09:00.880 And so they've got a a hey roll which is 0:09:00.920 --> 0:09:04.360 near the very top of baseball and a market where 0:09:04.360 --> 0:09:06.600 you compare them to some of these other teams like 0:09:06.679 --> 0:09:09.920 Pittsburgh and whatnot that have have spent no money like 0:09:09.960 --> 0:09:14.160 the Podres are upsetting the Apple card, if you will. 0:09:14.240 --> 0:09:17.680 Is that a legitimate opinion. I'm sure there's a lot 0:09:17.760 --> 0:09:21.640 of truth to that. And Ben, that's also not it's 0:09:21.640 --> 0:09:24.120 not a novel concept in the game. Remember back to 0:09:24.200 --> 0:09:26.920 the stories of of when the A Rod deal was 0:09:27.000 --> 0:09:30.920 signed with Texas back in two thousands. Uh and and 0:09:31.000 --> 0:09:34.720 there was the famous press conference given by Sandy Alderson, 0:09:34.760 --> 0:09:38.240 who was obviously not not the GM of the Rangers 0:09:38.240 --> 0:09:42.400 outside the Winter Meetings room where the deal was announced, 0:09:42.679 --> 0:09:45.000 and he was lamb basting the deal about what a 0:09:45.160 --> 0:09:48.240 terrible deal is was for baseball because uh now it 0:09:48.360 --> 0:09:50.520 was going to create this inflation effect on all the 0:09:50.559 --> 0:09:52.720 different wages and oh my gosh, where are we going 0:09:52.720 --> 0:09:56.000 in the sports? So it's that has been a part 0:09:56.000 --> 0:09:59.199 of the game for as long as there has been 0:09:59.240 --> 0:10:02.280 a divergence in team spending. Happens, probably since the dawn 0:10:02.280 --> 0:10:07.520 of free agency. So notable, yes, novel, not at all, 0:10:07.960 --> 0:10:12.599 And and I do think it is representative of of 0:10:13.280 --> 0:10:15.600 I guess what I would say, Ben, is one data 0:10:15.679 --> 0:10:19.520 point because you might have an agent who says to 0:10:19.640 --> 0:10:22.680 another team just let's just say the Rockies for example, 0:10:22.679 --> 0:10:24.960 they're in the same division. Hey, listen, the Padres are 0:10:24.960 --> 0:10:27.480 spending this amount of money. You had better sign my 0:10:27.600 --> 0:10:30.800 player and and bring your money more in line with 0:10:30.840 --> 0:10:34.280 what the Padres have and and the Rockies GM could say, 0:10:34.280 --> 0:10:37.400 we wait a minute, the Padres this past year, we're 0:10:37.400 --> 0:10:42.079 a colossal failure. And teams that were paying significantly less money, 0:10:42.120 --> 0:10:45.080 like the Rays were a success. Why do I have 0:10:45.160 --> 0:10:47.920 to spend for your player at all? So I think, Benny, 0:10:48.000 --> 0:10:52.600 it it's the system. It's it's interesting because we can 0:10:52.640 --> 0:10:54.480 talk about the money, and obviously the money is huge 0:10:54.520 --> 0:10:57.000 part of this at the top line, but at the 0:10:57.120 --> 0:10:59.440 end of the day, for the vast majority of teams. 0:10:59.640 --> 0:11:02.719 If you've raft well and develop well and keep your 0:11:02.760 --> 0:11:05.559 talent and build a good culture, and have a good manager, 0:11:05.679 --> 0:11:09.640 and and and check all these boxes, you're probably going 0:11:09.679 --> 0:11:12.640 to be a successful, sustainable team, even if you're not 0:11:12.679 --> 0:11:17.240 spending the most money. It's it's it certainly said. Yes, 0:11:17.440 --> 0:11:19.240 you've got two teams that spent over the wax Street 0:11:19.240 --> 0:11:23.400 Tax Dodgers pod Race. One was a very good team 0:11:23.600 --> 0:11:27.760 and one wasn't. So there are still multiple pathways to 0:11:27.960 --> 0:11:32.199 getting this this success in baseball that every team is 0:11:32.200 --> 0:11:34.640 is pursuing. And the point men that I would make 0:11:34.760 --> 0:11:39.120 that I think should guide everybody in this conversation. The 0:11:39.480 --> 0:11:43.280 Players Union set out to say at the outset of this, 0:11:43.760 --> 0:11:46.920 we want younger players to be paid more well. In 0:11:47.000 --> 0:11:50.200 the last proposal, the minimum seller ran up more than 0:11:50.240 --> 0:11:54.439 a hundred thousand dollars and and to the credit of 0:11:54.480 --> 0:11:57.480 the union they should be congratulated for that number. And 0:11:57.520 --> 0:12:02.200 also the creation of the arbitration bonus pool to pay 0:12:02.240 --> 0:12:05.160 for the players who have not yet achieved salary arbitration, 0:12:05.280 --> 0:12:06.920 so that the players who have between two and three 0:12:07.000 --> 0:12:10.520 years of service, that is new money, found money, if 0:12:10.520 --> 0:12:13.560 you will, thirty million dollars just put into that to 0:12:13.640 --> 0:12:20.120 incentivize great performances by superior young talent. Then to me, 0:12:20.960 --> 0:12:24.000 that seems pretty darn good. Maybe you could argue that 0:12:24.000 --> 0:12:26.800 that numbers should go up more. But because we've never 0:12:26.920 --> 0:12:30.240 had it before and the Union has put put press 0:12:30.320 --> 0:12:32.640 for it, and mL we put it in there, it's 0:12:32.640 --> 0:12:35.320 really hard for us to know what the fair number is. 0:12:35.360 --> 0:12:38.520 It's never existed. It's like putting something on the market 0:12:38.559 --> 0:12:41.040 and say, well, what what is this worth? Well, we've 0:12:41.080 --> 0:12:42.760 never seen this before, so I don't know. I don't 0:12:42.760 --> 0:12:45.040 know what it's worth. And I think that's part of 0:12:45.080 --> 0:12:48.200 the issue that they're dealing with right now, is what 0:12:48.320 --> 0:12:51.439 that number ought to be. That certainly there are still 0:12:51.520 --> 0:12:54.559 some distances been to be able to bridge. I'm encouraged 0:12:54.640 --> 0:12:57.280 that on on this Thursday, there was a smaller conversation 0:12:57.360 --> 0:13:00.959 reportedly between Dan Ailum and Bruce Meyer, the lead negotiator 0:13:01.000 --> 0:13:05.600 for MLB, the negotiator for the union, Great Small group Workshop. 0:13:05.640 --> 0:13:08.520 The ideas talk about a lot of different ideas, and 0:13:08.600 --> 0:13:12.880 I am still opal that there's enough sense here on 0:13:12.960 --> 0:13:15.719 what this agreement could look like that there is no 0:13:15.840 --> 0:13:19.320 reason for us to lose all of April. And I've 0:13:19.320 --> 0:13:23.280 heard plenty of conversation about well, the national TV contracts 0:13:23.280 --> 0:13:25.559 they pick up in May and the owners will make 0:13:25.760 --> 0:13:28.160 that they'll make more, or that they'll be coming out 0:13:28.200 --> 0:13:30.360 just fine if they don't pay any wages in April 0:13:30.600 --> 0:13:33.120 and then come back and May. That might be true 0:13:33.400 --> 0:13:36.200 for the balance sheets of April and May of two. 0:13:36.600 --> 0:13:39.960 But whether it's the owners or the players, then you 0:13:39.960 --> 0:13:42.840 you host a show that talks about all different sports. 0:13:43.000 --> 0:13:45.880 You understand this frankly better than I do because I 0:13:45.920 --> 0:13:48.360 work largely in baseball and hockey, so I've got my 0:13:48.440 --> 0:13:51.720 two sports that I focus on. This is an issue 0:13:51.800 --> 0:13:55.559 where if if baseball goes away for a while and 0:13:55.559 --> 0:13:59.480 and and fans and people around the country find other 0:13:59.600 --> 0:14:03.040 things to spend their summer evenings doing, they might not 0:14:03.200 --> 0:14:07.880 come back. And then what you gained with some pyric 0:14:08.000 --> 0:14:12.679 victory in April or May of evaporates because the overall 0:14:12.760 --> 0:14:16.079 business is not growing in the fashion that you expected 0:14:16.160 --> 0:14:18.559 to grow. And so ben as much as there's a 0:14:18.640 --> 0:14:22.440 lot of points being scored on either side, frankly, both 0:14:22.520 --> 0:14:25.200 camps have to take a step back listen to what 0:14:25.640 --> 0:14:27.520 the people who are actually paying the tickets have to 0:14:27.520 --> 0:14:29.920 say for them. For themselves, and realize that if we 0:14:29.960 --> 0:14:32.840 don't get this game back on the field and improve 0:14:33.160 --> 0:14:37.000 the quality of the product, with the with the pace 0:14:37.040 --> 0:14:40.120 of play, a lot of other issues, if we can't 0:14:40.240 --> 0:14:43.120 get to a point where we can talk about these things, 0:14:43.600 --> 0:14:47.360 the business is going to shrink. It will become continually 0:14:47.880 --> 0:14:51.800 less relevant, not irrelevant, but just less relevant, which is 0:14:52.080 --> 0:14:54.960 which is to me concerning I love the game, the 0:14:54.960 --> 0:14:56.760 game is my liveli and did it matters a ton 0:14:56.800 --> 0:14:59.600 to me. We have to find a way to get 0:14:59.600 --> 0:15:01.800 it back, end the deal, to talk about the things 0:15:01.840 --> 0:15:05.960 that will actually resonate with the people who buy the tickets, 0:15:06.400 --> 0:15:09.680 and then that will hopefully allow this national pastime to 0:15:09.720 --> 0:15:11.520 get to a better place. All right, So, John, you 0:15:11.560 --> 0:15:13.040 know I've known you for a long time. I love 0:15:13.080 --> 0:15:15.320 baseball as well, and I do talk about everything on 0:15:15.360 --> 0:15:17.520 the Overnight Show. And so I'm at the point now 0:15:17.560 --> 0:15:19.520 when it comes to the fan issue where I am 0:15:19.600 --> 0:15:22.720 convinced both the owners and players they both use the 0:15:22.800 --> 0:15:26.640 fans as ponds, but I don't think they truly either 0:15:26.800 --> 0:15:30.080 side is really concerned about the fan. I think it's 0:15:30.120 --> 0:15:32.680 just rhetoric that they toss out and it's a good 0:15:32.680 --> 0:15:35.520 talking point. People like it, but I'll tell you what's 0:15:35.520 --> 0:15:38.440 gonna happen, John, What's gonna happens. People are just they're 0:15:38.440 --> 0:15:40.960 not gonna worry about baseball. They're gonna do other things. 0:15:41.080 --> 0:15:42.640 We saw this a couple of years ago when the 0:15:42.640 --> 0:15:45.800 pandemic started and there was no sports for a hundred days. 0:15:45.840 --> 0:15:48.080 People just you know, they find Netflix or whatever else 0:15:48.120 --> 0:15:50.520 to watch and then if sports come back. I think 0:15:50.560 --> 0:15:52.680 this is this is the argument that the owners and 0:15:52.720 --> 0:15:56.720 the players both both will make that if it's July 0:15:57.280 --> 0:15:59.120 and it's eighty degrees and you want to take your 0:15:59.160 --> 0:16:01.080 family out to a game, and you know the weather 0:16:01.160 --> 0:16:04.680 is wonderful and you want entertainment, it's an experience, you're 0:16:04.720 --> 0:16:08.200 gonna do it. And so I'm convinced both sides know 0:16:08.400 --> 0:16:11.040 that whenever they get a deal done, assuming there's baseball, 0:16:11.400 --> 0:16:14.480 they'll be they'll be out there. But in terms of relevance, yeah, 0:16:14.520 --> 0:16:16.760 I mean pretty much all we do in sports radio 0:16:16.800 --> 0:16:20.280 these days is obsessed about different free agents in the NFL. 0:16:20.720 --> 0:16:23.960 That's pretty much what we do. And it's it's very frustrating, 0:16:24.640 --> 0:16:27.440 uh you know, from that perspective, because you know, everyone's 0:16:27.440 --> 0:16:30.440 talking about the fans, both Tony Clark and uh and 0:16:30.480 --> 0:16:33.600 also Rob Manford all these other guys that if issue 0:16:33.640 --> 0:16:36.320 statements is all about the fans, this that you listen. 0:16:36.560 --> 0:16:39.040 Let's be honest here, John, just like you and I, 0:16:39.040 --> 0:16:41.600 if we're in the negotiation, you're looking at the players 0:16:41.600 --> 0:16:43.480 are looking out for the players, the owners are looking 0:16:43.480 --> 0:16:45.680 out for the owners, and you know the fans are 0:16:45.720 --> 0:16:49.120 somewhere down the list here. And so I every time 0:16:49.160 --> 0:16:51.960 I hear the fans this the fans lad from owners 0:16:51.960 --> 0:16:55.760 and players, I kind of cringe because being completely transparent, 0:16:56.520 --> 0:16:58.520 that's not the case. You you buy that or you 0:16:58.560 --> 0:17:01.280 don't buy that. Well, I mean been on some levels 0:17:01.280 --> 0:17:05.359 they have to on a macro basis listen to the 0:17:05.400 --> 0:17:09.879 fans because they're their customers and whether or not they 0:17:10.000 --> 0:17:14.119 whether or not they are truly considering the fans wishes. 0:17:14.200 --> 0:17:17.920 And I believe certainly with MLBS moved to the change 0:17:17.960 --> 0:17:22.000 pace of play, eliminate the shift, universal d H, some 0:17:22.119 --> 0:17:25.960 other things that fans want, I do believe they are 0:17:26.080 --> 0:17:28.679 listening to the fans in that respect and want to 0:17:28.800 --> 0:17:32.480 change and improve the game because all these the rule 0:17:32.600 --> 0:17:35.600 change has been When you consider where we're at with 0:17:35.600 --> 0:17:38.080 with a lot of different sports, rule changes happened quite 0:17:38.119 --> 0:17:41.600 frequently all the time in fact, for baseball, that there 0:17:41.720 --> 0:17:45.439 is this retstance change the game too much because it 0:17:45.600 --> 0:17:50.359 is sort of this high bound traditionalist sport. And look around. 0:17:50.400 --> 0:17:52.440 I mean you know what again better than I do 0:17:52.680 --> 0:17:56.159 when you consider the popularity of the NFL, the popularity 0:17:56.160 --> 0:17:59.199 of the NBA. Uh, certainly you look at soccer. Soccer 0:17:59.240 --> 0:18:01.760 is in a very differ in place now that it 0:18:01.880 --> 0:18:05.520 was when when best when baseball was last on strike. 0:18:05.960 --> 0:18:10.840 So there is a tremendous competition for the hearts and 0:18:10.920 --> 0:18:14.640 minds of of people, and certainly young people. And if 0:18:14.680 --> 0:18:19.879 you cannot find a way to develop a passionate following 0:18:20.520 --> 0:18:23.840 among younger people to watch the game for three hours, 0:18:23.840 --> 0:18:25.840 three and a half hours, it's a long time. It's 0:18:25.840 --> 0:18:28.040 a long time for it. Don't to sit and watch 0:18:28.119 --> 0:18:31.240 one thing. And so if we are going to grow 0:18:31.320 --> 0:18:34.320 the game, as we always talk about, so the the 0:18:34.400 --> 0:18:37.600 Zeit guys were talking to hear about growth, mindset, growth, 0:18:37.640 --> 0:18:40.240 business probably going to grow the business, how are we 0:18:40.280 --> 0:18:44.480 gonna make families and young people believe that a baseball 0:18:44.560 --> 0:18:48.320 game traffic, paying for the tickets, paying for the concessions, 0:18:48.320 --> 0:18:51.159 whatever it is, it is worth our time and money 0:18:51.320 --> 0:18:52.919 and if your point been, a lot of people in 0:18:52.920 --> 0:18:56.879 the last two years have reevaluated what that time and 0:18:56.920 --> 0:18:58.920 money ought to go to, and there's been a lot 0:18:58.920 --> 0:19:01.320 of soul searching for out of of a reason, and 0:19:01.480 --> 0:19:04.640 that that process is very much ongoing, and I would 0:19:04.680 --> 0:19:07.800 say been the worst thing that you can do. The 0:19:07.800 --> 0:19:11.920 worst thing that you can do is remove your your 0:19:12.000 --> 0:19:17.359 conversation piece, your sports, your brand from shows like yours. 0:19:17.760 --> 0:19:20.120 And if you take baseball off the airwaves, you take 0:19:20.160 --> 0:19:24.439 baseball out of circulation for a while. Consumer preferences and 0:19:24.480 --> 0:19:27.320 what kids are into and what all people are into 0:19:27.840 --> 0:19:31.480 change so quickly. Now, Ben, and we know this that 0:19:31.760 --> 0:19:33.760 if you take yourself out of circulation for a period 0:19:33.760 --> 0:19:35.639 of time, there's no guarantee that you're ever going to 0:19:35.680 --> 0:19:38.920 get back in the rotation of of the family's mindset. 0:19:39.200 --> 0:19:43.920 In Illinois, in Michigan, in Nebraska, in Texas, in California, 0:19:43.960 --> 0:19:47.280 wherever it might be, they'll move on. And I think 0:19:48.040 --> 0:19:52.120 expecting America to have routines like America has always had 0:19:52.200 --> 0:19:56.400 routines is not really a winning strategy at this point 0:19:56.400 --> 0:19:58.600 in time. You have to stay above and in the 0:19:58.600 --> 0:20:00.960 head of the curve and and just fate and you 0:20:01.000 --> 0:20:03.880 cannot do those things if your product is not being 0:20:03.880 --> 0:20:06.320 played at a given time. So how much money we 0:20:06.359 --> 0:20:10.080 talked about? I read that the salaries per game that 0:20:10.119 --> 0:20:12.359 has been canceled. I read a number. It was like 0:20:12.400 --> 0:20:15.800 twenty million dollars per day if you know all the 0:20:15.840 --> 0:20:18.040 games are canceled, which we've already seen some in the 0:20:18.720 --> 0:20:22.480 teams are gonna lose like a hundred thousand per per 0:20:22.520 --> 0:20:25.640 home game in in revenue. Do those numbers sound right? 0:20:25.760 --> 0:20:27.920 Is that? Does that sound like a ball? That seems 0:20:28.000 --> 0:20:30.800 low to me? On both sides? Is that is that 0:20:30.840 --> 0:20:33.480 where we are? And that is that we've heard there's 0:20:33.520 --> 0:20:38.120 differing estimates, I think based on market size, based on team, uh, 0:20:38.200 --> 0:20:42.199 depending on circumstances. Again, obviously, the the national TV revenues 0:20:42.240 --> 0:20:44.640 for baseball, and that's that's real. Where that that really 0:20:44.680 --> 0:20:47.120 starts to kick in and may there are some make 0:20:47.240 --> 0:20:51.960 goods that exist for the local regional television piece that 0:20:52.240 --> 0:20:54.840 only really start to become a factor if you have 0:20:54.920 --> 0:20:59.520 missed twenty games or more. So those things are admittedly 0:20:59.560 --> 0:21:02.080 a bit on the line, but it's not forever. And oh, 0:21:02.119 --> 0:21:06.760 by the way, April fifteen is Jackie Robinson Day, anniversary 0:21:06.760 --> 0:21:10.080 of his debut, and that to me is as sacred 0:21:10.119 --> 0:21:13.920 of an occasion as we have, certainly in baseball, definitely 0:21:13.960 --> 0:21:16.560 in sports, and arguably in our country when you think 0:21:16.600 --> 0:21:20.600 about what that day means, uh, in American history. And 0:21:20.680 --> 0:21:22.520 so that is to me one of the most hall 0:21:22.560 --> 0:21:24.800 old days that we have to observe in our in 0:21:24.800 --> 0:21:28.040 our corner of the sports universe. And and darned if 0:21:28.080 --> 0:21:31.919 we cannot find a way to get major league games 0:21:31.960 --> 0:21:36.359 played on the seventy anniversary of Jackie Robinson's debut, and 0:21:36.520 --> 0:21:39.160 shame on all of us. Really, I mean, there's there's 0:21:39.240 --> 0:21:43.000 no there is no credible excuse for that for anybody. 0:21:43.080 --> 0:21:46.440 It's just it's it's unforgivable from what I said. If 0:21:46.480 --> 0:21:49.360 that's if that's the outcome, so uh, And if that's 0:21:49.400 --> 0:21:51.560 going to be the outcome. To avoid that, we've got 0:21:51.560 --> 0:21:53.680 to get a deal about the next ten days, which, 0:21:53.720 --> 0:21:57.320 by the way, they can do the number I'll repeat 0:21:57.400 --> 0:22:01.240 the number that is the most significant pediment here is 0:22:01.280 --> 0:22:05.359 the competitive Palace Tax special, which is an entirely discretionary 0:22:05.359 --> 0:22:09.000 amount of spending on a per team basis. If you say, 0:22:09.000 --> 0:22:11.320 as a team, I don't really want it to be 0:22:11.440 --> 0:22:14.520 two thirty eight I wanted to be too twenty. Okay, 0:22:14.640 --> 0:22:17.040 then don't spend more than two twenty. You have that 0:22:17.119 --> 0:22:19.960 right as a team. And and we have seen many, 0:22:20.000 --> 0:22:24.160 many times that teams that spend more money don't always 0:22:24.520 --> 0:22:29.240 benefit from those expenditures. And and so I just I am, 0:22:29.280 --> 0:22:32.439 I am a little bit just dumbfounded, frankly as to 0:22:32.560 --> 0:22:37.240 why that number is the big issue here when it 0:22:37.359 --> 0:22:40.920