Comments on: Draft Bonuses Still an Issue With the CBA

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Fri, 28 Oct 2011 00:11:00 +0000

I’m just worried that the money might start getting out of hand like it did in the NFL

By: Tim Williams

Tim Williams — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 18:25:00 +0000

That wouldn’t really hurt the Pirates. They still have the exclusive rights to negotiate with their picks. This would just mean that they’d be less likely to land a guy like Josh Bell in the 2nd round.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 18:19:00 +0000

You hit it right on
the head in regard to Selig and the “big money teams”. Why else would
he fight for an issue that has no impact on his current players? The soft
slotting system in place does give teams without deep pocket owners (forget
market size) to attempt to maximize their dollars.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 18:18:00 +0000

The only thing I wonder about is what if the vast majority of teams start exceding what the Pirates are spending and drives the cost of draft picks so high that the Pirates are at a disadvantage so much so that the Pirates will have to lead the charge for a hard slotting system ?

By: Ian Rothermund

Ian Rothermund — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 17:55:00 +0000

It doesn’t surprise me that Selig is in favor of the hard slotted system, he seems to side with the “big money teams.” I seriously doubt that a hard slotting system will go through, and it confounds me why the head a major sports league, like Selig, would be in favor of essentially taking talent away from the league as a whole. Because if a hard slotting system were to go through, so many more young players would just choose to go to college. Top end first rounders wouldn’t get the money that they’ve been getting, middle rounders who teased with the idea of going to college wouldn’t get the money they were after, so the only way to get the most money you could is to go to college and up your stock. At that point, why wouldn’t they go to school? The great players will get a lot of money towards their education, in some instances they get to be a relatively big deal (more so than if they were just some guy on a bench in State College), and in their minds, hopefully build their value when they can come out in a couple years. While this would be a good thing for the NCAA, the MLB is not the NCAA, and is therefore not profiting from this system. Since the beginning, gaining young, high school talent has been a part of the game. Granted, the MLB draft has garnered considerably more attention in the last few years. However, I find it difficult to see the MLB not suffering in some way, shape, or form, from limiting the collection of amateur talent.

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Thu, 27 Oct 2011 13:09:00 +0000

I think it goes without saying that if a hard-slotting system was part of the CBA, you could pretty much put a sign on each entrance to PNC saying “Abandon all hope, ye who enter here.”