Yankees: MLB Owners Must Quickly Figure Out How Negotiations Work

MLB owners are far too angry about the latest MLBPA proposal, which is basically…what they agreed upon yesterday.

Wednesday and Thursday both seemed, on the surface, like wholly positive steps in the negotiation the bring MLB owners and the MLBPA closer.

Whether the two had a framework, or an agreement, or something approximating both halves of a deal, their negotiation seemed to be moving in the right direction.

MLB owners offered (or agreed to, depending on who you believe) 60 games of full pro rata to the players, while baking in 10 off days in a 70-game schedule. Many on both sides, per Buster Olney, saw this as a pretty easy way to get to 65 games total.

Therefore, when the players took the next logical step on Thursday and went ahead and proposed their 70 games (while conceding ancillary things like branded jersey advertisements to the owners), MLB owners logically responded by counterin–I’m sorry, what? They threw an absolute baby tantrum?

Hmm. I see.

As a counter, may I propose, “Give me my bottle, I need milky”?

This is insane for many reasons, but mainly because the players are being nothing if not rational here. You think 70 is overkill? Great. So do they, perhaps. They would likely be thrilled with 65 (or 66, for schedule-balancing purposes). You don’t want to inch above 60? Fine. That’s a better mandated season than 48. Make it known to the players that you think you’ve stretched to your limits, and would rather the framework moving forward focus on the positives, like the universal DH opening up in the NL, giving aging sluggers more job opportunities.

But, no. The owners’ response to a logical counter was to pull their pants down and roll down the hill into a Lamborghini, at which point they sped away (upside down in the backseat while their driver stabilized things, still pantsless).

I mean, folks? Folks?! This is senseless. 10 games more than what your side proposed, sitting there like a plump and juicy steak, waiting for a middle ground. Instead, owners have decided they would rather eat one frozen grape.

I beg of you, MLB owners: Stop this madness. Respond to the first real progress in weeks with discussion, not vitriol. Stop saying you crafted the first ever agreement between two people where half of the people involved deny its existence. Get Jon Heyman off the hook for “breaking the news” that all hell was about to break loose yet again.

Learn to negotiate in the next three days, or else you’ll be getting that grievance you all seemed to fear so much when this week began. What MLBPA just levied wasn’t an attack or an assault. It was the next step you seemingly invited.

Hopefully, you’re willing to respond.