Friday, February 02, 2007

And it's still not over

He's signed. He's not signed. Maybe. Maybe not. The endless soap opera of whether you've signed or not looks ridiculous, Barry. Quit the jostling and get it done. It looks silly.

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

So let's see: Barry Bonds and the Giants begin negotiations with both sides having unusual issues they want to address in their contract, they reach an agreement after good-faith negotiations lasting 7 weeks or so, Major League Baseball rejects the agreement because language introduced into the contract by the Giants, not Bonds, conflicts with baseball's deal with the Players Union, and the parties are forced to reopen negotations. And you see this as Barry "jostling". Why?

In the negotiation process both parties have rights that they're not required to abridge because one or the other is portrayed as "ridiculous" or "silly". The process will take just as long as required for all parties to be satisfied. Why should we care whether they get it done this week or next week or at any time before camp opens?

The Giants failed to get anybody to replace him, and Barry will be a Giant again in 2007. I'm over it.

ificandream said...

If you've seen the reports on the contract language they've been going back and forth on, I have no doubt that there's some jostling going on. I suspect it has to do with personal appearances and team conduct. (When was the last time you saw Barry in a team picture? This could be the year.)
Yeah, Barry probably will be a Giant. But all this haggling doesn't help his image. He's got the money. He needs to get the contract done. This looks silly otherwise.

Anonymous said...

Yes, I've seen the reports -- the language that MLB found objectionable is something about "extra player appearances". As you say it's not about the money, as the parties reached agreement on remuneration back in early December.

My question to you is this: why does any party "haggling" over a contract look silly to you? To me it looks like a fair and legal process, of a sort anyone can avail himself of before entering into an employment agreement. If Barry has issues with the revised language, or even if he just needs time to figure out what it means, then he's entitled to continue negotiations.

I think the labels you're placing on him are inappropriate. You may be tired of his act -- lots of people apparently are -- but this is simply business.