Restructuring MiLB

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  • #127186
    Brian Walton
    Keymaster

    Paid - Annual

    Well, not surprisingly, MiLB is folding its hand. Guessing they will be asking for financial help in return.

    #127193
    stlcard25
    Participant

    Paid - Annual

    Certainly the expected result. It will stink for baseball around this area as the “Dream League” is a joke that will be lucky to survive 3 years. MLB will eventually reap the rewards of not growing the game in the US, itself.

    #127200
    858booyah
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    Manfred gets his wish.

    Have to wonder how much financial relief they get and I wonder if the MLBPA is keeping an eye on this? After all they want the players to take a bigger pay cut if they don’t have fans.

    #127204
    Brian Walton
    Keymaster

    Paid - Annual

    858, interesting theory. I guess what you are suggesting if that MLB gives MiLB teams say $50 million in bailout money, for example, MLB can tell the players that is $50 million more unexpected expense this year with no revenue attached. Justification to ask the players to take less…

    #127209
    gscottar
    Participant

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    858booyah wrote:

    Manfred gets his wish.

    Not just Manfred. A huge majority of the owners and front offices are getting their wish too. Of course Manfred pretty much works for the owners.

    #127210
    Brian Walton
    Keymaster

    Paid - Annual

    Trying to hold some ground…

    #127246
    Brian Walton
    Keymaster

    Paid - Annual

    I look at what the contraction could mean in 2021 and beyond.

    What Might Minor League Baseball at 120 Teams Mean?

    #127268
    bccran
    Participant

    Since most high school players aren’t ready for full season A ball, I wonder if more of them will accept college scholarships.

    #127269
    Minuteman3
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    Free

    Great article Brian. I learned some things from it. One question and this would be your opinion only. Do you think that the DSL players will be ready for the GCL or is that too big of a jump too? Did they use to go to the rookie or summer short season leagues first? Thanks.

    #127273
    SoonerinNC
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    I suspect more players will go the college route. This can partially replace the short season system.

    I also expect growth in the independent leagues. Players cut because they are not ready for full season ball will possibly be able to bridge the gap in Indy ball.

    I also expect more repeat seasons in the complex leagues. This also will send more high school guys to go the college route.

    I know of one situation where big investment types are looking at a complex including independent baseball and soccer teams with also a heavy professional entertainment show schedule. Apparently there has been a very successful situation in south Texas possibly McAllen with plans to initiate complexes in the Fort Worth and Dallas area. This type of thing would appear to be more viable in high population areas.

    So much for my annual trip to Burlington, NC and Danville, VA to watch Johnson City.

    #127274
    GameCard
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    There will be a smaller draft in the future.

    #127275
    Brian Walton
    Keymaster

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    bccran asked:

    Since most high school players aren’t ready for full season A ball, I wonder if more of them will accept college scholarships.

    Yes, but the main reason is not readiness. The shorter draft, as GameCard mentioned, and much lower bonuses for non-drafted players, means fewer high schoolers will receive professional offers – at least ones with big signing bonuses attached. So, the logic will be to go to college and try to get positioned to get drafted in the first 10 rounds later. MLB will use the colleges to do more of their early player development.

    #127276
    stlcard25
    Participant

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    I suspect more players will go the college route. This can partially replace the short season system.

    It’s gonna be tricky, especially since university sports programs are going to be getting shuttered, especially if the football season gets canceled this fall.

    #127277
    Brian Walton
    Keymaster

    Paid - Annual

    MM3 asked:

    1) Do you think that the DSL players will be ready for the GCL or is that too big of a jump too?
    2) Did they use to go to the rookie or summer short season leagues first? Thanks.

    1) Most of the DSL players never make it to the US, but the ones that do most often are next assigned to the GCL. So no real change in competition level from today, except the new GCL bar may soon be higher.

    2) A few of the very best DSL players skipped over the GCL, but it was rare. So the impact of losing State College and Johnson City will not be big for them initially – except that the pressure on spots on the single 35-man GCL roster will greatly increase.

    Hence my guess that a second GCL team might be added once the contraction furor blows over. For example, GCL Red could be the more advanced players and GCL Blue the younger ones. In that case, GCL Red would really be more like SC/JC in competition. Or they could mix and match player experience across the two GCL teams. Or they could do nothing more than the three complex teams they already have.

    #127278
    Brian Walton
    Keymaster

    Paid - Annual

    stlcard25 said:

    It’s gonna be tricky, especially since university sports programs are going to be getting shuttered, especially if the football season gets canceled this fall.

    One would suspect the level of competition for limited number of full or partial baseball scholarships, whether at Jucos or 4-year colleges, will increase.

    Just my gut, but I think independent ball will grow some, but not exponentially. There will be some significant group of players not willing to go there because it does not offer the greater security (both job and financial) that being in an MLB organization provides.

    Indy ball means both low pay and a greater chance of being released at any time. None of it is easy, but the indy route is considerably harder.

    #127295
    GameCard
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    The football season will not be canceled
    .

    #127296
    GameCard
    Participant

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    IMO we only need 4 levels of Minor league teams. Colleges give you the rest.

    #127297
    Brian Walton
    Keymaster

    Paid - Annual

    So you are going to shut down the 83 teams at the spring complexes and Dominican academies, too?

    #127298
    858booyah
    Participant

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    858, interesting theory. I guess what you are suggesting if that MLB gives MiLB teams say $50 million in bailout money, for example, MLB can tell the players that is $50 million more unexpected expense this year with no revenue attached. Justification to ask the players to take less…

    It might just be smoke but it’s something to watch but yeah the owners can use the excuse they needed to bail out the minors where almost all of the players started or it could be catastrophic to the infrastructure of player development moving forward. Basically we used some of your reduction to bail out the minor leagues who likely won’t be playing at all in 2020.

    Also I understand Manfred serves at the pleasure of the owners. I use him as a figurehead.

    One more thing for everyone and just not Mr. Walton. If they do decide to go through with this 3 state plan or just Arizona for ST and the start of the season. How many players are they going to bring to Spring Training? My thought would be the 40 man correct in case of a rash of injuries. Also I understand they may expand rosters to 28-30 guys. What would they do with the rest of the 40 man? They can’t just stand around. Could they do something similar to the AFL where 2-3 teams can combine the ones left off the roster onto a team?

    #127302
    GameCard
    Participant

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    So you are going to shut down the 83 teams at the spring complexes and Dominican academies, too?

    I care about college baseball than I do lower minor league baseball. IMO the NCAA should give at least 18 full scholarships and more players would go to college and more would stay 4 years.

    #127304
    Brian Walton
    Keymaster

    Paid - Annual

    This is what can result when MLB writers cover minor league matters.

    Here is the article headline: “Why MLB’s plan to eliminate minor-league teams won’t impact Cubs”

    Except it will. Even a Cardinals-focused writer knows that.

    They completely blow past the fact the Short-Season Class A Northwest League is going away. The Cubs team in that league, the Eugene Emeralds, are not even mentioned in the story. Even if the Eugene franchise is saved and moves up to another league, the Cubs are going down one team and the resulting 30-35 players losing jobs in their system.

    Bad reporting. My guess is that someone from the Cubs painted the sunshine story that none of their current towns are among the 42 on the initial list – and the beat writer does not have enough background knowledge to figure out what is really happening.

    Newsflash to Chicago: ALL 30 organizations are losing either one or two teams among the 42 cuts. Even the Cubs.

    (The Northwest League is the same level as the NY-Penn League, that State College is in.)

    #127326
    14NyquisT
    Participant

    https://www.yardbarker.com/mlb/articles/minor_league_baseball_will_cut_40_team_affiliates_in_2021/s1_13132_31826786

    I’m not liking this at all. What is MLB becoming?

    This is not good news for baseball… not good at all. With the sport essentially dying, you’d have to think Major League Baseball would do something to help its minor league affiliates, right? Think again.

    #127353
    Brian Walton
    Keymaster

    Paid - Annual

    BA ran an article to remind readers that exactly which towns will lose their teams is not known. Since an initial list was leaked last November, there has been some horsetrading. And there could still be more ahead.

    However, unless MLB backs off the basics of cutting from 160 to 120, every town “saved” just means one other town will be “lost”. It is simple math.

    Now, if MLB eventually settles for 130, for example, that would be less of a loss. What would be unclear, however, is at what level the 10 “extra” teams would play and which orgs would staff them. If that happens and the Cubs were one of the 10, the premise in the article I criticized last night could actually come to pass.

    The bottom line, of course, is that nothing is done.

    https://www.baseballamerica.com/stories/which-milb-teams-are-on-the-list-to-be-eliminated-its-impossible-to-say/

    #127365
    Brian Walton
    Keymaster

    Paid - Annual

    An update of sorts…

    #127384
    Brian Walton
    Keymaster

    Paid - Annual

    A very optimistic post by an MiLB.com writer (not independent). For there to be Short-Season All-Star Games, there would have to be ahead of them a Short-Season season. Putting aside the huge health and logistical hurdles to clear before beginning play in all those league towns, given these are the levels MLB wants to kill for next season, anyway, what are the odds there would and could be games there this season?

    On a more general point, if there are no fans in stadiums, there will be no minor league season. Team owners cannot afford to operate empty ballparks.

Viewing 25 posts - 226 through 250 (of 484 total)
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