Highlights Of New Five-Year Labor Agreement

Luxury Tax Amateur Draft• Players selected in the June amateur draft who aren't college seniors must sign by Aug. 15. Minimum Salary• Major league minimum increases from $327,000 this year to $380,000 in 2007, $390,000 in 2008, $400,000 in 2009 and $400,000 plus a two-year cost-of-living adjustment in 2011. Free Agent Draft Pick Compensation• Draft-pick compensation for losing Type C free agents is eliminated. Compensation for Type B free agents is changed from direct (losing draft picks) to indirect (sandwich picks). Starting in 2007, Type A free agent redefined to top 20 percent at position (from top 30 percent) and Type B to 21-40 percent (from top 31-50 percent). Free Agent Deadlines• The restriction is eliminated that said teams could only re-sign their former players who became free agents by Dec. 7 (or Jan. 8 if offered salary arbitration) or else lose rights until May 1. Deadline for clubs to offer salary arbitration to their former players who became free agents is moved to Dec. 1 from Dec. 7. The deadline for players offered arbitration to accept offers is moved to Dec. 7 from Dec. 19. Tender Deadline• The deadline for teams to offer contracts for the following season to unsigned players on their 40-man rosters is moved to Dec. 12 from Dec. 20. -- Associated Press

Let's start with the good news, MLB and the Players' Association finally got it right and signed a CBA extension through 2011. We all know baseball has reached an all time high in attendance and popularity, so it only made sense to do this. Congrats to Don Fehr, Gene Orza, Bud Selig, and all the other folks who had the common sense not to kill the Golden Goose that is Major League Baseball.

The table on the right shows the changes, they are fairly small. The only significant thing was the change to the Free Agent Draft Pick Compensation, which will make it more attractive for teams to sign or resign their solid players - as fewer will qualify for Type A compensation.

As much as I'd like to see a salary cap for competitive balance, we know the union will never go for it. Here's some other things that I would have liked to see addressed at some point for the good of baseball:

1. Much tougher testing and suspensions  for  performance enhancing  drugs
   The NFL does it right,. They test for everything... And if you test positive once, and you miss 25% of the season.
   
   Will baseball need a Lyle Alzado martyr to get themselves cleaned the way the NFL did?
   
   
2. A fixed salary structure for drafted rookies.
   The NBA does this right, we all know what the #1 pick will make and it allows (the worst) teams to take the best player. Before they made this change, I remember Reggie Theus bitching about the Nets dumping most of their stars (including Theus) to clear salary to sign #1 pick Derrick Coleman.
   
   It is a joke how the best players often fall to the middle of the first round because small market are terrified to negotiate with the Scott Boras type agents.
   
   I'd think the Union would be in favor of this. Since players are not part of the Union until they play in the majors, this is money going to non-Union players and may be taking away from veterans.
   
   
3. They need to address cheating in the game
   After the exposure from Kenny Rogers getting caught "dirty handed" in the World Series, baseball needs to clarify what a pitcher can and can't do. And then how they will enforce the violations since there are obviously exceptions to their rulebook.
   
   As I am typing this blog, I am watching "Mike and Mike" on ESPN, and they just had a great interview with Tommy John. So Mike Greenberg is talking about a Yankees-Angels game I remember watching in 1986 when Don Sutton was approaching his 300th win. Phil Rizutto was going out of his mind when the cameras caught Sutton with a small piece of white sandpaper he kept in his glove. So Greenberg tells it as,

"The TV cameras catch Sutton with sandpaper in his glove, and Stienbrenner calls manager Lou Piniella in the dugout telling him to go out and have Sutton searched. The Yankees were winning 1-0 with Tommy John on the mound. The story goes that Lou's reaction is that the 'we are leading and that our guy is doing it worse, so let it go."

Tommy John didn't quite remember the quote this way. As I remember it, Lou went out and the umpires never found anything on Sutton...

So if HOFers like Gaylord Perry and Sutton could cheat and get openly caught, what does this say about the game and example it sets.

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