If there is going to be another work stoppage after the current CBA expires in 2026, it's probably less because it's owners versus players, and more because it's owners versus owners.
Mets owner Steve Cohen is the one unapologetically blasting through all of the luxury-tax thresholds, but John Middleton of the Phillies and Peter Seidler of the Padres probably did more damage to small-minded owners with their words.
We discussed Middleton's comments on Monday's Sox Machine Podcast, but they're worth highlighting in text form...
"How much money did the '27 Yankees make? Or the '29 A's? Or the '75-76 Big Red Machine?" Middleton said. "Does anybody know? Does anybody care? Nobody knows or cares whether any of them made any money or not. And nobody cares about whether I make money or not. If my legacy is that I didn't lose any money owning a baseball team on an annual operating basis, that's a pretty sad legacy. It's about putting trophies in the cases.
... because Seidler followed them up with an equally bulletproof statement about his own club's ambitions.
Again, it's worth highlighting the text in case Twitter loses functionality.
We have a very sports-oriented and hungry fan base, and we believe if we continue to build that trust, they will continue to come. It's about winning, and it's about being exciting, and it's about our fans, young and old, knowing that they're going to be able to watch great, exciting players year after year after year. When we talk about risk, there's a risk to doing nothing, and we've chosen to really focus on the players and what's spawned out of that is this amazing relationship between our players and our fans. The players respond to the fans, and we've seen, the fans go nuts when they get to watch our players perform.
I also liked this quote from Seidler, because it also a direct hit against one of the ways Rick Hahn pitched the rebuild:
On Tuesday, the same term was put to Seidler as a question: Is what he and the Padres are doing sustainable?
“People love that word. Let’s find a different one,” Seidler said. “Putting a great and winning team on the field in San Diego year after year is sustainable.”
It's one thing for the Mets to spend like they've spent from New York, and while Philadelphia isn't that big, it's a top-five market. San Diego has the 22nd-largest media market in baseball. It was not viewed as a necessary city by the NFL. The Padres could settle for less, and prior to Seidler, they had. Joe Sheehan says "there are no small markets, only small owners," and while maybe that doesn't account for the extra challenges a Cincinnati or Pittsburgh faces, Seidler seems equally comfortable presenting it as a simple equation.
Spare Parts
PECOTA isn't all bad news, because the White Sox notched two of the seven significant rebounds in this forecast.
Pedro Grifol doesn't want to give Oscar Colás the right field job sight unseen, but he likes what he's seeing so far.
“He’s an extremely focused kid,” he said. “There’s no BS about him. He comes here to work. He’s competing for a job and he knows it. This is what he loves to do. He takes pride in it. He asks a lot of good questions. He’s extremely detailed for a young kid. Obviously, he’s got ability. I’m looking forward to watching him progress this spring.”
When José Abreu said that last year's White Sox team wasn't "as young as we think we are," he may or may not have had Michael Kopech in mind, but Kopech understands what he's talking about.
Anyone who has followed Kopech understands his full capabilities have yet to be seen consistently at the major-league level. Feeling like too much of his nine years have been spent in the minors or rehabbing, he’s grown weary of that.
“I’ve kind of had the narrative and identity of a young kid in the game for a long time, and I’m not so young anymore,” Kopech said.
Speaking of José Abreu, Daryl Van Schouwen says the White Sox players he talked to -- Tim Anderson, Luis Robert and Yoán Moncada -- hope the questions about the first Pito-less spring training since 2014 are short-lived.
Another bummer in going from Johnny Cueto to Mike Clevinger: While Cueto's array of deliveries are legal under the new rules, Clevinger's typical windup is not. The difference is that Cueto doesn't deceive with his lead leg, and since the lead leg determines when the pitch clock ends, a pitcher isn't allowed to pick up and drop off that food in perpetuity.
And two notes from Twitter:
*Now that Jason Benetti and Steve Stone are officially back in the booth, Gordon Beckham's workload can be announced.
*A documentary on Comiskey Park is coming out on YouTube last month. I've been following @LastComiskey on Twitter for the unique footage and photos, and I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product.
