Hour 2: Greedy Owners

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So the baseball general manager's meetings, which are essentially going to be the winter meetings this year simply because of the fact that there's going to be a lockout at 11:59 p.m. on December 1st. It's uncovered some things. So while we were on the air in the first hour, it was revealed by our Jeff Passon that Jake Bowers has signed with the Red Sox for $14.5 million for four years. But the thing that strikes me is that there seems to be a robust market for Tarek's Scubel. So I gave you the names before. You got the Dodgers, the Mets, the Blue Jays, and who else am I talking about? There's one more. Dodgers, Mets, Blue Jays, and the Padres.

And whoever signs Tarek's Scubel is probably going to pay him over $50 million a year for a number of years. Let's say seven. So he'll be the highest paid pitcher per annum in the history of the game. And it becomes very frustrating to me that this work stoppage that we're looking at is totally owners setting up guard rails for themselves because they can't control themselves. That's what it comes down to. They can't be responsible because they want what they want. And most rich people usually get what they want.

So is this about the players or about not having an open market? Because what are they doing? Those four teams that we spoke of, and I'm sure there are others that will crop up. And if the Yankees didn't have a full-fledged, great starting rotation, I'm sure they'd be involved, too.

Why is this lockout happening? Because before there's a lockout, before they get their or try to get their yearly desired cap, these owners are trying to get in under the wire to circumvent said cap. Think about that. Now, I know what those in baseball will say. Well, we're trying to make it that every team can compete. No, no, no. What they want to do is they want to stop the free spending owners that can't control themselves. And what I don't get is if you have a free for all like this, where these four owners are going to move heaven and earth to get this great pitcher, right? And that those owners are actually going along with the plan to shut down the game for possibly the entire year to get a cap. Why are they going along with it? Because if you get a cap, then you are curbing their superpower. That's what you're doing. You're taking away the one major advantage that Steve Cohen has, that he could outbid anybody for anything. Same thing with the Dodgers. You're taking away the advantage. Why are you agreeing to it? Were you strong on by the other owners? And I love the franchise values, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. The football teams sell for more than we do. Well, you see their national television contract? You see the money they generate? That's why they sell more. That's why they sell for more. You can't just thumb your nose at the fact that the Padres just sold for $4 billion. San Diego is a small market. They have a great ballpark. They sell out all the time. $4 billion.

Artie Moreno sold the Angels for $4 billion. How much do you expect they're going to sell for? And I guarantee you, we're worried about franchise values. If Hal Steinbrenner decided to sell the New York Yankees, he would get upwards of $20 billion. What would a cap do? Would a cap make them more? Would a cap make it more for the Padres to be worth more than $4 billion?

So we have to suffer through a winter of uncertainty. We have to suffer through a summer of whether or not we're going to have baseball. We had to suffer through a 2026 season where you really could embrace this great sport for what it is, but you had to worry about when the sport would end this season and whether or not there would be a sport next season. For what? So multi-billionaires can control themselves?