One of the provisions in the proposed agreement that
"puzzles everyone" is MLBPA Exec Dir Don Fehr's agreement to
allow a flat 2.5% tax on players' salaries. In Chicago, Dave Van
Dyck reports, "Many players don't know about it and that many
more don't understand it, although most of them are taking the
company line." None of the players interviewed knew how the
money would be collected, but it appears the $40M will come from
licensing money due from baseball card companies -- money that
was used in the past as the players' strike fund (CHICAGO SUN-
TIMES, 8/14).
TIME FOR IMPASSE HAS PASSED: In New York, Murray Chass
writes that the "stunning progress" made by negotiators over the
past few days has undermined one of management's key strategies.
Owners had used the threat of a return to court, where they would
seek to declare a negotiating impasse and have the injunction
lifted, thus allowing them to impose their own economic system.
Chass: "No impasse is in sight now." Former MLBPA chief Marvin
Miller, asked if he thought the owners could declare an impasse
over service time: "I don't think so. Any judge would look at
that and say: 'Look at all the possibilities here. ... Go do
your work." One labor lawyer quoted by Chass notes the two sides
are "on the brink" of a deal. The lawyer: "That obviously is
the opposite of impasse" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/14).
ONCE AROUND THE HORN: In Atlanta, Tim Tucker writes, "Even
if a deal gets done -- and to be honest with you, I'll believe it
when it happens -- it's too little and too late" (ATLANTA
CONSTITUTION, 8/14). NEWSDAY's Rob Parker calls the "snag" over
service time a "joke": "The owners, not the smartest people in
the world to start with, should be happy with the near agreement"
(NEWSDAY, 8/14). In Toronto, Ken Fidlin predicts news of a deal
will be met with a "yawn," adding, "A greater sign of good faith,
something that might get the public's attention, would be the
appointment of a new commissioner" (TORONTO SUN, 8/14). In
Philadelphia, Jayson Stark lists the reasons why fans should
applaud a deal, including "Exorcis[ing] the Ghosts," getting a
new commissioner, and moving forward with new changes such as
interleague play (PHILA. INQUIRER, 8/14). Dave Van Dyck calls
the owners the "winners" in what might be "the biggest upset in
labor history" (CHICAGO SUN-TIMES, 8/14).
