Former MLBer Barry Bonds is "going ahead" with a lawsuit against MLB "regarding his claim of collusion by teams that prevented him from obtaining a playing job" following the '07 season, according to sources cited by Jon Heyman of CBSSPORTS.com. He has "long contended that a collusion of MLB owners effectively ended his career." Bonds has said that he "believes there was a concerted effort to keep him out of the game by baseball powers, though he sought to wait to go ahead with his case until his legal issues related to BALCO were resolved." Heyman noted Bonds has had an "uneasy relationship with MLB since reports surfaced about his relationship with BALCO." He had "some talks with MLB in recent years about working out a deal in which he would receive a job in the game, but it appears nothing came of those discussions" (CBSSPORTS.com, 5/11).
BONUS BASEBALL: Former MLBPA COO Gene Orza noted that Yankees President Randy Levine had originally classified $30M of "milestone home run bonuses" in the contract for 3B Alex Rodriguez, but the union and MLB "nixed the plan." CNN's Chris Isidore noted the union and MLB "recast the payments as money that would be paid by the Yankees for the right to promote" Rodriguez' accomplishments. Orza: "We gave them a very creative way to get around the rules. The Yankees were never meant to market the guy. They were meant to give him $6 million for reaching 660 home runs" (MONEY.CNN.com, 5/8). However, MLB Chief Legal Officer Dan Halem "denied any such arrangement was made." Halem: "Nothing that Gene said is reflected in the language that the parties agreed to, and the understanding that was reached at the time" (N.Y. DAILY NEWS, 5/10).
