Yankees and Nationals Could Headline Baseball's Return

Imagine an Opening Day between the New York Yankees and defending World Series Champion Washington Nationals.

Gerrit Cole on the bump for the Bombers against Max Scherzer.  What a match-up! What a way to start a season! The only question is ... will it happen?

Even with baseball and the Players Union agreeing this week to initiate an agreement they already had in place months ago to play a 60-game season starting July 24, the thought of Yankees-Nationals right now still feels like a fantasy.

With the Coronavirus wrecking havoc across the country, and baseball -- fully aware that more of its players and employees could contract the disease, these next three weeks until baseball does "return" is going to be like walking a tight rope.

Everyone wants to see baseball return. Everyone wants something fun to watch. We want to return to normalcy as soon as possible. But as we are reminded everyday, these are not normal times. Social and racial tensions aside, playing through the Coronavirus - which doesn't care what side of the political spectrum you fall on -- is going to be an extremely difficult endeavor for the sport of baseball to manage.

There are a lot of variables and questions involved. Nobody knows what the answers are, and not many know how moving hundreds of people (players, team personnel, media) across the country during an every growing pandemic is going to work. It may work. It may not work at all.

The Texas Rangers for example got word today that they have employees at their new ballpark who contracted the virus, and the players are understandably nervous.

If there is a season come July 24, and that is still an "if" a Yankees-Nationals opening day match-up would be tremendous fun, must see TV, and an opener that should it happen, could be the successful re-launch the sport desperately needs after months of acrimony between the owners and players.

Let's cross our fingers.

Players Agree to Report July 1, Issues with Health and Safety Protocols

We are a step closer to getting baseball back, believe it or not. The players union agreed Tuesday night to report to training camps a week from tomorrow, July 1, but they are still trying to figure out the health and safety protocols amid the COVID-19 pandemic.

The agreement to play baseball comes after the players union and the owners proposed, rejected and countered numerous offers to resume the season with the players seeking more games and a full prorated salary, while the owners -- concerned that COVID-19 would do damage to revenue -- wanted less games and to slash player salaries.

At the end of the day it was Manfred who mandated a 60-game season -- the same length that MLB proposed to players last week that was initially rejected by the union. Under an initial agreement in March that gave the commissioner discretion in the matter, players would receive a full prorated share of their salaries -- or 37 percent of their full season salaries, or around $1.5 billion. The postseason will remain 10 teams, not the 16 teams MLB proposed during negotiations. The universal DH will be a fixture this year, but not in 2021, due to health and safety precautions. The season is expected to begin around July 24, and end September 27.

The question is if Manfred had the power to do this all along, why didn't he mandate a season a month ago, even two months ago?

The answer might be in the the owners unwillingness to play more games in front of empty grandstands, while dolling out more to the players in prorated salary. Remember there was conversation that a number of owners didn't want to play at all in 2020. Somehow Manfred was able to get the owners in line to make this happen at the 11th hour.

Of course the players could still file a grievance against Major League Baseball for not fulfilling a full slate of games.

The other issue, of course, is COVID-19. While the rate of infection is down in parts of the Northeast, the virus is still a problem there. In other parts of the country, namely South and West, the virus is gaining momentum. Already a number of teams had to shut down their spring training facilities because of the number of players and staffers who have already been infected. The Philadelphia Phillies have as many as 12 known infections in the last week.

The Toronto Blue Jays who had to close their spring training facility in Florida down as well, still don't have a concrete plan to play games in Canada this year -- which has its own COVID-19 isolation rules to deal with as well. The Blue Jays might be nomads in 2020.

While it is good that the union and the league finally agree in principal on something -- like reporting to camp July 1, the damage to the game is final and complete.

Fans are upset, and rightly so, feeling as if they were dragged through the proverbial mud over millions and billions of dollars; money is something many people don't have the luxury of right now -- and they feel little sympathy for baseball's own plight.

Not only are the fans turned off, but playing what is essentially a make-shift two-month sprint only delays the inevitable labor problems that will exist for baseball in 2021 and 2022. The CBA expires December 31, 2021. Clearly a players strike could be in the offing down the road, but that can has been kicked down the road -- at least for now.

Baseball might be back -- but it certainly does feel hollow right now, doesn't it.

MLB and Players Union Still Working Out Details for 2020 Season

The clock struck 5 p.m. and no decision was officially levied by the Major League Baseball Players Union. The Union had until that hour to tell Commissioner Rob Manfred and the owners that it would accept a reporting date of July 1 and health and safety protocols.

However the 5 p.m. deadline came and went and nothing was concrete. Jon Heyman and Bob Nigtengale both tweeted out that the players union had no issues with the July 1 reporting date, but a decision on the health and safety plan was still being ironed out.

Of course health and safety is a huge issue right now as the Coronavirus continues to spread like wildfire down South and out West. Texas has seen a rash of COVID-19 cases up about 5,500 according to Bloomberg reporter Steven Dennis. Jesse Rodriguez of MSNBC tweeted that hospitals in Miami-Dade County were at max capacity.

Then there was the story that leaked on ESPN around 5 p.m. that two more players and staffers from the Philadelphia Phillies have tested positive for COVID-19. 

Obviously the finite situation around COVID-19 is going to play a large role in whether we have a 60-game season or not.

If we do have a season, it will be intriguing to see how games are scheduled. Will we see a strict focus on division games only? And what is the status with the Toronto Blue Jays? Can they play in Canada? According to ESPN, MLB has yet to submit plans to play games in Toronto this year.

The clock is ticking on the 2020 season. Will we have an answer tonight?

Manfred to Implement Season After Players Vote Down 60-Game Proposal

So now the ball is officially in the court of Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred.

The Players Union predictably rejected baseball's 60-game season with full prorated salaries, and expanded playoffs, meaning, that Manfred must now decided if there is a season or not. The owners voted to grant Manfred the power to proceed with a season. The guess that has been reported is that it could be between 50 to 60 games.

MLB is now asking the players union to notify them by 5 p.m. Tuesday whether their members can report to Spring Training by July 1, a week from this Wednesday. And, secondly, whether the players agree to the safety protocols manual.

The question hovering around the entire prospect of having a mandated season by the Commissioner is one of two things: 1) The players could still file a grievance and there would be continued unrest throughout the summer -- even if games are played, and 2) Coronavirus. A number of players have tested positive for COVID-19 in the last week. Several spring training sites have been shutdown for good.  Would it be permissible, and even responsible for the owners and Commissioner Rob Manfred to proceed with a checkered season while players are getting sick left and right with a very serious disease?

It is a huge question mark that hangs over the sport.

At this point fans are pretty much fed up. If there is a season, it will feel hollow at best -- especially with no fans in the stadium, a deadly virus spreading across state borders, and tense labor unrest hanging over both sides.

Maybe, just maybe, baseball is better off cancelling the 2020 season.

Jamal Adams Tells Cowboys Fan He's "Trying" to Get Traded to Dallas

If the Jets aren't tired enough hearing about how frustrated Jamal Adams is playing for them, they certainly won't like the video that circulated late Sunday night that supposedly shows Adams leaning out of his Mercedes SUV to tell a fan that he is "trying" to get traded to the Dallas Cowboys.

The video is the latest in a long line of animosity that has now boiled up between Adams and the Jets front office. Adams demanded a trade last week to as many as seven teams, and the Cowboys are one of the destinations that Adams prefers to go to.

All of this of course traces back to last season when General Manager Joe Douglas fielded calls from the Cowboys for Adams, but the package in return to New York was too expensive for the liking of Jerry Jones and company. Adams made no bones back then that he was upset the Jets fielded calls for his services, and has made no bones about it that he wants to be a Cowboy.

There is only one of three ways this could end at this point. Either, A, the Jets trade Adams; B, let him pout, even if it means Adams sits out training camp and possibly the season as he waits for a new deal or a trade, or both. Or they could just give him the contract he is seeking.

To be fair the Jets have all the leverage here. They don't have to do anything. Adams is signed for two more years at roughly $14 million - on average - per season. The Jets also own the franchise tag which they can place on the disgruntled safety in 2022. 

Moreover, the uncertainty of the salary cap moving forward toward 2021 plays a big role in Douglas' thinking. If revenue is hit hard this year by COVID-19, then it will adjust the cap next season across the NFL. On top of that it's not like the Jets have a lot of cap room to begin with. They only have $24 million in cap space this year, and $58 million next year. Joe Douglas has to wait until at least 2022 to spend freely on the salary cap, when big guaranteed contracts like C.J. Mosley and LeVeon Bell come off the  books. By 2022 the Jets will have roughly $122 million in cap space.

By that point the Jets will be trying to re-sign Sam Darnold -- if in fact he turns into the franchise quarterback. Adams would also be a restricted free agent that year. There is no rush here for Douglas, and, again depending on how COVID-19 impacts the cap, those figures could stand to change.

Adams has no leverage, and in turn has dug an enormous hole for himself. Here is a guy who has been propped up as a leader of the New York Jets and he has subsequently washed it all away over a contract dispute that nobody asked for except for maybe Adams representation.

Safeties do not make big money in the NFL, and for as good as Adams is, and can still be, he is not playing a premium position. He should also look at Earl Thomas as an example. Thomas, the former Seattle Seahawk bitched and moaned to get traded to the Cowboys, even holding out for all of training camp in 2018. When he came back, Thomas was injured and lost for the season.

Thomas eventually got paid by the Baltimore Ravens, but it was nowhere near the kind of buck that made Thomas the NFL's top paid safety.

Sometimes patience is better served.

If the Jets are smart, they should either force Adams' hand and dare him to sit out training camp, or simply trade him to a team NOT on his wish list -- like the Detroit Lions.

MLB Won't Accept Players Counter Offer, Season Still Up in the Air

Major League Baseball will not budge from its stance on a 60-game season, even after the Players Union countered with a 70-game season just a day after many believed the division between the League and the Players Union was healing.

Now with both sides once again dug in, it is up to the players to either accept the owners 60-game proposal or reject it and force Commissioner Rob Manfred to implement a schedule.

The problem hovering over any agreement, however, is the Coronavirus. According to reports, the Phillies, Blue Jays, Giants and Rangers all shut down due to spikes in cases of the virus.

Five Philadelphia Phillies players have tested positive for the virus. There are even reports that one Astros player an two LA Angels players have also tested positive.

Even if Major League Baseball and the Players Union agreed to a season, there is no guarantee now that it would even happen with the virus still a clear and present danger.

Anyone still holding out hope for a season should start to forget it. It's going to be very, very difficult. The virus, plus two sides so heavily entrenched on their positions make it nearly impossible for baseball to return cleanly this year.

While the season hasn't been officially canceled, if and when it happens, it could have long term effects on a sport that has struggled in recent years and decades to draw fan interest.  A lot of fans are turned off by the bitter negotiations and probably won't comeback. The sport is at a critical juncture. It needs a solution, and needs one soon.

Jamal Adams Demands Trade from Jets, Why New York Should Dump Him

Jamal Adams is still unhappy. The disgruntled safety is upset the New York Jets have not come to terms with his camp on a new contract extension that would make him one of the highest paid safeties in the NFL. 

As a result Adams has demanded a trade, even putting out a list of teams he rather play for. All of them are teams that have had recent playoff success including the 49ers, Seahawks, Ravens and Cowboys. Adams even told reporters he would love to play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers because of the presence of Tom Brady.

Adams is digging a huge hole for himself. Here is a player with absolutely no leverage whatsoever who feels he can dictate the terms to a team that still has him under contract for two more years. Adams can't win here. The Jets don't have to trade him, and each time he pops off on social media to blast the franchise he is hurting his own value.

While teams are certainly intrigued by Adams talents, his propensity as a divisive figure by blasting a franchise is not going to help him. This is a player who is considered a leader. No leader would act the way Adams is acting lately.

The Jets want to keep Adams, they have expressed as much. But due to salary cap uncertainty created by the impact of the COVID-19 virus should games be played this year without fans. General Manager Joe Douglas knows this and he is trying to tread carefully. He is not going to break the bank now when he doesn't know what the salary requirements will be in the future. It's the right approach.

However if Adams is going to continue berating the team,  Jets should seriously consider trading Adams and get as many picks as they possibly can. While it won't help the Jets win games in 2020, the team can ill afford to have a distraction in the locker room which Adams is quickly becoming.

Adams is a very good player, but nobody is bigger than the whole.

MLB Proposes 60-Game Season to MLBPA Amid Positive Talks

Well it took a couple of days and the threat of cancelling the entire 2020 season to get Commissioner Rob Manfred and MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark to the table. Both sides finally met face to face, and the framework of a 60-game season is on the table. Will it bring the sport back? Many think so. Check out our reaction.

Rob Manfred Not Confident a Season Will Happen After All

The chances that the 2020 season will be canceled increased substantially after Rob Manfred told ESPN that he is "not confident" that there will be a season as long as there is no dialogue between the owners and players.

The confessional by Manfred comes days after he told the Press that he was 100 percent certain there would be a season this year, and that he would mandate a 50-game schedule even if the players union and the owners couldn't come to terms on a deal. Now the Commissioner's office has done a complete 180, and the prospects of Major League Baseball in 2020 looks even dimmer.

Things were not helped by the fact that Major League Baseball issued a statement early Monday that it was "disappointed" that the players union chose "note to negotiate in good faith over resumption of play after MLB has made successive proposals that would provide players, clubs and our fans with amicable resolution to a very difficult situation caused by COVID-19...".

It continued: "The MLBA's position that players are entitled to virtually all the revenue from a 2020 season played without fans is not fair to the thousands of other baseball employees that Clubs and our office are supporting financially during this very difficult 2020 season."

Pressed by ESPN's Mike Greenberg about the optics of the situation, Manfred was contrite saying that having no baseball in the wake of the first wave of the Coronavirus is a "disaster for the our game."

The Players Union through President Tony Clark responded Monday, stating: "Players are disgusted that after Rob Manfred unequivocally told players and fans that there would 100 percent be a 2020 season, he has decided to go back on his word and is now threatening to cancel the entire season. Any implication that the Players Union delayed progress on health and safety protocols is completely false as Rob has acknowledged the parties are very, very close."

Over the weekend the Players Union rejected MLB's proposed 72-game season with 70 percent prorated salaries, and didn't make a counter offer, instead putting the ball in Manfred's court to make a decision. Back in March, the players and owners agreed to give Manfred power to restart the season on mandate if necessary.

The owners were never going to allow a season to happen this year without a gate. With no gate, the couldn't justify paying players in full, hence the reason they kept suggested prorating the salaries down, inspite of a prior agreement in March not to do so.  Rob Manfred answers to the owners, not the players. And now the entire season looks completely lost, barring an 11th hour miracle at this point.

Even the players themselves have taken to social media to blast the baseball Commissioner. Cincinnati Reds starter Trevor Bauer, not one to be shy with words, posted to Twitter: "So, Rob, explain to us how you can be 100% sure that there's going to be baseball but not confident there will be baseball at the same time? hmmm. What changed between those statements? Players told you to set the season, but it's too early to set the season right now."

With the uncertainty of a season in 2020, combined with increased uncertainty about what might happen in 2021 should a second and third wave of the virus hit before a vaccine is said to be ready next spring, and the fact the sport faces a year of CBA strife in 2022, who knows what kind of shape baseball will be in for years to come.

Right now the sport is suffocating. Fallout from the Astros and Red Sox scandals last season was enough of a black eye for the sport.  Now the league looks a petty group of billionaires and millionaires who lets money corrupt the sport when millions of fans - many of whom are out of work due to COVID-19 - clamored for its return.

The NBA and NHL have tentative plans in place to re-start their seasons, as foolhardy as it might be at this point. The players, owners and commissioners appear to be in lockstep in those leagues.

The NFL is teetering on the brink of disaster with the threat by players to kneel before the National Anthem, again, in the wake of George Floyd's murder. The story that players on the Texans and Cowboys may have contracted COVID-19 isn't helping either. But at least the NFL is a billion dollar behemoth that can, and has withstood Roger Goodell's incompetence many times over.

So where will baseball be a week from now? Two months from now? A year from now? It's anyone's guess. But no baseball in 2020 can only spell doom for a sport that has been slowly dying at the box office and in TV ratings.

If the Coronavirus lockdown has done anything to hurt the sport of baseball, it has given fans reason to look toward other avenues -- other than sports -- for a night of entertainment. Netflix, Apple TV, HBO Max are all destinations for adults and families alike with something for everyone. Fans are getting used to a world without sports. And when the NBA, NHL and NFL comeback before baseball does -- one dares to say that all three could eclipse baseball in importance, especially if the players and owners can't get their act together on labor peace.

MLB Players Reject Latest Offer, Dare Commish to Mandate Schedule

So the ball is back in the court of MLB Commissioner Rob Manfred.

As expected, the MLB Players Association rejected MLB's latest offer to play 72 games with 70 percent of prorated salaries fully guaranteed. There was no way the players, who have been demanding full prorated salaries and more games would ever agree to less. Now MLBPA Executive Director Tony Clark and lead negotiator Bruce Meyer have essentially put Manfred on notice to start play already.

Manfred only has himself to blame for this -- for many different reasons -- but this is a guy who gave the ultimatum that he has the power to unilaterally start the season thanks in major part to an agreement in March that gave the League power to schedule 50 games and pay the players their full prorated salaries.


Manfred even said that baseball would return this year, 100 percent. His words. Now he has to live up to it.

There will be grievances filed by both sides, and it is hard to imagine the players would be willing to play games after a bitter negotiation period that has produced to little to no resolution on how to protect players from the Coronavirus.

The owners, of course, don't want to play fully prorated salaries because they are making no money at the gate with fans barred from games this year. They are also fearful of having baseball play deep into the autumn when the second wave of the virus is supposed to be at its peak again.

Regardless this has been a horrible stain on the sport that will have lingering impacts. If all baseball had to do was mandate a schedule, why didn't they just do that without getting into this terrible back and forth. Meanwhile many minor league teams have released players and personnel -- some teams are not even coming back. The only baseball on our way right now is in Indy ball with the American Association dipping its toes into the water with a six-team, 60-game season.

Major League Baseball can't even figure that out.

With the rise of COVID cases in other parts of the nation, it's getting harder and harder to picture baseball returning at all this year. A 50-game mandated season fells hallow right now -- something that nobody is going to get into -- especially fans who have seen quiet enough in this pathetic battle of millionaires and billionaires. 

Major League Baseball Considering An Even Shorter Season

Major League Baseball can't be serious, can they? In response to the players request for a 114 game season and full prorated salaries, baseball is considering making the season even shorter at 50 games?  Really?

How is this an improvement? Initially baseball proposed an 82-game schedule with severe cuts to players salaries, a plan the players didn't go for. The players responded on Sunday with their requests for a longer season that would stretch deep into the fall that would cover 70 percent of their original salaries.

The owners? Well, they countered with a 50 game season with full prorated salaries. But under such an plan the players would only earn about 31 percent of their salaries for 2020. This is a huge slain the face at the players, and further evidence that the owners would rather see no season than risk losing money by playing games without fans in the building.

As has been reported many owners fear the second wave of the coronavirus whipping out the postseason, if numbers do indeed rise again in the fall. That is just guess work now, and it feels like the owners are using the virus as an excuse. They fear the second wave of the virus, but the League has no real concrete plan to tackle the issue head-on in a regular season, albeit 82 games, 50 games or 114 games. There is no plan right now.

The players of course are not going to go along for the ride on a shorter season. There is too much at stake for them. If, for example, baseball played a 50 game season, and a player has a bad stretch during those 50 games it could have a negative impact on pending free agency. A player could get injured for playing at only 30 percent of their salary. Is it really worth it? That is the question the players are pondering right now, and according to reports, some don't feel it's worth it.

The question is, can the two sides keep talking? Will an agreement magically come into place, and will we get some semblance of a season this year? It's anyone's guess how this is going to play out. But the expectation a month ago that baseball could potentially resume Spring Training this month is becoming tougher to see with each passing hour and day.

If baseball does not come back, and the carnage continues with furloughs, and closed facilities - especially at the minor league level - the damage could be irreparable.

Will the 2020 Major League Baseball Season Be Canceled?

It's June 1.

In a perfect world a self-imposed deadline by Major League Baseball would take affect in less than a week, a deal between the owners and Players Union would occur, satisfying both sides on both the financial and medical front, and baseball would resume in Spring Training in late June. Games would begin July 4 weekend.

That is the dream. And let's be honest it's a total pipe-dream at this point. Because right now it doesn't look at all like we will have a baseball season in 2020.

The owners want an 82-game season and want to slash players salaries, with the highest earners getting hit the hardest. Case in point, players earning $20 million or more would only get about 20 percent of their annual salary. Players making the minimum $563,000 to a million would keep about 75 percent of their earnings.

Jeff Passan of ESPN has used Mike Trout's $37.6 million contract as an example. If you prorate Trout's contract based on the owner's proposal, the League MVP would have a base salary of only $5.7 million in 2020 for an 82 game season.

The Players Union of course object to this. They want more games, over 100 to be exact, and they want a guarantee of full prorated salaries for the 2020 season. Many feel Major League Baseball has taken an about-face when it agreed to pay the players $170 million regardless of whether there was a season or not.

And right now it doesn't look like either side wants to get back to the table. Nationals ace Max Sherzer ripped MLB, saying there is "no need to engage with MLB in any furhter compensation reductions." Mets starter Marcus stroman said on Twitter that the "season is not looking promising."

The owners meanwhile appear content to not have a season, because the alternative: baseball games without fans and players getting their full pay would cost them money. No season means they take their lumps and go home.

The owners are being frugal and they are slowing killing one of the greatest sports in this country. Teams around the league are laying off staffs; The Oakland A's, Miami Marlins, and LA Angles have all made staff cuts. Then we got word Thursday that MLB was cutting at least a thousand if not more Minor League players. The bleeding will not stop there, as Commissoner Rob Manfred wants to press forward with his objective to reduce the number of minor league affiliates down from 162 to 120 teams. 

Already we are seeing reports that the Mets Double-A affiliate the Binghamton Rumble Ponies could be goners under this format, and the Brooklyn Cylclones would be turned into the Mets Double-A affiliate. What a shame. There are going to be hundreds if not thousands of young men in their 20s and 30s who will have to end their dream earlier than they ever anticipated.

This is a disaster of epic proportions.

Not only has the virus subjected the sport to total uncertainty, the Commissioner and the owners are strangling it like a serpent.

While the players are never going to look good in the eyes of public opinion, who deem each and every player a millionaire; it's important to keep in mind that over 65 percent of the sport makes less than a million a year. The players just want to play. They also want to be paid. And they want to know it will be safe for them to do so. Can you blame them?

Teams have to travel by plane and bus to get to their destination. They have to stay in hotels when they are on the road. Many have to live in apartments when "at home." Many players have families in other parts of the country. If the virus has a second wave due to both a the reopening of the Country and the violent protests that are taking place in major U.S. cities, it may not even be feasible to play this year.

What makes this situation even worse is there doesn't appear to be even a concrete plan in place to play the games safely. We went from hearing about plans of having teams sequester in Arizona and Florida to teams playing in their home cities, and playing divisonal opponents only. We really don't know what baseball will ultimately do there.

But of course the biggest hurdle to cross is the money. With only a year left on the CBA, which expires December 31, 2021, the labor unrest could continue well into next season.  Who knows what baseball's landscape will look like then with fewer minor league teams, a draft that has been reduced to just five rounds, and players who are in lockstep in their distrust of a Commissioner who has done nothing but try to drastically change the sport since he came aboard.

The biggest winners if baseball doesn't return in 2020? The NHL. The NBA. The NFL. NASCAR. The PGA. All the other sports will gain a leg up, becuase at least they are trying. NASCAR has been running races for three weeks. Golf had a huge charity Match between Tiger Woods, Phil Mickleson, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady last week. The NHL and the NBA are planning to come back this summer and finish their seasons.

What is MLB's plan? A summer without baseball. A future in doubt, and a sport in crisis.

Andrew Church Exposes Mets' Tebow Signing After Release

It has been a weird time for Major League Baseball and its minor league affiliates.

It appears increasingly unlikely that we will have a season in 2020 with both the owners and players union entrenched in a battle of financial Russian Roulette, leaving the minor leagues wondering if a season will even be had.

Thousands of players have been released as of last Thursday.  Both the Coronavirus Pandemic and Commissioner Rob Manfred's plan to slash about a quarter of baseball's minor league affiliates are taking direct impact on baseball's future, leaving many wondering what's next for a sport that appears on the brink.

One of those teams that cut a slew of Minor League players is the New York Mets, who reportedly cut as many as 39 players last week. One of those players was Andrew Church, a former second round pick, who bashed the Mets as a dysfunctional organization, and took shots at former NFL quarterback-turned baseball player Tim Tebow.

"The Mets made a mockery of our team by putting a celebrity on it to sell more tickets. I saw players lose their job because of it. We weren't playing to win. We were playing to make everyone else money. Not the players. We never saw a cut...," Church is quoted as saying by multiple sources.

Thank you Mr. Church for stating what many of us kinda, already knew. The Tim Tebow experiment has been a colossal gimmick by the Mets, one that served no purpose other than to garner publicity. Tebow has struggled, hitting .223 over three seasons of minor league baseball. And it's ironic that of the 39 cuts made by the Mets on Thursday, Tebow wasn't among them.

While Church didn't exactly have a stellar pitching career in the minors, a 4.58 ERA in 454 innings pitched, his feelings about Tebow and the Mets, gives us a slight insight as to what players might have been thinking behind closed doors. This is not a good look for an organization steeped with one black eye after another.