Word: rodding
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...concern. And how could it be, given the soaring contracts of the past decade that culminated in the 10-year, $250 million deal the Texas Rangers gave to Alex Rodriguez in 2000? But it's those very same stratospheric salaries - and in particular the new deal that A-Rod and his agent-provocateur Scott Boras are reportedly seeking (how about $350 million over 10 years?) - that has much of baseball suddenly speculating about a return of the illegal practice...
...suggestion that such a discussion violates the Basic Agreement is absurd," says Rob Manfred, baseball's lead labor lawyer. Still, the union thinks the meeting was suspect. Several press reports have also suggested that Commissioner Bud Selig - angry about both the scope of A-Rod's free agent demands and the timing of the opt-out from his New York Yankee contract (during the waning moments of this year's World Series, thus overshadowing the sport's signature event) - could be working the back rooms to keep A-Rod from scoring another pay raise. Manfred calls such allegations of tampering...
...Given baseball's history of collusion, and some recent comments by pundits as well as executives in the press, you can't blame the union for its aggressive stance. ESPN contributor Stephen A. Smith only half-jokingly suggested a little collusion might be in order considering how much A-Rod was seeking. And when talking about A-Rod's hefty demands, outgoing Atlanta Braves general manager John Schuerholz told a radio interviewer: "I think it's obnoxious. I admire and respect Alex Rodriguez as much as any ballplayer that has played the game. But for someone to suggest that this...
...Still, the union may be going a little overboard. It recently accused New York Times columnist Murray Chass of being an "enabler of collusion" by writing a piece in which he surveyed about a dozen GMs of their possible interest in A-Rod and found very few, if any, takers...
...ticket. "We have a lot of districts that are 50-49, where if the wind blows too hard, it's going to switch," says Missouri House Democratic whip Connie Johnson, a John Edwards supporter. "Many tell me that Hillary would be a lightning rod in their districts." Union officials say similar concerns have influenced their decisions regarding candidate endorsements. That helps explain why one of the largest, the Service Employees International Union, made the unusual move of allowing its local and state chapters to decide for themselves which presidential candidate to back...