#MNR: I Need ALL Mines

MNR: I Needs ALL Mines

PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT
Snitching is only applicable to street-related games and the players who play said games. Civilians don’t snitch. They do what they feel is necessary for the safety of themselves and their loved ones. Don’t get it twisted. Example: you’re a grandmother raising two of your degenerate ass son’s chillen. You live on a block where there’s constant drug dealing and gunplay. Your lil ones play outside. They walk past the fuckery on the way to and from school. So basically, they’re always forced to see nefarious activity and are perpetually subjected to potentially being in the line of fire. Is it snitching if you call them people because you’re worried about your grandbabies’ safety? No, you dumb motherfucker. It’s called protecting your family. Police (in theory) are in place to serve and protect. Grandma isn’t a gangster. She’s a tired grandmother. Stupid. And to all of youse who keep screaming on all this type action, it’s likely that you don’t know shit about the streets other than what your favorite retarded ass rapper or social media or BET tell you. Stop putting your pussy ass propaganda out for the young and impressionable to misinterpret reality with. Just STFU. Thank you.


It’s the most wonderful time of the year. For me, anyways. Major League Baseball Spring Training is a week in. Whether it’s the Grapefruit League in Florida (my Yanks are based in Tampa) or the Cactus League in Arizona, every MLB club is prepping for an October run that will ultimately culminate in the 2019 World Series championship. Sadly, reality echoes that only a handful of teams have what it takes to walk that isle. And in baseball more so than any other American professional team sport, the haves almost always have a decided edge over the have nots. Even with revenue sharing, the larger markets have a lot more in the war chest to go after top-flight free agents than the smaller markets. With this we arrive at my thesis. A week into Spring Training, Bryce Harper and Manny Machado, the two biggest names to enter free agency in a half generation, are still without a team to report to. It’s widely agreed that both men are seeking contracts in the ballpark of $300M over 10 years. What’s even crazier is that these two hit the market a whole two years or better before most do because they entered the big leagues at age 19. The way baseball is set up, a player has to give the first team he breaks into the bigs with a whole seven seasons of service before he is eligible for free agency. This ensures that the team can get quality years of play from a player before having to back the Brinks truck up. Most big time ball players hit the market around age 28. Some don’t hit their seven until after 30. Bryce and Manny are seemingly in the driver’s seat having both begun service at the tender age of 19, an accomplishment rarely seen in baseball at all and even more rare these days. Gone are the days of a 19 year-old Henry Aaron breaking into the big leagues directly out of the Negro Leagues well before voting age. Or a baby-faced 19 year-old prodigy named Ken Griffey Jr. joining his pop in the Kingdome outfield in Seattle. More players attend college and play college ball than in past eras, naturally pushing their start and service dates back further. And nowadays it is a commonplace stall tactic to keep a future phenom in the minor leagues a year or two past being big league ready to hold on to “ownership”. So with all this being stated, why are two of the biggest young stars in the game still on the open market? The answer is quite simple: GM’s and front offices are more than reluctant to dish out any more 10/300+ deals because of recent precedent. Future Hall of Fame Angels 1B Albert Pujols, the best all around hitter of this generation grew old and his skills have diminished well before year ten. The same for Tigers future HOF 1B Miggy Cabrera, the first man to win the storied Triple Crown (1st in his league in HR, RBI, & Batting average) since Yaz in ‘67. There are others who have underwhelmed well before fulfilling the service years on the deal. And with every MLB contract being fully guaranteed unlike the NFL, teams are forced to take the hit, rain or shine, health or injury, productive or otherwise. That means there isn’t as much money in the pot to lure other free agents to town. GM’s have remained steadfast in refusing to dole out these types of deals lately. They’ll give up the $30M+ annually, but not for ten years. I can respect it. In fact, I actually side with the owners. It sets a franchise back. I want every worker in a free market economy to break the bank whenever possible. But if I’m holding the purse or in charge of it, I’m being as cautious as possible before I give that bag out. It’s Business Common Sense 101. But just like the rest of the sports world, fellow MLB players see the vibe, and they’re livid. One (can’t remember who) recently even said that if the trend continues he sees a player’s strike being eminent when the current collective bargaining agreement ends. For those who don’t know, the last work stoppage took place in 1994. There was no World Series for the first time since 1904. The strike, largely seen by fans as a pissing contest between billionaires and millionaires, completely alienated many and in turn the sport came closer to extinction than ever imagined. Luckily, Mr. Cal Ripken Jr. and his consecutive games played streak record in set in 1995 (2,131 to break; 2,632 overall) along with the steroid fueled single season HR record race of 1998 between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa (Big Mac won with 70, Sosa finished with 66; both broke Roger Maris’ record of 61) brought asses back to seats and sentiment back to hearts. Baseball cannot take another big strike. But as of right now, there seems to be no type of common ground. As a true fanatic of the game (my first love and eternal passion), I pray there is an amicable resolution. But I doubt it. Oh boy... #letsgoyankees

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