Two major league superstars were sitting in the grass at Miller Park in Milwaukee watching the All-Star Game festivities last month and talking about everything they saw. There was baseball in front of them, the sun was shining, and laughter completed the picturesque scene. The only things missing were a picnic basket and a blanket.þþBut the scene quickly veered from peaceful to dramatic when Lance Berkman turned to the always-chatty Curt Schilling and asked him what was going to happen in the always uncertain labor situation. Berkman wanted to know if Schilling felt the players would wind up on strike this season. A television camera secured the conversation and Schilling's stern response.þþÿWe better not,ÿ Schilling said.þþThree simple, revealing words: We better not. The players keep repeating that they do not want to strike, even as they have held countless meetings in which Aug. 16 has been mentioned as a potential strike date. The players rightly feel the threat of a strike is the only leverage they have, because the owners can lock them out after the season and implement new work rules. If the players do not act, they believe the owners will force-feed them a radically changed system.þþStill, a strike, however logical the players argue it might be, would be another devastating punch to a sport that is floundering as it tries to keep its product viable. Attendance is down, payrolls are up, distrust of Bud Selig and Donald Fehr is constant, and disgust with the financial heft of George Steinbrenner is rampant. There are too many problems in baseball. Another strike would make arena football in August suddenly seem appealing. Losing any games would be a fiasco.þþÿDisappointing wouldn't even measure it,ÿ Schilling said as he sat in the third-base dugout before the Mets' game against Arizona was rained out at Shea Stadium last night. ÿThat's not even a word on the scale if there were to be a work stoppage.ÿþþSchilling claimed that every major leaguer felt the same. As both sides continue negotiating, it is intriguing to wonder how the talks might be influenced if a marquee player suddenly voiced a differing opinion about the need for a strike. Someone like Schilling. He has thrust himself into the forefront before, including sending an emotional electronic message, posted on ESPN.com, for those affected by the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11.þþNot now, fellas, Schilling could say. We must find a solution. We cannot put the game on hold with the economy staggering and with the one-year anniversary of the attacks looming. The union has long been united, so it is a fantasy to think any players would publicly denounce a strike. The owners would probably pounce on it as a weakness instead of viewing it as a building block. But it would be interesting.þþÿIt's not going to happen,ÿ Schilling said. ÿIt's very simple. If the owners are truly bargaining in good faith, we're close to a deal. The difference is minimal when you're talking about a $3 billion industry. If we strike, it would be because the owners want to implement their own work system.ÿþþEven though a player might wish he could say no to a strike, do not expect a single defection. Besides, no owner has scampered to a microphone to say that his side must keep games this season and the next. The owners are obsessed with enforcing a new system.þþEveryone loses if there is a strike: owners, players, fans. Someone might win in the long term, and that is what this disagreement is over, but in the short term no one wins.þþSchilling would suffer. He is a gaudy 18-4 with a 2.83 earned run average and a major league-leading 219 strikeouts for the defending World Series champions and could become the first pitcher since 1990 (Bob Welch, 27-6) to win 25 games. Schilling should make 11 more starts, and that would give him no chance for 30 victories, which last happened for Denny McLain (31-6) in 1968.þþBut even the thought of 30 in August is surprising. If there is a strike in two weeks and the season never resumes, Schilling might not even get to 20 for the second straight season. Selfishly and statistically speaking, a strike could harm the 35-year-old Schilling more than other players.þþÿMy team is in first place and I've made more money than I'm ever going to spend,ÿ he said. ÿWhy would I want to strike? But it has nothing to do with what I'm going to make. It has to do with how the game has been regulated and how the rules should apply.ÿþþSchilling was the first Diamondback on the field yesterday and he stood in foul territory and watched the Mets take batting practice. One of the best pitchers in the majors looked like any other fan waiting for an autograph or a foul ball. It was another nice scene. With luck, those scenes will continue. With luck, the season will continue. It better.þþ
Source: NY Times
