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Message: [QUOTE="donniesyracuse, post: 4189946, member: 101"] [HEADING=2][URL='https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-lockout-fact-checking-commissioner-rob-manfreds-press-conference-announcing-delay-of-2022-opening-day/']MLB lockout: Fact-checking commissioner Rob Manfred's press conference announcing delay of 2022 Opening Day[/URL][/HEADING] [I]...The point of payroll restrictions is to reduce labor costs and by extension increase owner profit margins. It's not to promote competitive balance or to provide "some semblance of a level playing field among clubs." That's not entirely surprising since MLB doesn't have a competitive balance problem, and there's no correlation between market size and on-field success in MLB (both before and after the implementation of the CBT). Manfred continues to mischaracterize the purpose of the CBT, which, again, is to drag down player salaries, because too many rank-and-file fans and even media members believe that the CBT and similar concoctions have anything at all to do with competitive balance. As for the increases he touts, they don't begin to keep pace with revenue growth in the league...'"[/I] [HEADING=1][I]Manfred says:[/I][/HEADING] [HEADING=1][I]"I think you also need to remember that the last five years have been very difficult years from a revenue perspective for the industry given the pandemic."[/I][/HEADING] [I]This is both a tired refrain and a lie. The industry is remarkably healthy, and revenues and profits continue to soar, as do franchise valuations. Yes, the league lost money in 2020, as did a vast array of business, but so did players, who, you'll recall, agreed to prorate their salaries based on the number of games played. The league in 2021 returned to tremendous profitability. Owners will continue to claim otherwise -- i.e., lie -- because in almost all instances teams aren't publicly traded. As such, they're not obligated to release their financials. In the rare instances that teams do willingly release such documentation, it's redacted to the point of meaninglessness. There's a reason owners refuse to open the books to outside inspection. To borrow a recent phrase from Manfred, we leave you to draw your own conclusions about what that reason is.[/I] [/QUOTE]

Verification: What is a Syracuse fan's favorite color?