This column was particularly difficult to write. The optimist in me was leaning hard toward focusing on the fact that the Phillies have been playing well in the last few weeks and that some players are having breakout seasons, which would make interesting feature stories.
However, it was impossible to ignore the atmosphere of an impending strike at the Phillies' last home game. There was a larger media crowd than normal at the Vet last Thursday, and there were conflicting opinions about which way the situation would go.
I was adamant that the players were going to walk, even if just for a short time, as a symbolic gesture to owners that they were prepared to strike if necessary. Most of my colleagues in the media seemed to agree with my reasoning.
What was missing on Thursday was the sense of gloom and doom that so pervaded the Phillies' clubhouse in August 1994. I remember the players driving their cars through the truck ramp onto the field and up to the dugout at the Vet as they literally loaded the entire contents of their lockers into their cars after the last game.
Nobody knew at the time that the strike would last into the next season, but it was obvious that the players didn't expect to be back soon.
Last Thursday, it was business as usual in that same clubhouse. Just about everyone on the team said that players were to prepare for the next game until they were told otherwise. Fortunately, the issues were settled without interrupting the season.
As for the deal, the best description that I saw from the many sources that I consulted was one that said the major leagues bought some more time to fix baseball. There won't be a whole lot of changes over the four years of the new pact, but at least both sides yielded on some points.
The players got an increase in the minimum pay (from $200,000 to $300,000), kept the salary arbitration system intact and avoided job cuts. (Contraction won't happen during this contract, which just means that the Expos will probably move from Montreal after this season.)
The owners got the luxury tax and revenue-sharing plans that they had pushed for. Whether it helps the small-market teams in the near future remains to be seen.
I'll comment on two other points. A random-testing system for steroids may finally help us to determine how "honest' the monstrous home run totals of the last few years really were. Also, interleague play was kept in the contract. Regular readers know that I don't care for it.
Doug Glanville should consider becoming a diplomat when his playing career is over.
The Phillies' player rep answered every question fired at him by reporters both before and after Thursday's game, kept his composure even after hearing a lot of the same questions over and over, and never tipped his hand one way or the other as to whether the situation would be resolved.
When asked if he had a gut feeling how it would go, he simply said, "I really don't know, and I'm not making that call. There are still eleventh-hour possibilities, so I'll hold judgment until then."
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