Free agent in the sky...

                       Well, it's been a few weeks, but I'm back. There were several topics I was going to discuss; One was the whole Marlins/Jays fiasco, but I figured that was pretty well covered by now.
I've also written about 95% of another piece, but I'm still researching on that one ( It's a secret ).  Then Marvin Miller died, so I thought maybe I could work with that.  As most of you know, Marvin Miller is famous for being the lawyer that challenged the reserve clause and paved the way for free agency...oh, and he also made Curt Flood a household name, he being the first player to refuse to report to camp because of being traded to Philly from the Cardinals.  Flood was a gold glove All Star, but also was well known for a slip-up in the outfield during the 1968 World series against Detroit, which led to the Tigers comeback and eventually victory.



                Free agency has been both good and bad; that players can make a living at it and not have to supplement their income like players of yesteryear did, you can see the good.  When you see a relatively O.K. player like Jason Werth receive a contract that would make Dave Winfield faint, you think, not so good.  Miller was an enemy to most of the owners back in the '70s as well as Commissioner Bowie Kuhn...but to the players, he was a godsend.  Of course, it's mostly the New Yorks, the Bostons, the Chicagos and L.A. s of the world that are benefiting from the bigger names.
The off season is more interesting with Free agency ( along with trades, that is ).  The biggest free agent out there now is Josh Hamilton, who is a risk because of health issues.  I think if the Red Sox get him, there should be a clause in his contract that he never brings up "Jesus" in an interview...although if he wants to talk about his drug filled past, that'd be O.K.

                   Miller hasn't made it to the Baseball Hall of fame yet, but when he does, some people won't be too happy about it; Bowie Kuhn was already dead, but some of the owners from back in the '70s who are still around are probably still reeling from it.  As for the players, every one of them should get down on their knees and pray to the this guy...when you think of all the mediocre players who make a million dollars, it's astounding;or, as Bob Uecker once said "If I played in this era, I'd be making a million dollars...how scary is that"?