"So westurn, you have just admitted that Japan had nothing to do with this problem"

No I haven't ! Why is it so difficult for you all to realize that MLB negotiated with NPB and then went to the teams involved and then the players union ??? Shake yerself for a second. The Boston Redsox are not MLB execs ! They are different entities ! So the position still holds. The Japanese swindled MLB execs into a contract that only included the players... not the coaches and support staff. Upon returning to the US, mlb officials pretty much said... "hey, same set up as always (so they thought)" But then Oakland A's officials said... "hey !" Coaches and support staff are not included in the deal this time "! They contacted the Redsox... all hell breaks loose. Cooler heads prevail, as is the American way, and viola... the games are on. Shame shame on the J's for trying to pull a fast one ! Best thing to do ??? Run up the score when they play Hanshin and Yomiuri ! Unfortunately, most of the players will be jet lagged so that is a monumental task... I'd love to see it though ! Just like the last drubbing the J's took at last years MLB/NPB All Star Classic ! 5-0 the Americans swept every stinkin' game !!!

 

"Sure the players deserve $40,000, they play the game not the staff."

I'm sure thats exactly what the Japanese were thinking when they worked this deal. They want to promote the individual players like Matsuzaka... they don't give a hoot about the support staff or coaches. And again, the $40,000 is not for playing necessarily.... its an appearance fee. Whcih includes all the other off field activities... and there are a bunch !

 

Money talks ! And if Darvish continues to improve he could have a shot at the majors. There are a lot of obstacles in his way though... health for one. Japanese managers are notorious for burning out arms here in NPB.

 

Question: Why must someone "dislike the US" just for not wanting to go there ?

I read his interview towards the end of last season when he was talking about a shot at the majors. He said it didn't interest him because he liked his current situation. So for Darvish, its more about liking where he is right now... nothing to do with a dislike of the US. That is you, don't try to put your words into the mouths of others.

 

"Why would NPB pay the MLB? What's the point????"

A variety of reasons... one of the biggest being, Japan is about to get by-passed by China, who is already lining up games for next year. Don't be surprised if this is the last "Season Opener" for Japan in awhile. In short though, Japanese baseball fans are gonna pay through the nose for these games, and yes the words "sold out" are being touted... hell it was a lottery just to get buying rights by the fans. Throw in merchandise sales, broadcast rights, Ricohs sponsorship... oh and RedSox traditionalists... prepare to get shocked. One of the sports most recognizeable uniforms is about to be defaced by a new EMC sponsors patch, to be unveiled here in Tokyo... imagine that ! A new patch, on your historical jerseys ! Wake up Boston..."Never mess with a winning streak" ! Tear those EMC patches off before you jinx yer whole season ! As if this, from MLB.com, wasn't bad enough...

"When MLB first approached the Red Sox about starting the 2008 season in Japan, the idea was met with much hesitation on the part of the players and staff. After negotiating, the players and staff agreed to represent MLB in Tokyo."

Hell they don't even want to be here ! I can hear the cymbals crashing to the ground... oh the humanity ! Ya gotta wonder, what else could go wrong ? In any case, this whole mess is leaving Japan in some pretty bad light. Shame isn't it !

 

"wish to see more actions from the other EU countries."

Don't hold your breath !

 

Kiddies... you need to provide numbers supporting your claims. I have clearly stated that I am open to any factual data backed by numbers and contract figures. Until then, I will run on the assumption that Japan tried to pull a fast one... again. And MLB and the players union have been left holding the bag. As I stated earlier, these payments are not bonuses but appearance fees. It seems that the ball games are not the only events the players are involved in. There are 2 autograph signing sessions, trips to embassies, baseball clinics for kids... hell the whole gambit ! And all this would add further weight to my suspicions... when NPB sat down to talk, they only were interested in the players... thus guaranteeing "the players" appearance fees. Obviously trainers, batboys, support staff etc are no where near as important as the ball players. When the players found out about the scam, well, they took it to their union reps... and lo and behold, it is the Americans trying to put positive light on this whole sordid tale. Now off you go tater tots... get the links to those numbers... I'm tired of schoolin ya.

 

great post ogtob ! You state:

"It was MLB."

yet the link you provide has poster soxred0784 quoting:

"We really do not know what agreement was made and what the misunderstanding is"

Thanx for proving my point ! Another "I told ya so moment" !

Next time ogtob... come to the forum with numbers ! Like how much is NPB, Ricoh, and Yomiuri paying to sponsor these games. Or whats the profit sharing agreement look like. You find that, then we'll know exactly who is at fault. In the meantime... I got my money on the Japanese trying to pull a fast one, MLB didn't catch it, and have tried to save face by simply paying the diff. Whaddya wanna bet this mistake doesn't happen again... fool me once, shame on you... fool me twice... shame on me.

 

I'm sure the Red Sox and Oakland A's are so desperate for attention that they had to pay the already rich Japanese millions in mighty yen just for the right to play a couple of games in the beautiful and technologically advanced Tokyo Dome... yep, I'm sure that's exactly what happened ! Bwahahaha !

 

Yours is just another example of "Eurothink." You know, that idiotic mind set that has many europeans thinking that major corporations should share their trade secrets and just handover the goods when completely designed. Just review the court case between the EU and Microsoft if your confused. In the meantime, Japanese companies like Sony, Hitachi, Matsushita etc, have been sponging off American made technology for years. High time that theivery stopped !

 

ogtob... just what part of my logic is flawed ? I'm wanting information about the agreement between MLB and JPB. Pretty simple ! Not sure what your tirade on merchandising and broadcast rights is all about. Fact remains, JPB is paying these American teams to come here and open their season in Japan and play two exhibition games. That is a fact. MLB is not paying the Japanese for this right. Now, my question still remains... how much is Japan paying ? What was the agreement between MLB and JPB ?

 

Doesn't really matter how much pollen is in the trees... what really matters is how much "rain" we get !

 

Its no wonder Japan continues to dredge the bottom of the world gender equality rankings... 91st last time we checked. Cmon girls, stop embarrassing yerselves ! "Cosplay" ? More like "Nerd theater !" And just give it some time... the nerds are about to appear !

 

Japan... sorely in need of a leader, any leader, hell just a token leader will do ! What an embarrassment this is ! Nobody wants to get close to those ticking time bombs known as "Japans failing banks" ! it's easier to just keep repeating the idiotic... "but what about the subprime loan problem in..."

 

"I'm surrounded by Idjits" !!!

Again, nigelboy, chouwa... Just repeating mlb this and mlb that doesn't address the agreement between mlb and jpb ! It's important because that is the basis for the offer from mlb to the players association. In addition, The National Post is not calling these bonuses but "appearance fees". Also, it was the Red Sox office that offered to pay the difference... not mlb ! Seems to me there are a lot of unanswered questions and the Japanese, in typical Japanese form, are happy to just keep quiet. To clear the air, they, Japan Pro Baseball, should come clean as to what exactly the profit sharing agreement details.

 

"But this time, the agreement between MLB and the players' association called only for payments to 30 players on each club, and left out the coaches."

Because ??? Is that what was negotiated between MLB and the Japanese ???

Again folks, the money we are talking about here are bonuses ! This money has nothing to do with the players salaries... they are bonuses. Now, I imagine these bonuses were negotiated with the Japanese as part of the profit sharing agreement. Now I've worked with dozens of slimy J companies before... you know, the same ones that want you to work overtime for free ! Anyway, I wouldn't be surprised if the sharing agreement was for 30 plyaers from each ballclub wich would have left out the coaches and support staff. Of course, upon hearing this the MLB probably went over the agreements with the Japanese, saw there was no provision for the extra bodies... and decided to do the right thing, swallow the losses. Which, as of last report, were an additional $180,000 to be divided up accordingly.

So again, if someone has the insdie scoop, I'd be more than willing to accept it... but to date, I've heard nothing about the actual agreement between Japan and MLB !

 

Show us all exactly where this info is:

"The original argument was WHO pulled out of paying for the coaches. That is ALL the MLB and has nothing to do with the money ponied up by the japanese."

I say you are wrong ! I say that this condition is an automatic in all contracts within MLB thats working within the continental US and Canada ! So what's so different about games in Japan ? Why not just use the same contracts as in North America ? Because the Japanese, it appears, put together the contracts... subsequently leaving out the support staff ! In short, MLB teams have standardized contracts for their teams, what about this trip was different ? Answer... Japanese Businessmen ! But hey, if you got a better story, I'm all ears. But like I said, just because the major leaguers are solving the problem doesn't mean they created it. Americans know more about diplomacy than you think they do.

 

"Japanese autos aren't as reliable as anticipated"

Just last year major "Automobile Quality" review boards agreed to stop giving Toyota automatic passing marks in terms of quality. They now have to go through the rigors like everyone else... and lo and behold, they aint living up to the hype. From "Economist":

"America's influential Consumer Reports magazine. Declaring that “Toyota is showing cracks in its armour”, it relegated three models from its recommended list: the Camry V6 sedan, the all-wheel-drive variant of the Lexus GS and the Tundra pick-up. The magazine added that it would “no longer recommend any new or re-designed Toyota models without reliability data on a specific design”. In other words, it would no longer simply assume Toyotas to be reliable. Overall, Toyota was ranked only the fifth most reliable manufacturer. A recent J.D. Power Initial Quality Study also showed Toyota losing ground to its rivals."

 

mummet, you are spot on. This looks like nothing more than Fukuda's embarrassing attempt to sell Toyotas and Hondas to the Africans. Shameless behaviour indeed !

 

"2. I am patiently waiting for the Iraqi people to settle their differences"

"I am sure they will once US leaves."

Gee, you mean like they did for all them years before the US arrived ? Crack a history book for cripes sake !

 

"You bring up Koffi Annan? Really?????"

"The Duelfer investigation
The Duelfer report, released on 30 September 2004, described in a key finding the impact of the Oil-for-Food Programme on Saddam's regime:

• The introduction of the Oil-For-Food Programme (OFF) in late 1996 was a key turning point for the Regime. OFF rescued Baghdad’s economy from a terminal decline created by sanctions. The Regime quickly came to see that OFF could be corrupted to acquire foreign exchange both to further undermine sanctions and to provide the means to enhance dual-use infrastructure and potential WMD-related development.[vol. I, p.1]"

Yes... really !

 

"and, it also looks like the japanese promoters are paying for MLB to come to Japan as they pay for lost revenue in addition to a share of the profits."

Another I told ya so moment ? You all decide !

As for chouwa ... sorry, you've failed to convince. Fact is, your post doesn't get into the details of what was discussed between MLB and the Japanese. The fact that MLB is taking care of the problem is more about professionalism than accepting blame. Just another lesson for the Japanese !

 

"The US started an illegal war on it's own."

Yeh ? According to who ? Koffi Annan ? The same Koffi Annan that allowed the scandalous "oil for food program" to run rampant under his watch ? That same Koffi Annan ?

 

September 2004 ? Odd, just 4 months earlier in May, your same pentagon was saying that 155 millimeter cannisters containing mustard, sarin gas etc had been found. That report continued to:

"They believe the mustard gas shell may have been one of 550 projectiles for which former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein failed to account when he made his weapons declaration shortly before Operation Iraqi Freedom began last year. Iraq also failed to then account for 450 aerial bombs with mustard gas. That, combined with the shells, totaled about 80 tons of unaccounted for mustard gas.

It also appears some top Pentagon officials were surprised by the sarin news; they thought the matter was classified, according to administration officials"

And your choice of words... "Degraded" ? Utter nonsense. The missils they were refering to had not been properly stored ! In either case, the evidence for a full scale WMD program seems pretty obvious ! Why you buy into the political agendas of various officials is comical. Your own common sense, in light of the fact that you have admitted to the existence of "degraded" weapons, should be proof enough that your argument holds little water ! Want more ? Try this, A month later, same year...

"Polish troops have found two warheads in Iraq believed to contain a deadly nerve agent, but it is not clear what period the weapons came from, the Defense Ministry said Thursday.
The two warheads were found in early June in a bunker in the area controlled by Polish forces, and they tested positive for cyclosarin, a substance many times stronger than sarin, the ministry said in a statement."

Now what Sezwho ? You don't trust the Poles ???

 

I will throw you a bone here... try moorewatch.com !