Cashing in bonds; Bonds cashing in

While the rest of the economy is squirrelling away cash in their mattresses, cashing in bonds and their 401k's early and generally not spending much on anything not essential, good old Barry Bonds and his collusionary claims might result in a massive payday.

Barry Bonds could seek $100 million or more if an arbitrator finds baseball owners colluded to end his career, according to the terms of the collective bargaining agreement, which allows for triple damages from lost earnings.
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[Willie] Mays, Bonds’ godfather, recently told HBO’s Bob Costas he believed Bonds could play as many as three more years. The $100 million figure, while seemingly ludicrous, could be sought by arguing that Bonds might have earned more than $30 million in three years, and tripling the damages.

I don't think Bonds was methodically colluded against. I actually think that the owners and GMs all came to similar conclusions on their own. A stretch given Mgmt's historical stupidity and impulsiveness, but given his looming lawsuit, the excess attention and PR, the requirements of mgmt to blindly support Bonds, and his not-to-lovable presence in the lockerroom, I think it's a pretty obvious conclusion. Groupthink*, perhaps, but not collusion. I think the Mgmt was simply afraid to go near Bonds.


* Groupthink is a type of thought exhibited by group members who try to minimize conflict and reach consensus without critically testing, analyzing, and evaluating ideas.

(thanks to MLBTradeRumors.com for the tip)