Even though neither party in an arbitration case is supposed to leak when a hearing will take place, Tom Haudricourt managed to figure out that Corey Hart’s arbitration hearing will happen on Thursday. A decision from the arbitration panel is expected Friday. As we’ve known for awhile, a last-second deal isn’t to be expected — Haudricourt notes that the two sides stopped talking when Hart turned down the club’s final offer on January 29th.
Fan resentment towards Hart seems to have grown rapidly since, and I’m sure many are hoping that there will be blood.
I personally can’t blame Hart for taking advantage of the system, but I still wish the two sides were able to work out a deal before it came to this, even if it meant the Brewers having to spend a few extra hundred thousand to get it done. Usually it’s money that’s well spent, because you don’t have to spend an hour telling the player to his face why he stinks. Now that’s exactly what Doug Melvin & Co. will have to do, and they’ll have plenty of ammunition.
Hart’s side will have a chance to speak, too, and it’s not like they’ll be going in without any bullets in the chamber. Jeff Francoeur just avoided arby with the Mets with a deal for over $5 million, for crying out loud.
It’ll be interesting to see what comparisons are thrown out there by both sides to help make their case. No matter what happens, Hart stands to get a raise of at least $900,000 over last year’s salary.
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