A day after MLB commissioner Rob Manfred pooh-poohed the idea that a ball club’s payroll bears little significance on their respective attempt to field a competitive team, among other claims, the head of the players’ union countered with a statement of his own.

“I hate the negativity that surrounds the coverage of the game right now. Probably the best antidote for that is to get out there and start playing […],” Manfred said on Sunday from Florida (quotes via USA Today Sports). “I think once we get out and start playing the game, the glow of positivity will reemerge.”

Those are some bold statements considering two of the game’s brightest stars in Manny Machado and Bryce Harper, along with dozens of talented, capable ballplayers, remain unsigned with under six weeks until Opening Day.

Many teams, including the Mets, have used the “we’d have to get creative to make it work financially” line to attempt to justify not going after two 26-year-old superstars in Harper and Machado, and Cubs owner Tom Ricketts doubled down on those sentiments on Monday, flat-out admitting “we don’t have any more [money]”.

Between revenue-sharing, BAMTech windfall usage, and the wide disparity between team valuation, gross revenues, and on-field expenditures, even a novice accountant would be suspicious of what’s happening around the game.

“The assertion that teams aren’t trying started last [spring] with Tony Clark singling out four teams. He did very poorly with those four teams.” Manfred said, referring to Oakland, Tampa Bay, Miami, and Pittsburgh having misappropriated their revenue-sharing funds but the A’s and Rays still finishing the season with winning records. “This narrative that our teams are not trying to win is just not supported by facts. Every single team wants to win.”

As per Jeff Passan of ESPN, Manfred told the press, “I reject the notion that payroll is a good measure for how much a team is trying or how successful that team is going to be”.

Sure, there are outliers like the perennial overachievers in Oakland or the string of successful homegrown clubs that Kansas City fielded before watching their stars move on. But when players like Machado and Harper are still sitting home as all 30 teams begin full workouts, there’s clearly an issue.

Clark released a statement on Monday (via Marc Carig of The Athletic) addressing Manfred’s comments (as well as the potential players’ strike in 2021, as Adam Wainwright insightfully spoke about on Saturday).

“Commissioner Manfred’s latest comments and his attempts to shift blame and distract from the main issues are [inconstructive] and misleading at best. Players’ eyes don’t deceive them, nor do [the] fans’. As players report to Spring Training and see respected veterans and valued teammates on the sidelines, they are rightfully frustrated by a two-year attack on free agency.”

“Players commit to competing [in] every pitch of every at-bat, and every inning of every game. Yet we’re operating in an environment in which an increasing number of clubs appear to be making little effort to improve their rosters, compete for a championship, or justify the price of a ticket.”

Preach, Tony.