You've got to be kidding me

I'm sure you'll all be happy to know the Red Sox, A's, and Major League Baseball have settled the flap over the stipend/appearance fee for a 2-game series in Japan. Now all Red Sox personnel going on the trip will hopefully be able to live on $40,000 while in Japan---what?! Are you fucking kidding me?! I used both appearance fee and stipend because both words are used in the ESPN article. Nobody in Japan wants to see the trainer and what the fuck are you doing in Japan that you need $40 G's?! Let's see: the Red Sox and A's have probably chartered a plane and there's a team hotel with I'm sure several functions for both teams while they're in Japan. So tell me why you need that much cash?? The players' union and MLB agreed to a $40K appearance fee and if I'm MLB I tell these players to go fuck themselves and they will be on that plane or else there will be fines and suspensions. These guys aren't golfers--they're not independent contractors playing a professional sport. These guys sign contracts to play and they are bound by those contracts. If the players want to blame someone then blame the Red Sox staff for not compensating their staff, but this is ridiculous. Boston bench coach Brad Mills said, "the players just stepped up and they did what I think was right." If the players wanted to do what was right they should've pooled half of their "stipend" and given it to the staff. Now that's a great gesture. This is without a doubt one of the biggest wastes of money and does nothing but put off fans.