[NoOne]

history is evidence... the fact that the constitution has to be amended for things like color, gender or orientation.. when it was inclusive to start if you only read the preamble and ignore a bygone era;s choice of words... if you adhere to strict interpretation, even women aren't included in much, but clearly they are human beings aren't they? the fact we needed an amendment for womon's suffrage is proof of how irrational people can be. take a gander at the middle east or any number of countries and their cultures that cling to similar irrational concepts to this very day.

even in a newer generation, there's a large percentage that doesn't respect a woman manager/boss.

irrational behaviour is the norm, not the exception. most peopel don't have the knowledge to be anything else. they make all sorts of decisions based on unrelated and uncorrellated factors.

it was never about declining arbitration.. the op's context was that they declined to negotiate a one year deal before arbitration. and that can happen.. and does in RL.. low-ball a guy and they will know to go to arbitration based on players with similar stats and service time.

just because they don't want to work out a 1 year deal doesn't mean they want to leave or demanding to trade. maybe it correlates to probability of such a thing, but isn't guaranteed in year 2 or 3. .it really doesn't matter what the reason is.

now if you want to say they should at least listen and then decline, i'd hop on that bandwagon, becaue it's a rational conclusion made with reational reasoning. as of ootp18, they'd reply wiht a 1 year request that indicated they wouldn't sign long-term deal at all - almost always higher than what you pay in arbitration, fwiw. has this really changed? i have doubts they would. haven't played 19 enough yet.

if you offer 5M and arbitration estimate is 2M then you can rationally say no person would ever decline that 1 year deal. i'd also say it's poor financial management for paying too much relative to leverage and power that you have over the negotiating process.

if you perceive it as some slight or that you just don't like arbitration.. well? so?!? i'm still going to ignore it if they are amazing talents... i'll still handle the same way.. and only trade away if forced or they demand too much in an extension.

if you give away good talent over this, you are hurting your team. just because they won't negotiate this year, doesn't mean they won't negotiate in the years to come.