The MLB announced all spring training games have been canceled from Feb. 26 through March 4, according to Fox Sports.
This deadline and ultimatum is forcing matters to be dealt with on a more urgent basis, but since the lockout started Dec. 2, it is not looking promising that they will find an amicable resolution anytime soon. The players are standing firm to their terms, and the owners aren’t willing to budge.
After a brief hiatus, the two sides resumed talks on Sunday to continue the negotiations. Jeff Passen, a baseball columnist for ESPN who has been involved in a lot of the reporting of the lockout, believes this is the most crucial week of the lockout yet.
“While exact plans are not finalized, MLB and the MLB Players Association intend to hold multiple bargaining sessions — perhaps every day — as early as Monday, sources told ESPN,” Passen said. “Multiple owners and players expect to fly in for sessions leading up to MLB’s stated Feb. 28 deadline.”
The deadline today might result in a conclusion, but with the several deadlines missed already, faith in a swift resolution is dwindling. There have been several meetings, Passen reported, that only lasted about 15 minutes before the players left. The intention has been to talk, but not resolve. With the spring season now impacted, that mentality might have shifted.
The current opening day is set for Mar. 31.
“Minor league players on MLB teams’ 40-man rosters are in a particularly tough spot,” said ESPN. “With a shortened spring training, it is not likely they will be afforded many looks as getting the major leaguers ready will be the priority. Yet those 40-man players cannot report to minor league camp or participate in the minicamps currently underway. Players coming off injury are perhaps in a similar boat. They need more time, not less.”
The lack of time is expected to be evident when the players have the opportunity to get back on the field.
Sports fans are feeling the strain of this now, even if they weren’t invested earlier on. With the Rams victory at the Super Bowl marking the end of the NFL season, attention is now turning more to basketball and baseball.. With the MLB start date now delayed, and the threat of more delays, there have been notes of either fury from fans, or a growing indifference.
At the start of the lockout, Seton Hall University did a poll and concluded a “large chunk of sports fans looks at the lack of lockout progress not with anger or impatience, but with indifference.”
The lockout now threatens America’s pastime, so the push to get this resolved is not just a short-term issue, but a long-term need to keep younger generations interested and engaged.
