Dodgers Analyst Says Players are Not Worried About MLB Lockout Just Yet
As we approach the week two mark of the MLB lockout, some around baseball are starting to get a little antsy. Player movement has frozen and the offseason for the sport has come to a standstill. But it’s not even technically mid-December yet. So, in theory, there’s still plenty of time for the league and the union to reach an agreement.
In theory.
On that note, former Dodgers utility man and current SportsNet LA analyst Jerry Hairston Jr. seemed mixed on the state of negotiations and whether the two sides can reach an agreement in a timely enough manner to not affect the 2022 season.
Fortunately, right now we’re entering mid-December, so it’s really not affecting a whole lot of things and I know fans are not worried right now. If you talk to some players or talk to some owners as well, they’re not worried until we start to reach February — like February 14th-15th, that’s when pitchers and catchers report — and then March. That’s when they start to get it to the table and that’s frustrating for me as a fan … why can’t they get both parties at the table now, resolve the issues and not wait, because you know it’s coming. They’re gonna wait til the last hour to say, ‘you know what, let’s meet and see what happens, see if we can get this thing done.’
It seems like the LA analyst changed how he felt mid-rant, which is honestly understandable. Particularly after witnessing the state of relations back in 2020 while the league was trying to start back up out of the pandemic stoppage.
Related: Dodgers Players are Locked Out, What Comes Next? | Blue Heaven Podcast
At any rate, as of now, the biggest event affected by the lockout was the winter meetings, which was set for December 6-9 in Orlando, Florida. Usually, several signings and trades come together while team officials are able to meet face to face and lay the groundwork for moves. With the winter meetings essentially scraped, and no conversations allowed between clubs and players, signings will be behind the eight-ball as the calendar inches closer to spring training.
In all likelihood, spring training schedules will be affected by CBA negotiations. And, at this point, that really feels like a best case scenario. If talks pick back up before the new year, maybe there’s hope for a full and unabridged 2022 calendar year. But there’s nearly zero chance of that happening.
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mlb and mlbpa dont get it they have a goose that lays golden eggs but instead of splitting those eggs they both want to roast the goose. they have done this time and a gain and honestly that goose is getting pretty roasted . what they dont get is we the fans are soon gonna let them eat that goose and they and their sport can go to grass , we dont need baseball we used to enjoy it but they are killing that we CAN and WILL live without the sport!
Let’s get it done!
The players hate ST anyway, so they won’t start to worry until they get to late March. A bunch of millionaires fighting with billionaires. Whatever
The real casualty of the shutdown is the ability to build a team for 2022…affects the front office, the players and the fans who want to know what their team is going to look like next year. Freezing transactions is not good for anyone involved in the sport! It’s one thing to allow the CBA to expire; it’s quite another to not meet to hammer out the next one.
Either side probably not getting anxious until March. Free agents needing to sign a contract with some team. Owners facing lost revenue if season doesn’t start on time. A lot of issues to get hammered out, payroll ceiling for teams & minimum, D. H. for national league, expanded playoff teams & whatever else is on their dockets. Yeah, there’s plenty of time.
Go ahead and lock out the entire 2022 season. At least we won’t have to pay Bauer for sitting on the shelf again.