Braves Talk - Baseball needs to get to the bargaining table
We hear different things every day from the national baseball writers. And frankly, most of it on Tuesday was not very positive.
Baseball owners and players must check off a lot of boxes to get players back on the field. There are plenty of health issues, those contained in the 67-page manual that circulated last week, along with the important and contested financial issues that may take more time than we'd like to imagine.
Is there enough time? For baseball to resume on July 4, for example, the teams likely need to be on the field by June 13. So, an agreement is probably needed by June 4 or so, which would give the players a little over the week to have time to get to wherever spring training will be held.
But there is reason for skepticism. All of the pieces of the puzzle must fall perfectly into place. Can that actually happen, even with a little over two weeks perhaps until there must be a deadline in place?
There just seem to be too many questions. The health issues alone are daunting, knowing how everything has to be followed perfectly for everyone to remain safe. And there is understandably reason for concern that a second wave of the virus could hit in the fall.
So, is there time for the players and the owners to get on the same page? Well, not unless they get to the bargaining table to actually negotiate. Doing these things in the media won't work for long, and people around this country who are struggling with their health, their finances or their concern of their employment aren't going to care about billionaires and millionaires arguing over money for very long.