Coronavirus and the 2020 Season (Season Postponed, pg3)

[Jocephus]

Players proposed a 114-game regular season Sunday, up from 82 in management's offer, a person familiar with the plan told The Associated Press. Done that way, the World Series could extend past Thanksgiving.

The person spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity because no details were announced.

Opening day would be June 30 and the regular season would end Oct. 31, nearly five weeks after the Sept. 27 conclusion that MLB's proposal stuck to from the season's original schedule. The union offered scheduling flexibility to include more doubleheaders as baseball crams the games into 123 days, leaving little room for days off.

MLB's proposal Tuesday would lower 2020 salaries from about $4 billion to approximately $1.2 billion. The union's offer would have salaries total about $2.8 billion.

The plan was given to MLB during an 80-minute digital meeting among Commissioner Rob Manfred, deputy commissioner Dan Halem, union head Tony Clark and union chief negotiator Bruce Meyer. The meeting was contentious, a person familiar with it said.

https://sports.yahoo.com/ap-source-mlb- ... --mlb.html

[BottenFieldofDreams]

Both sides have pitched their unworkable ideas. I think the next maneuvers will be really telling whether we'll play. If this were Back to the Future, my picture of Matt Carpenter grounding into the shift would be missing the bat and the third baseman's glove as it started to fade.

[Magneto2.0]

On Sportscenter they just announced the owners are gonna have a counter offer with only 50-60 games for the season. Wow. Seems kinda pointless if it’s that short a season

[Jocephus]

On Sportscenter they just announced the owners are gonna have a counter offer with only 50-60 games for the season. Wow. Seems kinda pointless if it’s that short a season

ESPN's Jeff Passan reports that Major League Baseball "intends to propose a shorter season in which they would pay players a full prorated share of their salaries."

Passan added on SportsCenter that the new proposal would call for 50-60 regular season games, and likely an expanded playoff format. The players, in their recent counter-proposal, pushed for 114 regular season games, but that MLB and the owners have caved on the prorated pay element -- which had been a sticking point for the union -- gives hope that there could be some form of financial agreement in the near future. The two sides also need to sort out certain aspects of the health and safety guidelines that would be necessary to put on games. Major League Baseball is supposedly aiming to begin this abbreviated regular season sometime in July.
Source: Jeff Passan on Twitter
Jun 1, 2020, 5:13 PM ET

[mikechamp]

On Sportscenter they just announced the owners are gonna have a counter offer with only 50-60 games for the season. Wow. Seems kinda pointless if it’s that short a season

I get where you're coming from, and it does sound short. But if they want to keep to a similar-looking schedule (meaning not playing every day plus doubleheaders), 60 games is about what you'd fit into a season that spanned from early July to late September.

Now, if they are trying to keep a similar-looking schedule, that would seem to imply they wouldn't go with 30-man rosters, either, because there would be more-than-expected off days sprinkled into the season.

Sounds to me like they are trying to reserve some space for an expanded playoff, which would obviously take longer than the "regular" playoffs, and that those expanded playoffs would take place at home parks, not neutral sites.

A lot of assumptions from a guy who hasn't seen any proposal documentation, but just reading between the lines/connecting dots.

[dmarx114]

They will compromise around 81 games. This is all good news for baseball in 2020.

[mikechamp]

They will compromise around 81 games. This is all good news for baseball in 2020.

I think there's still a fair amount to determine. Health & safety guidelines, service time, incentive clauses, etc. Positive progress, for sure, but I'm not sure if they can see the finish line in all this yet.

[Jocephus]

According to ESPN's Jeff Passan, Major League Baseball views a season of around 50 games as a "last resort" option should there be no agreement with the MLBPA.

When it was first reported Monday evening that Major League Baseball had been considering a proposal to the union of an abbreviated regular season schedule but with full prorated pay, it seemed like generally positive news. But the latest report from Passan suggests that this idea isn't a proposal at all and may actually be a measure forced into action by the league if the two sides can't sort out the financial details for a longer season. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred believes the March agreement with the players gives him that power. The best hope here is probably that the league and union will ultimatewly settle for around 80 games and some amount of deferred pay.
Source: ESPN.com
Jun 1, 2020, 7:37 PM ET

[Jocephus]

this twitter thread has all StL minor league cuts from different levels

[Magneto2.0]

On Sportscenter they just announced the owners are gonna have a counter offer with only 50-60 games for the season. Wow. Seems kinda pointless if it’s that short a season

I get where you're coming from, and it does sound short. But if they want to keep to a similar-looking schedule (meaning not playing every day plus doubleheaders), 60 games is about what you'd fit into a season that spanned from early July to late September.

Now, if they are trying to keep a similar-looking schedule, that would seem to imply they wouldn't go with 30-man rosters, either, because there would be more-than-expected off days sprinkled into the season.

Sounds to me like they are trying to reserve some space for an expanded playoff, which would obviously take longer than the "regular" playoffs, and that those expanded playoffs would take place at home parks, not neutral sites.

A lot of assumptions from a guy who hasn't seen any proposal documentation, but just reading between the lines/connecting dots.

You're right,. My main concern with such a short season is, what are we really determining at the end of it? Baseball, already, is notorious for not having the best team win it all. I feel like a shorten season will only amplify that. I can see a scenario where the Marlins, or the Padres, or any other below average team win the WS because of the shortened season format. To me, at that point, the objective of the playoffs is completely lost. Playoff structure is already flawed, this will only make it worse.