If this were a scenario like the past where they were just fighting over how to divvy up the pie I would agree they would find a way to make it work but this scenario is different because there is no pie to divvy up.
He probably should have led with this.
Clearly, then, if both sides' incentives align, once there's a plan in place this should be rubber-stamped.
Not even close.
Uh, so this is a problem how?
Money.
It's arrogance because they think they're smarter than the game. They're eliminating minor league teams and cutting the draft because they think they're better and SMARTER at developing players. They have technology!!! No need for all those pesky players anymore. It's too bad. They're making the game worse but the nerds are holding the hammer because they can say the 5 magic words that every billionaire owner loves to hear. It will save you money.
Baseball should be trying to expand the game not contracting it. The more guys playing baseball is a good thing. Just another example of baseballs new found arrogance.
I'm not saying it's 100% they're not gonna play I was just pointing out there are major obstacles that no one was talking about. Sure there's a chance they could reach a compromise but I'm not optimistic of that happening because these two are really bad at compromising. The owners have been shortsighted during this entire mess I don't think them choosing to punt on the season should be much of a surprise.
It's a different bickering about money. Some teams are going to lose money because TV revenue alone won't support the team payroll. They're obviously not going to ok a system where they lose money so they have to figure out a way to share the TV revenue. The owners would rather the players take a pay cut even though they already said they're not going to do that. Until this is resolved nothing is going to happen.
They're still arguing about the agreement they already made. If the players are going to take a paycut on top of the prorated salaries they're going to want something big in return. Really big. That just adds another layer to an already very contentious negotiation. There's just too much for them to agree on for this to happen.
Maybe he is different. He obviously has a special arm. Maybe he turns into Kerry Wood or Josh Beckett and if this were another year I would love to get a guy like this. I just think there will be better options available.
Now stuff HS pitchers are scary. Ok he's "MLB-ready" but he's not going to be in MLB for 3-5 years at the earliest. What happens over those 3-5 years? Does he get better? His stuff and body are already maxed out. Personally I like guys who can keep building and improving themselves during that time over guys who have to maintain their stuff over that same time period.