59 is how many days left until MLB’s regular season is supposed to begin. Of course there’s still this lockout thing that officially is two months old at midnight tonight.
Normally at this time, staff, pitchers and catchers are making travel arrangements. Foreign players are working on obtaining visas. Equipment trucks are en route to spring training facilities (that last one is probably happening anyway as the minor leaguers will still be in their camp like normal.
Pitchers and catchers are supposed to report around Feb 15. Everything I’ve read indicates 7-10 days are needed to get everything done for spring training to start on time—that means a deal has to be done this week. There were some meetings last week, but I’m not optimistic.
Spring training games are to start Feb 26. No deal by mid-February means Grapefruit/Cactus League games will be affected. There’s a little wiggle room there as teams could invite more minor leaguers to the big league camp and limit incumbent major leaguer innings played. However, there’s no wiggle room for…
59 days. Even a compressed spring training schedule means a deal has to be in place by the beginning of March. If it’s not, the two sides will fail to get the season started on time. More than a week or two beyond that, and a 162 game schedule becomes problematic, especially if the playoffs are expanding as expected.
59 days. Then the PR hit really starts to take effect. Baseball will lose money both from lost games as well as lower attendance.
This week the MLBPA is sending out $5000 checks to its members to assist with expenses. It will happen again the first week of March if there’s no deal by then.
59 days.
Fan Interference 
Webster’s defines “Pujols Sindrome” as “Common sports executive disorder, causing said executive to pay for past performance rather than anticipated future production.” Look it up!
Players see the writing on the wall as smarter execs avoid this horrific ailment, which has infected California/Anaheim/Los Angeles/LA of Anaheim Angel’s staff through multiple ownerships, front offices, and even locations (while remaining in one place).
Mike Trout rated 27.6 WAR (Baseball-Reference) for total earnings of about $2 million at the start of his career. His teammate Albert Pujols achieved 12.9 WAR at a cost of $240 million during his Angels contract. MLB owners, salivating, say Yes on 1, No on two. They can achieve it if they use their heads. Players see the need to even the distribution out rather than waiting for the late-career payout that may never come.
Call me crazy, but if I had owned the Angels in 2012 I would have given Trout about $15 million after that amazing first season, and done my best to sign him up forever right then and there. “Mike, I’m going to offer you 240 Million Dollars, the same as Albert, and you will be an Angel forever! Furthermore, I am going to contribute thousands of dollars to local schools, in your name, for geography lessons for kids confused by our name! Whataya say??”
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Cheer up, good news! MLB.com is reporting that the players have reduced thier demand that 105 million be placed in a bonus pool for pre arbitration players to…100 million dollars! Not only that the owners are already offering to pony up…10 million dollars.
They’re only a 0 apart!!!
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In this case, 0 ain’t nothin’ but it’s a good excuse for me to add some music.
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