Will MLB's darkest day in 27 years prove just as disastrous?

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Ask any knowledgeable baseball fan of a certain age about the significance of Aug. 12, 1994, and you'll get a shudder and a scowl out of them. That's the day Major League Baseball players went on strike, a decision that ultimately led to the cancellation of the World Series and a delayed start to the following season.

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MLB cancels first two series after deadline passes with no deal

MLB cancels first two series after deadline passes with no deal

For the second time in three years, the Major League Baseball season will not start on time. And for the first time in 27 years, it's because of a labor dispute.

Unable to come to terms with the MLB Players Association on a new collective bargaining agreement before the league's self-imposed, once-postponed 5 p.m. deadline today, commissioner Rob Manfred officially announced opening day will not take place as scheduled March 31, then added he has canceled the first week of the regular season.

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MLB pushes back deadline as sides move close to deal

MLB pushes back deadline as sides move close to deal

For much of Monday, the prospect of the first postponed opening day due to a labor fight looked inevitable. As representatives of Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association gathered yet again at Roger Dean Stadium in Jupiter, Fla., for yet another day of negotiations, even the most optimistic observers were left believing a deal couldn't be reached in time to satisfy the league's Feb. 28 deadline to ensure an on-time start to the season.

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After three long months, it's deadline day (maybe)

After three long months, it's deadline day (maybe)
Major League Baseball's lockout began three months ago. Three long months. And the reason those three months have felt so long was the fact we knew all along there was little chance of anything getting done until owners and players faced a real deadline with real pressure. In other words, the postponement of opening day. Well, three long months later, we've finally arrived at deadline day. Maybe. In MLB's eyes, today is the deadline. Commissioner Rob Manfred has made it painfully clear the...
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What's going to happen once lockout ends?

What's going to happen once lockout ends?
It's a matter of when, not if, Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association come to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement and the lockout ends. Spring will bloom and a new baseball season will be underway. The real question is what is going to happen once the lockout does, in fact, end? It wasn't our direct topic of conversation, but that question was discussed a bit on this week's episode of the "MASN All Access Podcast." I came up with three things that fall under that...
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Did the 1994-95 strike ultimately help bring MLB to D.C.?

Did the 1994-95 strike ultimately help bring MLB to D.C.?
Baseball is perhaps only a few days away from an event that hasn't been experienced in 27 years, one the commissioner himself recently said would be "disastrous" for the sport. Major League Baseball has said if it and the MLB Players Association can't agree to terms on a new collective bargaining agreement by Monday, some regular season games will be canceled. Whether that actually proves to be true remains to be seen, because the MLBPA insists the Feb. 28 deadline set forth by commissioner...
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Thursday morning Nats Q and A

Thursday morning Nats Q and A
Well, we've just about reached the point of no return. For nearly three months, we've speculated the lockout likely wouldn't end until the two sides faced a significant deadline: the potential loss of regular season games. And now, alas, we are on the verge of reaching that point. Major League Baseball reiterated Wednesday that if a deal is not in place by Monday, opening day will not proceed as scheduled March 31, adding that any games lost would not be made up and players would not be paid...
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What's likely to be the final sticking point in negotiations?

What's likely to be the final sticking point in negotiations?
If you're the optimistic sort, you probably looked at Monday's face-to-face meetings between Major League Baseball owners and player representatives, which took up most of the afternoon in Jupiter, Fla., as encouraging news. At last they two sides were talking in person, with actual participants involved, extending and reacting to competing offers, caucusing in separate corners for a while, then returning to present counteroffers before breaking for the day. If you're the pessimistic type,...
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DH position has not been kind to Nats through the years

DH position has not been kind to Nats through the years
Whether the lockout ends later this week, later this month or just some time way later down the road, we do already know one significant change that appears to be coming to all of Major League Baseball. For all the rancor between the league and the players over a host of issues, the one hot-button topic they seem to agree on is the designated hitter. Despite more than 120 years of established history with pitchers batting for themselves, the National League is poised to make the DH a permanent...
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What would a condensed spring training look like?

What would a condensed spring training look like?
We've tried to stay optimistic around here for the last 2 1/2 months, so until someone gives us legitimate reason not to be, we'll stay optimistic and hope Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association work out a deal within the next week and ensure opening day will proceed March 31 as planned. Even if that happens, though, it's going to be a wild scramble for everyone to get ready for spring training, open camps and get the proper work in to prepare players for the regular...
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Spring training games delayed until at least March 5

Spring training games delayed until at least March 5
What had already been widely understood was made official by Major League Baseball this afternoon: Spring training is delayed due to the ongoing labor battle that has yet to produce a new collective bargaining agreement. With camps across Florida and Arizona supposed to open earlier this week, and with the Grapefruit and Cactus league schedules set to commence Feb. 26, a postponement had become inevitable. In its formal announcement today, MLB - which enacted a lockout of the players when the...
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Missing the simple pleasures of spring training

Missing the simple pleasures of spring training
An old tweet of mine popped up Thursday. Exactly two years old, to be precise. It featured a slow-motion video of the Nationals holding their now-infamous "Cabbage Race" outside their spring training clubhouse. Sean Doolittle, designated closer for the team captained by Max Scherzer, was last to receive a head of cabbage that made its way all the way down a line of teammates and slammed it to the ground just before Daniel Hudson, closing for Stephen Strasburg's team, slammed his. It set off...
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Despite issues, MLB still has more parity than other leagues

Despite issues, MLB still has more parity than other leagues
The National Football League crowned a new champion Sunday night, the Rams winning their first Super Bowl in 22 years (when they still played in St. Louis), making this their first Lombardi Trophy while representing Los Angeles. And they did so by beating a Bengals franchise making its first Super Bowl appearance in 33 years, a franchise still seeking its first title after this heartbreaking loss. The NFL, with its salary cap and even distribution of television money (something it can do...
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Will latest offer spark talks or leave them stagnant?

Will latest offer spark talks or leave them stagnant?
Nobody really expected Major League Baseball's latest offer to players to bring an immediate end to the lockout, but there was hope it would at least spark more aggressive negotiations between the two warring parties as the clock ticks down to the point of no return. Based on the immediate reaction widely reported Saturday, it didn't achieve that goal. And that's only going to leave more people around the sport worried the season might not actually start on time. We don't have to delve into...
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What needs to happen this week to keep spring training on tap

What needs to happen this week to keep spring training on tap
Friday's news of the Major League Baseball Players Association declining the league's request to bring a government mediator into the stalled negotiations for a new collective bargaining agreement made for a dour start to the weekend. As a new week arrives, we're all left wondering a seemingly simple, yet perhaps not-actually-simple question: What happens now? We don't have an official answer yet, but the actions of both parties in the next 48 hours or so should give us a good clue about...
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Friday morning Nats Q&A

Friday morning Nats Q&A

Well, here we are. It's February. The Winter Olympics are underway. The Super Bowl is nine days away. And pitchers and catchers will be reporting in ... well, who really knows at this point?

There was some news on the collective bargaining front this week, though apparently not positive news. The clock has nearly run out to ensure an on-time start to spring training, though there is still a little bit of time to ensure the season begins March 31 as scheduled.

In the meantime, we'll keep plugging along here and try to keep the content coming every single day. Today, it comes in the form of a Q&A. If you've got a Nationals question you'd like to ask, go for it! Use the comments section below, then check back throughout the morning for my replies ...

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Shortened spring could really hinder Nats' pitching prep

Shortened spring could really hinder Nats' pitching prep
There's a prevailing sense around the baseball world right now that a delayed start to spring training wouldn't necessarily mean a delayed start to the regular season. If owners and players can work out a deal on a new collective bargaining agreement by late February, it would be possible to shorten camps from six weeks to four weeks, or (gulp) maybe even three weeks and still wrap things up in time to begin the season March 31 as scheduled. This, of course, all makes sense. Does spring...
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Will new year bring resumption of labor negotiations?

Will new year bring resumption of labor negotiations?
Happy new year, everyone! And isn't it wonderful to put 2021 behind us, turn the page to 2022 and start gearing up for the start of spring training in six weeks ... er, hold the phone. The calendar may have changed, but the state of Major League Baseball remains just as it was last month, with a lockout still in place and no evidence it's about to end anytime soon. Not that any of this should surprise you. When the collective bargaining agreement expired Dec. 1 and the league enacted its...
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How will fans greet Scherzer when he returns as a Met?

How will fans greet Scherzer when he returns as a Met?
Because the baseball world was on the verge of shutting down when it happened, we didn't really get a lot of time to process Max Scherzer's decision to sign with the Mets and wonder what kind of reaction he'll get when he returns to Nationals Park to face his former team. But since we've now got nothing but time on our hands, let's return to the subject and contemplate the scene that ultimately awaits the three-time Cy Young Award winner when he emerges from the visitors' dugout next...
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A vote against expanding the postseason field

A vote against expanding the postseason field
Watching college football the last two weekends, I couldn't help but keep asking myself: Why does that sport still only allow four teams into its top-level playoff? How much better would it be if every major conference winner automatically qualified, plus two at-large teams and the highest-ranked team from one of the other conferences, making up an eight-team bracket? Which also got me thinking how baseball really does have its postseason system right at the moment. Ten of the sport's 30...
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