Mark Zuckerman

Time for final decision on 2020 season has come

Time for final decision on 2020 season has come
After months of waiting followed by weeks of squabbling, the time has probably come for a final decision on the 2020 season. And barring a last-minute change of heart by the owners and players who have been refusing to budge from their most recent offers, it appears the sport is destined for a short season unilaterally mandated by commissioner Rob Manfred, which will probably be met with a formal grievance filed by the Major League Baseball Players Association. What, you thought this saga was...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
coronavirus mark zuckerman mlb mlbpa nationals nationals pastime rob manfred tony clark featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals2
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Mark Zuckerman

Progress in latest round of talks, but no deal quite yet

Progress in latest round of talks, but no deal quite yet
Is it possible? Is it possible Rob Manfred and Tony Clark are close to a deal and the 2020 season is nearly upon us at last? Well, yes and no. After a Wednesday that featured a whirlwind of emotions, from brief moments of joy to forceful words of caution, here's where it appears things stand: Manfred and Clark, after meeting in person (and in secret) in Arizona, seem to have made significant headway toward a deal. But not a completed deal, both because they didn't sign any formal papers and...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
coronavirus mark zuckerman mlb mlbpa nationals nationals pastime rob manfred tony clark featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals2
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Steve Melewski

MLB takes a step toward a 2020 season

MLB takes a step toward a 2020 season
Will we hear the cry to "Play ball!" in July? One day after I wrote in this space about how bad it looked and how we had a right to be disappointed in both the players and owners, it seems an actual deal may be getting closer. The players held firm to get 100 percent of prorated salaries and they will reportedly get that. But just for 60, 65, or 66 games, something in that neighborhood, although they could negotiate for more. The owners didn't want to pay full prorated salaries for much more...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
orioles steve melewski coronavirus featured_sidebar mlb mlbpa frontstory_orioles3
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Mark Zuckerman

Time for baseball to do what's in the best interests of baseball

Time for baseball to do what's in the best interests of baseball
When baseball owners approached Kenesaw "Mountain" Landis in 1920 and asked him to become the first commissioner in professional sports, the then-U.S. District Court judge insisted he be given a very specific power. Landis insisted he be allowed to make major decisions on his own, without approval of owners or players, for matters he believed were "in the best interests of baseball." Exactly one century later, that phrase remains written into Major League Baseball's constitution, and every...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
coronavirus mark zuckerman mlb mlbpa nationals nationals pastime rob manfred tony clark featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Mark Zuckerman

Chance for deal seems dead after statements by MLB, players

Chance for deal seems dead after statements by MLB, players
Whatever sliver of hope remained that Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association might find a way to come together and negotiate a reasonable settlement to their ongoing fight over salary structure appeared to go up in smoke Saturday night after both entities issued nasty statements accusing each other of ruining any chance of a reasonable 2020 season. MLBPA executive director Tony Clark all but gave up further negotiations and essentially demanded that Rob Manfred tell the players...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
coronavirus mark zuckerman mlb mlbpa nationals nationals pastime rob manfred tony clark featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals2
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Mark Zuckerman

Players, owners can't try to fight 2021 battle in 2020

Players, owners can't try to fight 2021 battle in 2020
There are problems with Major League Baseball's economics system. Big problems. Yes, the sport brings in as much as $11 billion a year, but that doesn't mean the economic state of the sport is healthy. Players have been making this argument for two years now. How can owners be making so much money while free agency remains stagnant? How can so many teams be profitable while still claiming they need to cut payroll as part of a long-term rebuilding plan? And how can the best players in this...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
coronavirus mark zuckerman mlb mlbpa nationals nationals pastime featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Mark Zuckerman

Set a deadline, and you might actually get a deal at last

Set a deadline, and you might actually get a deal at last
Precisely 12 weeks have passed since Major League Baseball shut down spring training and delayed the start of the regular season, the novel coronavirus having forced the entire nation to shut down like never before. Nobody knew at that moment how much time would pass before baseball could be played again, but slowly it became clear the target date for starting a condensed 2020 season would fall right around July 4. Which meant teams would need to be able to start holding workouts for a second...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
coronavirus mark zuckerman mlb mlbpa nationals nationals pastime featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Mark Zuckerman

MLB, union seem far apart, but middle ground awaits them

MLB, union seem far apart, but middle ground awaits them
It's hard to look at the competing proposals for the 2020 season offered up by Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association and come to the conclusion that the two sides are anywhere close to striking a deal. But here's a key point that must be taken into consideration when trying to gauge the state of negotiations: Both sides are purposely making proposals that fall at the extreme ends of their acceptable spectrums. Not because anyone believes the opposing side is going to accept...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
coronavirus mark zuckerman mlb mlbpa nationals nationals pastime rob manfred tony clark featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals2
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Mark Zuckerman

Nationals change course, will keep paying minor leaguers in full

Nationals change course, will keep paying minor leaguers in full
One day after learning their own major league players had pledged to cover the pay cuts the organization was imposing on minor leaguers, Nationals ownership reversed course and elected to continue making full weekly stipend payments to their players, a source familiar with the decision confirmed. The Nationals' intention to reduce the stipends given to minor leaguers from $400 per week to $300 per week throughout June was immediately met with a harsh reaction from the franchise's own big...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
coronavirus mark zuckerman minor leagues mlb mlbpa nationals nationals pastime sean doolittle featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals2
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Mark Zuckerman

Nats players pledge to cover minor leaguers' pay cuts

Nats players pledge to cover minor leaguers' pay cuts
Nationals players, after learning Sunday the organization is cutting minor leaguers' weekly pay this month, have collectively pledged to cover the difference on their own. The club, which by Major League Baseball mandate had been paying all minor leaguers $400 per week throughout April and May, will reduce that amount to $300 per week in June, a source familiar with the decision confirmed. The reductions come as the organization also released more than two dozen minor league players, a trend...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
coronavirus mark zuckerman minor leagues mlb mlbpa nationals nationals pastime sean doolittle featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals2
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Mark Zuckerman

It's time for baseball to help bring us back together

It's time for baseball to help bring us back together
It all seems so trivial right now, doesn't it, the bickering between Major League Baseball and its players over how to fairly set salaries for the 2020 season? Our country is coming apart at the seams, protests and riots consuming cities across America over an issue that has plagued this land of ours for centuries and has now reached a boiling point. All of this, mind you, against the backdrop of a global pandemic and collapsed economy. We're supposed to care about baseball right now? But...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
coronavirus mark zuckerman mlb mlbpa nationals nationals pastime featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals2
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Mark Zuckerman

Scherzer shoots down MLB plan as clock ticks down for deal

Scherzer shoots down MLB plan as clock ticks down for deal
If you didn't realize how far apart Major League Baseball owners and players were in their negotiations over pay cuts for the proposed 2020 season, Max Scherzer served up a harsh reminder late Wednesday night that the chasm right now is vast. The Nationals ace and member of the MLB Players Association's eight-person executive subcommittee said the union has no intention of accepting any more salary reductions beyond what was already agreed to in late March. And he put the onus on owners to...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
coronavirus mark zuckerman max scherzer mlb mlbpa nationals nationals pastime featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Mark Zuckerman

Reduced pay, but no layoffs, for Nationals employees

Reduced pay, but no layoffs, for Nationals employees
While Major League Baseball and its players continue to spar over how to restructure salaries for the 2020 season, club employees around the sport are beginning to learn they won't be paid in full this year. The Nationals joined the list Tuesday, informing all full-time team employees they will see their salaries and work hours reduced by a modest amount. According to a source familiar with the club's decision, all full-timers in both the baseball and business sides of the organization will...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
coronavirus mark zuckerman mlb mlbpa nationals nationals park nationals pastime west palm beach featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals2
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Mark Zuckerman

Would Nationals train and play in D.C. or West Palm Beach?

Would Nationals train and play in D.C. or West Palm Beach?
There are so many questions that must be answered before baseball returns, but let's attempt today to tackle one of the most pertinent questions facing the Nationals: Where would they hold the resumption of spring training, and then where would they play their season? Based on Major League Baseball's official proposal to the MLB Players Association, it looks like the answer is: In Washington, as long as it's safe to do so, and as long as local authorities say it's OK. Those are some pretty...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
coronavirus mark zuckerman mlb nationals nationals park nationals pastime spring training west palm beach featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals2
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Steve Melewski

MLB's efforts to keep players safe and healthy

MLB's efforts to keep players safe and healthy
According to an article in The Athletic, Major League Baseball has presented the players with a 67-page document detailing health protocals for the 2020 season. A season they hope can begin sometime in early July. One that will apparently consist of only 82 games and begin, at least at the outset, without fans in the stands. This includes plans for players to practice social distancing when not on the field, to avoid high fives and shaking hands after wins, no pregame exchange of lineup cards...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
orioles steve melewski featured_sidebar frontstory_orioles3 mlb
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Mark Zuckerman

Can owners, players agree on parameters of 2020 season?

Can owners, players agree on parameters of 2020 season?
Major League Baseball owners reportedly agreed Monday to a proposal for a 2020 season, one that would include an abbreviated second round of spring training in June, then a regular season of roughly 80 games that would run from July through September, then an expanded postseason that includes two more wild card teams in each league but could still be wrapped up around Halloween. Sounds great, right? Our long national nightmare is almost over! The only thing the league needs now is approval of...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
coronavirus mark zuckerman mlb mlbpa nationals nationals pastime sean doolittle featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals2
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Mark Zuckerman

How many games are needed for a legitimate season?

How many games are needed for a legitimate season?
We still don't know when - or if - the 2020 Major League Baseball season will begin. We do know it won't be a full, 162-game season, though. Even in a best-case scenario, there's just not enough time to play all 162, not without extending the regular season deep into December and the World Series beyond New Year's Day. That's not happening. So if they play in 2020, it's going to be a shortened season. Which is not unprecedented in MLB history, given past labor disputes. But how many games...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
coronavirus mark zuckerman mlb nationals nationals pastime schedule featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals2
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Mark Zuckerman

Reading the tea leaves about various MLB season proposals

Reading the tea leaves about various MLB season proposals
It's still impossible to say with any semblance of certainty when, where or how the 2020 Major League Baseball season will begin. But it doesn't take a lot of reading between the lines in recent days to recognize the powers that be in this sport strongly believe there will be a 2020 baseball season. The length, format and other particulars of a potential season remain very much uncertain. But as various proposals get tossed around, it does seem like everyone involved fully expects something...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
coronavirus mark zuckerman mlb nationals nationals pastime featured_sidebar mike rizzo frontstory_nationals2
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Mark Zuckerman

Rizzo on employee payments, season prep and Nats charities

Rizzo on employee payments, season prep and Nats charities
In addition to paying all full-time employees' salaries through at least the end of May, the Nationals have not yet discussed asking for the organization's highest-paid employees to reduce their salaries while baseball is shut down during the coronavirus pandemic. General manager Mike Rizzo, during his regular conference call with reporters today, confirmed the Lerner family's recent commitment to pay all full-time employees full salary and benefits through May, following a trend established...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
coronavirus mark zuckerman mike rizzo mlb nationals nationals pastime spring training featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals2
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments
Mark Zuckerman

Nats commit to pay full-time employees through at least May 31

Nats commit to pay full-time employees through at least May 31
The Nationals informed full-time employees they will continue to receive full pay and benefits through at least the end of May, a source familiar with the decision confirmed. Following the lead of nearly every other major league organization in recent days, Nationals ownership sent an email out to all full-time employees Thursday with news they will continue to be paid through May 31. The club previously had committed to paying full salaries through the end of April. A decision on payments...
Continue reading
0
  0 Comments
Tags:
coronavirus mark zuckerman mlb nationals nationals pastime featured_sidebar frontstory_nationals3
LinkedIn Pinterest
0 Comments



LATEST ORIOLES NEWS

LATEST NATIONALS NEWS

       
1 2 3 4 5 6