SF Giants: It's time to expect the worst as sides continue to talk

Things are getting dire if there is going to be a normal season in Major League Baseball. One can only hope that progress is made this week or else the SF Giants season will not be starting on time.

SF Giants: It's time to expect the worst as sides continue to talk

After all, they met every day this last week. The bad thing is that minimal progress was made between the two. It’s a given that not having a season or having a shortened one like 2020 isn’t going to be fun. There are many reasons fans want a season as well. But the one thing that stands out to me that we don’t want to miss is the Giants-Dodgers series. The two teams first meeting after their NLDS matchup in 2021 is must-see TV. The Battle of the Bay is an important one for Northern California. If a series has to be canceled, this would hurt both teams. 

Speaking of the 2020 season. It was a bad look to not be able to have a 100-game season then. Not having a 150-game slate for each team would compound that bad look from two years ago. 

As a baseball fan, it’d hurt to see events like the MLB-Little League Classic in Williamsport get canceled because a deal can’t be reached or the MLB at Field of Dreams game. These are games that not only honor the past of the game but also help to grow it.  

I hate to be the bubble burster, but that just doesn’t seem plausible. The two sides have been separated by such a large amount that I don’t see anything getting done before the deadline to save the full 162-game season. 

What I would like to see is some major compromises take place over the next few weeks. 

However, there are a few non-negotiables for me as a fan. The first one is I don’t want to expand the postseason from 10 to 14 or 16 teams. Baseball is viewed as one of the toughest sports to make the postseason in sports since only a third of the league makes it to October. 

Another thing the owners need to be a bit more flexible on is when a player can become arbitration-eligible and test free agency. I was amazed to hear that this was the first time someone of Kris Bryant’s caliber was able to test the waters. The issue is he’s entering the back half of his career. With players making it to the majors at a younger age, it makes sense to let them get to free agency a bit sooner. 

Meanwhile, the financials of the whole deal is something the average fan isn’t going to care that much about and that neither will get much sympathy from the fans about. After all, they are both millionaires or billionaires. Money isn’t an issue that fans will want to hear about. 

The only thing the two sides have worked out to date is the universal designated hitter and the draft lottery. 

We can only hope that things get going really fast. But if we’re being realistic, we should expect at least two weeks of regular-season games to be canceled. We must all compromise some things. Let’s hope both sides realize this and do what’s right for the fans and people who work at the 30 ballparks.