McAdam: This week will likely determine whether the 2020 MLB season can be salvaged

To the frequently-asked question — "Are they gonna play baseball this year or not?'' — it would appear we'll soon have our answer -- perhaps even by the end of the week.

According to The Athletic, Major League Baseball is set to present the Major League Baseball Players Association with an economic proposal to cover the 2020 season. The plan, interestingly, does not include a request for revenue sharing.

That in itself could inspire increased optimism, since the PA had already labeled a request for revenue sharing a "non-starter,'' since the union believes acquiescing to such a plan would invariably lead to talk of a salary cap.

The owners' willingness to drop the revenue sharing proposal could be encouraging. Then again, the owners almost certainly will seek some sort of redress for the inability to play before paying fans. The players, meanwhile, counter that they had already agreed, in a March document, to pro-rated pay for whatever portion of the season was feasible. It's the union's stance that no further concessions -- fans or no fans -- need be made by their side.

That philosophical divide will have to be closed for an agreement to be reached and a season to be salvaged. But on a parallel track, there is the another, equally-pressing factor: the calendar.



The beginning of June is now just a week away. According to the timetable both sides have been operating on, a second, shortened spring training would need to begin in the second week of June for players to be ready to start a compressed schedule in the first week of July.

An agreement would need to be in place by the first of June for teams to prepare facilities, permission from local and state officials and health experts, and for players to make travel arrangements.

Should the sides drift past the first of June without an agreement in place, an 82-game regular season followed by an expanded postseason become impossible to imagine. As it is, baseball would be playing well into November, perhaps in neutral warm weather- or domed stadiums to determine a World Series champion.

MLB and the MLBPA smartly put the matter of health and safety protocols first on their negotiating docket and while there's been some pushback from the union on some suggested guidelines (not being able to leave the hotel on the road without team permission is said to be one objection), they have largely agreed on the basics.

That, too, is encouraging and shows a willingness of the two sides to reach accord on issues designed to protect the health and safety of the players, and by extension, their families. Any major hangup on the health and safety provisions would likely have doomed the talks.

But now that's (largely) out of the way, here comes the hard part: money.

Think of it in football turns: The players and owners, thrust together as a team, were trailing by 10 points late in the fourth quarter. They have just kicked a field goal and regained possession. Now they have to travel the length of the field and come away with nothing less than a touchdown and extra point.

In other words, they have saved the hard part for last.

In a sense, both sides have put enormous pressure on themselves. As tone-deaf as they both can be, they have to, on some level, recognize the enormous ridicule and anger they would subject themselves to should they fail to come to an understanding on salary and forfeit the season. Should that be the ultimate result, the players will -- as has been true historically -- receive most of the blame from the public, but the game itself will suffer immeasurably. Surely both sides see that.

Another historical fact that cannot be ignored: these negotiations often get resolved only when a deadline looms. It's easy to dig in on principle and refuse to make any concessions early in the process. But when the clock is winding down, there comes the creeping realization that neither side is going to get entirely what it wants, or even, deserves.

Trades get made minutes before the end of the trade deadline. Teams wait until the 11th hour to determine contract tenders. Players exhaust every minute possible before determining whether to opt-out of a contract.

It's the nature of the business: make no move until you must.

That moment is here.

The clock is ticking.

Only the season -- and the game's well-being for the near future -- is at stake.