McAdam: Just when it seemed like baseball was poised to return, it goes sideways again

Just when you thought it couldn't get any worse .... baseball!

Just when you thought you had exhausted all of your anger, your disgust and your contempt. Just when you finally determined baseball had dug down so deep they couldn't possibly go any lower, you discovered otherwise Monday.

Only five days after commissioner Rob Manfred vowed "100 percent'' that "we're playing baseball in 2020,'' Manfred took a mulligan late Monday afternoon.

Asked by ESPN whether he was sure that the game would get back on the field this year, Manfred: "Unfortunately, I can't tell you that I'm 100 percent certain that's going to happen.''

One hundred percent sure last Wednesday, just before the annual amateur draft. Not 100 percent certain less than a week later.

What in the name of Marvin Miller is going on here?

Over the weekend, the Players Association had come to the reasonable conclusion that Manfred -- on behalf of the owners -- was simply trying to play out the clock. One proposal after another was offered, but each one sounded suspiciously the same. Each one, regardless of the length of schedule and formula utilized, resulted in owners paying out the same $1.4 billion total in player salaries.

The owners were in position to wait out the Players Association, since it was always in their best interest to have a shorter regular season -- the better to minimize their losses. And the owners had an important card up their sleeve -- a codicil in the March agreement with the players which permitted Manfred to implement ("impose'' is a more accurate term) a schedule of their own, so long as good faith bargaining attempts had been thoroughly explored and the players could be guaranteed their pro-rated salaries.

Since it was always clear that MLB wished for a shorter schedule, followed by a far more profitable postseason, the owners had been merely running out of the clock in recent weeks, waiting until such a time that a two-month season was all that was left to implement.

Sensing that, the union sent a letter to MLB Saturday night, which, roughly translated, said: "We know what you're up to. Let's get this over with.''

But even that wasn't enough for MLB. On a conference call with owners Monday, according to numerous reports, Manfred expressed fear that the Players Association was planning to file a grievance of unfair labor practices once MLB had officially informed them of their plans for an implemented schedule.

The danger, as Manfred sees it, is that owners are leaving themselves open to a judgment that could potentially cost them billions. (It's happened before - in the early 1990s, the owners were found to have colluded against players and assessed a $270 million fine.).

Putting aside the question of why someone would worry about being found guilty of unfair labor practices unless they were actually guilty of such a charge, Monday's reversal has further set back a potential return date, if not threatened it altogether.

The hope that baseball would be back in time for the Fourth of July holiday has long passed, with the sides showing little urgency to get a deal done a month ago. Back then, they could have had the July sports stage -- and the nation's TVs -- all to themselves. Now, in a best-case scenario, they'll be crowded out by the pending return of the NHL and NBA, with the NFL, the 800-pound gorilla, lurking in September.

Now, MLB, having already "won'' the ability to pay the players for as few games as possible, will now seek some guarantee the union won't file a grievance.

All of which only lends credence to the suggestion that it's been the intent of Manfred and Co. to not only win this battle but also, claim victory in a bigger war. For months, I thought the theory that baseball was out to break the union was an exercise in hyperbole.

Now, I'm not so sure.

At the very least, this has scuttled what was expected to be a rather simple (if far from favorable) resolution: Here's the schedule, here's the spring training report date, let's go.

It could take weeks just to get back to that point, and even if a deal is reached or a schedule implemented, it will have come only after both sides further disgrace themselves and the game they purport to love.

And there's the timing of the announcement. Manfred's remarks came prior to his appearance on an ESPN special entitled "The Return of Sports.'' He was set to join five other commissioners, representing the NHL, NBA, NFL, MLS and WNBA.

Of course, those sports already have their plans in place for a return and have each navigated agreements with their respective player unions.

Baseball, meanwhile, stands alone.

And not, it should be obvious by now, in a good way.