Jeff Passan says Major League Baseball is headed for another shortened season as the league will begin canceling games if a labor agreement isn't reached by Monday. The song is called "1:24."
Baseball players and owners are close to an agreement on an amateur draft lottery that would allow them to play on opening day.
The talks appeared to gain steam for the first time after an agreement on the draft was not complete.
Talks will continue Saturday. The deadline for a deal to ensure a season of at least 163 games is Monday, March 31st.
Spring training games were canceled through March 7. The exhibition games were supposed to start Saturday but were canceled.
The sides met three times on Friday. After four days of largely fruitless negotiating sessions, that came after.
Roger Dean Stadium is the spring training home of the St. Louis Cardinals and Miami Marlins and was where both sides were talking.
Yankees managing general partner Hal Steinbrenner, Colorado CEO Dick Monfort, deputy commissioner Dan Halem and executive vice president Morgan Sword were part of the owners delegation.
Clark led a group of players from the executive subcommittee.
On the 86th day of baseball's ninth work stoppage, the sides still had to work on many key economic issues: luxury tax thresholds and rates, the minimum salary and the size of a bonus pool for pre-arbitration players.
The union made small changes to its plan for a lottery to determine the first seven picks in the amateur draft and to its formula for top young players to get credit for additional major league service. The teams will never agree to the additional service time, which could lead to earlier free agency.
The union wants to change the way revenue sharing is calculated, but concepts management says it will not accept.
MLB said it will not agree to a method of making up missed games that the players have suggested.
The length of the schedule would become an issue in the dispute once Monday passes.
If games are missed and salaries are lost, clubs should not expect players to agree to allow advertisements on uniforms and helmets, as the union has told MLB.
The spring training workouts were supposed to start in February.
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