MLB fans react after Rob Manfred cancels two more series

Any optimism that might have existed regarding the possibility of Major League Baseball and the MLBPA agreeing on a new collective bargaining agreement to end the lockout is now moot.

For the second week in a row, the “positive feelings” that existed one night were squashed like a bug in a windshield within 24 hours. With that (per Mark Feinsand, MLB.com), commissioner Rob Manfred released a statement Wednesday evening announcing that two more series in the 2022 MLB season had been canceled, and putting the earliest possible Opening Day as April 14.

Unsurprisingly, the fans were not happy about this.

So this sucks. https://t.co/OkZkbvqmEg

— Vinnie Duber (@VinnieDuber) March 9, 2022

Much like he did when the first two series of the season were canceled, Manfred took a lot of heat from fans.

The situation is definitely not good. Producing more pessimism here is that from the owners’ perspective, the big financial losses from the lockout won’t come until roughly a month’s worth of games are lost.

Even worse than that, there’s no real reason for optimism at this point. If anything, the most recent negotiations have only added fuel to the fire.

At the very least, when the next set of negotiations do come, MLB fans would be wise to not read too much into any reports of optimism. Eventually, a deal will get done. But until that becomes official, there’s no point in anyone getting their hopes up. The last two rounds of negotiations have confirmed that.

[Mark Feinsand]