00:00And if I ask you that question up front before we get into it, I think we're getting a delay,
00:06Tom.
00:06What do you think?
00:08April 1st, 2027, will there be baseball being played?
00:12My answer is yes.
00:14It comes down to that there's too much at stake at this point and there's been too much growth,
00:22especially that we have seen when it comes to the international markets,
00:26with Otani being a megastar on an international level, seeing what we have really developed over the past few years.
00:34There's too much at stake for both the owners and the players to let this slip.
00:39Is there going to be a significant amount of work that needs to take place?
00:41Yes.
00:42Are there going to be compromises on both sides?
00:44Yes.
00:45And there's a ton that needs to be fixed.
00:47But April 1st, 2027, I believe games will be being played.
00:51Here's what's going to be tough about this, too, because negotiations in the NBA, Tom, when free agency hits,
00:56what happens?
00:56They all signed up immediately.
00:57Same thing in the NFL.
00:58Of course, you're going to have the backup guard signed a month and a half later.
01:01I get it.
01:02But Major League Baseball procrastinates on everything.
01:04I don't think they're working on anything.
01:06And once you have the CBA ending, because from Chatterbox Sports here, that tweet,
01:10it's going to get ugly this offseason for Major League Baseball.
01:12Why, it says?
01:13Because the current CBA expires at 11.59 p.m. on December 1st, 2026, which means this coming December.
01:20But yes, you do have all of December and all of January and February to get going.
01:24But when we talk about getting going, if there's any delay, these guys won't be ready for spring training.
01:28There is no way that Major League Baseball comes to an agreement in enough time for me, Tom,
01:32to start spring training, which means they'll push it back.
01:35Because you can't just come to an agreement, let's just say, on March 20th and be like,
01:38hey, April 1st, we're playing baseball and away we go.
01:41There is going to be a delay.
01:42But here's the issue that we have.
01:44It always comes back, Tom, to the Los Angeles Dodgers.
01:47And you want to spend a lot of money, that's all fine and good.
01:49But it feels like the Dodgers could have slowly incremented and spent their money and said,
01:54you know, the next five years will increase it.
01:55But it feels like they're throwing it in the rest of Major League Baseball's face.
01:59They just won two World Series and they paid out-of-pocket $60 million contracts,
02:03an unbelievable lineup here.
02:05It can't be good for baseball, Tom.
02:07So let's start with the Dodgers.
02:08Do you feel like they're the direct derivative of, yes, we have endless money, you don't,
02:12we'll keep spending it, as opposed to being a fair, friendly market participant
02:17with everybody asking, hey, stop signing so many people over there.
02:22I think it's parts of anything, Donnie.
02:24This is the way I would phrase it.
02:25I'm a Yankees fan, you're a Phillies fan.
02:27I think that you would agree that deep down, we know our teams, they'll be competitive.
02:33Like, they will be in it when it's all said and done.
02:35They may not win, they may not get to the World Series every year,
02:38but at least we have hope, right?
02:39Like, we have a level of expectation.
02:41And I would say that the Cubs can say that, you know, the Mets can say that,
02:45some of the Braves, some of these other teams.
02:47Like, fans of those teams, we can say that every single year.
02:50But there's a lot of teams that go into every year saying, like,
02:54we just don't have any hope.
02:55We just don't have any hope.
02:57Maybe you can make a miracle run.
02:58Like, two years ago, the Royals made the playoffs, right?
03:01Can they make the playoffs this year?
03:03Yes.
03:04Are they, is it a lot that they're going to make the playoffs?
03:06No, of course not.
03:07And ultimately, do they have enough hope to even get to the World Series?
03:10And I say no.
03:11And I say no for a lot of teams across the league where there's just not a lot
03:15of hope year in and year out.
03:17And that's the issue.
03:18Yeah.
03:19The thing that your team can be competitive is one thing.
03:21Knowing that your team has no shot is the opposite end.
03:24And that is a terrible spot to be for a lot of franchises.
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