Negotiators for baseball players and owners met in discussion groups Tuesday and both sides expressed pessimism going into Wednesday’s full bargaining session.
Union head Donald Fehr and management negotiator Richard Ravitch said they didn’t foresee any change in positions. The executive board of the Major League Baseball Players Association is expected to set a strike deadline Thursday morning.
“We have the feeling that nothing we do matters,” Fehr said Tuesday. “They’re on a track and they’re going to make whatever decisions they’ve made.”
Ravitch said the union has “not made any reasonable proposals” and expects players to set a deadline Thursday. The most frequently mentioned possible strike date is Aug. 19.
Cincinnati Reds pitcher Jose Rijo said he has already made plans for a vacation at Boca Raton, Fla., starting Aug. 16.
“I hope I just lose that money and not my salary,” Rijo said.
Owners are insisting players agree to a salary cap and players say they won’t accept one under any circumstance. This would be the sport’s eighth work stoppage since 1972.
Tuesday’s meetings didn’t focus on the central economic concerns but on areas such as drug-treatment programs.
