Make of this what you will, but MLB commissioner Rob Manfred and MLBPA chief executive Tony Clark reportedly had a face-to-face meeting in Arizona that Jon Heyman described as “productive.” The fact that they were sitting down in the same room is a positive sign in and of itself, and that’s even before you consider that Manfred is the one who requested the meeting.
I’m not sure whether or to what extent Manfred reads his own press, but maybe the overt criticism of his lack of leadership may have spurred him to action. Even if the man’s legacy as commissioner is already set in concrete, perhaps there’s still time to cure the ills of the ongoing financial impasse.