By now, the Cardinals’ first year manager Oliver Marmol would have had a week in Florida of practicing the fundamentals of verbal parries and rhetorical dodges as baseball writers quizzed him on pitching assignments, even as the schedule revealed the obvious answers.
The calendar always offers clues this time of year, but instead of who will start when, it tells us this week when Major League Baseball’s spring will be able to start at all.
As the owners’ ongoing lockout surpasses 80 days, negotiators for MLB and the players’ union are scheduled to meet in person Monday in Jupiter, Fla.