Outside The Confines: Waiting for the election returns

I finally took down my Christmas decorations this weekend. I somehow felt I needed to tell you that. Probably because I have nothing else to say up here.

• The Major League Baseball Players Association is expected to make a counter-offer in the collective bargaining talks today. Considering how far the two sides are apart, it seems highly unlikely that the owners will accept the MLBPA’s proposal, but maybe both sides will term the proposal as “progress,” which would be the best we can hope for. But I’m not expecting that, either.
• Mike Axisa has the “drop-dead” dates that a new CBA would have to be agreed upon for various events to begin on time. He even takes the dates out to 2023 in case we miss the entire 2022 season.
• Bob Nightengale looks at the impact another abbreviated or missing Spring Training could have on the game, as well as the businesses of Arizona. Nightengale also mentions later in this “notebook” column that Montréal and Nashville are the favorites for the next two expansion cities.
• MLB has said that there won’t be expansion until the Rays’ and the Athletics’ stadium situations get resolved. Hannah Keyser looks at where the Rays might go from here now that their “split-city” proposal has been nixed by MLB.
• And some good news as the proposed Howard Terminal Stadium for the A’s passed another procedural hurdle. (The Athletic sub. req. for the entire article, but the details on what happened are free.) Still a lot of hurdles to clear, however.
• The 2022 Hall of Fame voting will be revealed on Tuesday. Anthony Castrovince has what you need to know.
• Zach Crizer wonders if David Ortiz gets elected, is that a sign that Cooperstown voters are dropping their bias against designated hitters or if it’s just a sign that Ortiz was too good to ignore?
• Gabe Lacques writes that it’s the Hall’s loss if they don’t induct Barry Bonds.
• Jayson Stark reveals his Hall-of-Fame ballot and explains his vote. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Blue Jays pitcher Kevin Gausman reveals that his former team, the Giants, never made him a contract offer during his free agency this past fall.
• R.J. Anderson lists the biggest flaw of the top ten remaining free agents.
• David Schoenfield has one “fun” fact that you probably don’t know about each MLB team. (ESPN+ sub. req.) Except you probably do know how well Frank Schwindel hit last season. But maybe you won’t know the “fun” facts about other teams.
• Baseball Prospectus revealed their Top 101 prospects. Four Cubs made their list.
• Payton Pallette, expected to be a Top 10 draft pick in 2022, will undergo Tommy John surgery. (The Athletic sub. req. for the entire article, but the details on what happened are free.)
• Ken Rosenthal reports that two coaches, Brian Butterfield and Tom Goodwin, were looking at unemployment because they refused to get vaccinated. (The Athletic sub. req.) Goodwin eventually got vaccinated, but it was after most coaching jobs were filled and so he will serve as a minor-league roving instructor for the Braves in 2022.
• Umpire Angel Hernandez’s discrimination lawsuit against MLB was thrown out by a judge for a second time. (The Athletic sub. req.) Hernandez says he intends to appeal again.
• The home run hit by Braves outfielder Jorge Soler in the World Series that completely left Minute Maid Park is up for auction. Bidding now tops $36,000, but you have until February 5 to get your bids in.
• Ben Clemens proposes a new way to do a baseball line score. As he notes, it made sense back in the 1860s to list “errors.” It’s not clear it does anymore, but he suggests more changes than just that.
• Mets manager Buck Showalter remembers how good a baseball player NFL Hall-of-Famer Deion Sanders was. Sanders really was a good baseball player and if he’d have dedicated himself to the sport, I’m guessing he would have made at least a few All-Star Games. He most likely wouldn’t have made Cooperstown, however, so he probably made the right decision to focus on football. But he could have been Brian Jordan with better speed and defense.
• And finally, “Big Sexy” Bartolo Colón gives a preview of his 12-year-old son Randy pitching. Randy looks pretty good for a 12-year-old, but Colón says his son “likes to hit.”

Let’s end the lockout, commissioner Manfred.