There will be a baseball season, but it may not be 162 games. Regardless, there will be baseball. But along with the loss of games, the league and players union is risking the loss of more fans in a sport where the fanbase is older than other sports in this country and one that risks younger fans going to other sports like soccer and hockey.

The two sides were in the same place Monday for talks, and reports say the sides did more talking amongst their own group than they did working to negotiate…

The sides are meeting together again now. They had caucused for about three hours separately.

— Evan Drellich (@EvanDrellich) February 21, 2022

Evan Drellich’s Twitter feed from Monday is worth a read if you want a first-hand account of what happened. The most important thing is that there’s still no deal to end the lockout as Spring Training games have already been postponed until March 5 and the March 31 date for Opening Day draws closer.

Baseball’s way of doing things can frustrate fans. Whether it is the Hall of Fame voting, the D.H. or the handling of any lockout or strike, Major League Baseball doesn’t do itself any favors with the current lockout that is now bleeding into a time when pitchers and catchers should have already reported.

The two sides are planning to meet again Tuesday and hopefully a deal is reached by the end of the week. Let’s hope that the two sides are at the same table in the same room longer than they were on Monday.

There will be baseball, but the fans will have the bad aftertaste of the “Billionaires vs. Millionaires” rhetoric they’ll try to wash away with a $12 beer they purchase during a game.