Rise and Phight: 1/12/2022

The survey in the Athletic about baseball during the lockout got me thinking: do you think games will be missed due to the labor issues? Spring training games look like a lock to be hacked away at, but missing actual baseball games in April seems highly unlikely. The owners sure can afford it financially, but there is no way they could recover in the realm of fan relations. Locking out the players and missing games would send their PR teams into overdrive and I just don’t think they can spin it enough to make it seem anything other than the owner’s fault. We’ll see.

On to the links.

Phillies news:

• The projections surrounding Ranger Suarez are understandably all over the place since his role was so varied last year.
• Is bringing Brad Miller back to the fold, dare I say it, a priority? Jim Salisbury discusses.

MLB news:

• Looks like the player’s union and MLB are ready to fire up negotiations again with the two sides expected to meet Thursday.
• Who are the best free agent signings ever for each team? This is a list that should offer up some debate.
• The Mets are going to retire Keith Hernandez’s number this July. If he doesn’t end his speech by saying, “I’m Keith Hernandez,” what are we even doing?
• Camden Yards is going to get a facelift to help thwart the continued threat of home runs being hit at a huge rate in Baltimore.