One of the reasons I make the Hardball Times a part of my daily reading is that they have writers like John Brattain who offer the kind of brilliant analysis that I wish I had the time to think up:
In the 1990 and '94-95 work stoppages, the union again counted on owner disunity and pressure on the commissioner (Fay Vincent and Bud Selig). It worked in 1990, but the owners under Selig held tough the next time through. No longer could the MLBPA assume that ownership's ranks would crumble. Since then, the last two collective bargaining agreements have been negotiated without an interruption of the schedule and both contained numerous concessions to ownership despite staggering revenue growth.
The union clearly failed the players. As dismaying as it is, we're going to have to watch a generation of former players face the ravages of steroid use, just as we're watching some football players suffer the results of their sport.