Major League Baseball's self-imposed lockout finally ended last week, as the owners and players' union finalized a new collective bargaining agreement for the next five seasons. Since a traditional 162-game schedule will be played in 2022, spring training has been curtailed -- there's less than four weeks before Opening Day, set for April 7.
The good news for fans -- and countless players, who've long been waiting to return to the team facilities -- is that exhibition games start this weekend, and baseball will once again be played. But don't count on league veterans having a renewed love for Grapefruit and Cactus League action -- they'll still be ready and willing to leave the ballparks mid-game, once their work is completed.
"I'm telling you, the veteran guys are making tee times. If you're in Scottsdale, you're heading up to Silverleaf, Whisper Rock to play golf," former big leaguer and current MLB Network analyst Kevin Millar told The DA Show on Tuesday. "That's what happens, you watch a few innings. Some managers and staffs make you stay around five innings, especially if you're playing a team you're going to play a lot in the year. That's usually a rule.
"But after that, you're pretty much on your own... At that point, it's just for the minor league situations, to play in front of the major league staff. It's more for the staff. Once you go past the fifth or sixth inning, that's what they're able to see... I don't think I've heard a [starter stay all nine innings]. I wish I could give you one name. I think most of them are, 'See you later.'"
The entire baseball conversation between Millar and DA can be accessed in the audio player above.
You can follow The DA Show on Twitter @DAonCBS and @CBSSportsRadio, and Tom Hanslin @TomHanslin.