Ugh. Looks like there's no way Pedro Alvarez will play winter ball.
[Bud] Selig finished his testimony, though [Labor lawyer Dan] Halem will continue in his when the hearing picks back up on Sept. 23, which was the earliest date that [arbitrator Shyam] Das had available to return to the case. Das will be available to hear arguments on Sept. 24 as well, though beyond that, the hearing will be postponed until October.
The Union has an extensive witness list still to work through, including players and other management officials. After that, MLB can then call its additional witnesses.
As a result, this entire process -- which will include all the testimony, a time for both sides to file written briefs and a period for Das to write his binding decision -- is not likely to be wrapped up anytime soon.
"My hope that this hearing might end in two days is not looking very good," Pirates president Frank Coonelly said.
This looks like it won't be over until early October at least. This is extremely frustrating.
I also wonder if Major League Baseball might be caught off guard a bit by the degree to which the union is prepared. Coonelly hoped this process would take two days, but it looks like it will take far, far longer than that.
Thanks to cocktailsfor2 for the link.