CLEARWATER, Fla. — After a meeting Thursday that was over faster than the average inning in a three-hour game, Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association don’t appear to be any closer to an agreement that would enable the season to open on time. The players, underwhelmed last Saturday by MLB’s broad proposal, countered by narrowing the focus to two issues that would help achieve their goal of higher pay for the less-tenured among them: arbitration eligibility and a bonus pool for players not yet eligible for salary arbitration, according to sources with knowledge of the talks. On th…
