Now I am biased because I am a union guy, but in general I think the evolution of public perceptions has been changed because of the availability of much more information. We have the Forbes reports on team finances and profits. We have lots of stories about stadium deals where owners make lots of money that does not even factor into these negotiations. And we clearly see 10 teams every year not trying to seriously compete. That is a problem. In basketball too (less so in football because the larger rosters make the draft's impact less clear and injuries level the playing field).
Since we know more about how much money the owners are making, what the players make seems less obnoxious. We also used to have reports of teams losing lots of money. Now we don't (or we can see through the accounting fog better). No teams are being sold at a loss, so the owners are losing credibility.
Unless the owners make a major move in the next 24 hours we are going to lose a month or two of baseball. The players have moved a lot more than the owners and their positions were consistent with the rise of industry revenues in the first place.
