Baseball

Richie Phillips, executive director of the Major League Umpires Assn., said he fears there will be a spring-training lockout of umpires by major league owners despite contract negotiations that he described as on schedule.

“Some owners feel they need to get a win,” Phillips said. “They want to send a message to the umpires that just because we gave (big-money contracts) to the players, don’t think we’ll give it to you.”

Phillips wrote the umpires last week, warning that a spring-training lockout is real possibility. The owners locked players out of spring training for 32 days in a contract dispute last year.