It is truly a terrible day for the sport of baseball. MLB and the MLBPA failed to reach an agreement after the owners submitted a (rather bogus) “last and final” offer to the players amid their lockout negotiations. The players unanimously rejected their proposal, showing just how far away the owners' so-called last-ditch effort was. MLB commissioner Rob Manfred addressed the media to make a statement on Tuesday after the negotiations concluded, and he revealed that there would be a cancellation of regular-season games as MLB remains locked out.

Via Jeff Passan, Manfred announced that Major League Baseball has officially canceled the first two series of the season, meaning that as many as six games will be removed from the schedule. Of course, there is a significant chance that more games get put to the wayside, too, especially if owners don't come closer to matching the players' demands.

Manfred claimed that the lack of an agreement was not fully the fault of the owners, saying “our failure to reach an agreement was not due to a lack of effort,” in perhaps the biggest lie he's told since taking over as MLB commissioner.

Despite reports of optimism from the side of ownership emerging over the last 24 hours, it appears more likely that those reports were just a smokescreen in order to deflect the blame onto the players and make it seem as if the owners had put forth some genuine effort to make a deal, despite all the obvious signs they hadn't.

Reports indicate both owners and members of the MLBPA have left their meeting in Florida and the two sides do not currently have a date set to resume talks.