A member of the Major League Baseball negotiating team told the Chicago Tribune on Thursday that union negotiators have said they plan to set a strike date at a meeting in Chicago next week.

Earlier reports, including one citing Chicago Cubs catcher Joe Girardi, indicated that players weren't likely to set a hard-and-fast strike date at a meeting of players representatives on Monday. But one player told the Tribune that the players association is concerned that there has been little movement on economic issues since March.

"We've said to them, 'What's the deal?'" one member of the MLB team told the Tribune. "The answer is, 'We're going to Chicago to set a strike date.' "

Girardi said Tuesday he doesn't think players will set a strike date Monday, but if the players don't strike before the end of the season, he expects management to lock out the players in the spring.

"We keep making proposals, and they have no response," Selig said. "There is just no response. Our guys are frustrated. ... The magnitude of this is frightening."

The owners want to reduce the disparity in revenues between clubs and curb salaries. Baseball has been hit by eight work stoppages in its history.

"It's the old thing," one highly placed MLB executive told the newspaper. "They think they can walk; then we'll blink and fold."

One owners representative said they remain united.

"Selig, no matter how much they're throwing at him, he won't move," said the MLB executive.

"I would just hope in the coming weeks and months we have a chance to make a deal," Selig said Wednesday. "We need a deal. ... I remember '94-95, trying to come back, and, oh, what a nightmare."

During negotiations in June, the sides mostly addressed secondary issues. In an attempt to get talks moving, owners made a series of small concessions. But in the last year, the union has moved only from 20 to 22.5 percent on revenue sharing -- owners are seeking 50 percent -- and hasn't acknowledged the luxury-tax issue. It made its last counterproposals on core issues in March.

Union head Donald Fehr has said the strike is a last resort. In recent days, he has been saying it may be the only choice players have left; otherwise owners will declare an impasse in negotiations after the World Series, which would give them the right to impose new work rules.

The players fear being locked out after the World Series.

"Everybody needs to stop worrying about the politics and make a deal," Selig said. "We can make one. ... The whole world knows the system has to be changed. There's enough revenue here ... where we ought to be able to do the things we have to do and move on."