Official MLB Discussion Thread: Season Starts July 23rd

[Nick]

It'll be fun to follow two teams. Both teams are young, and each probably will struggle to get to 30 wins....but you never know for sure with such a short schedule. Hope always rings eternal when a season starts...Play ball !!! opcorn:
....and maybe with sports leagues starting, people will stay at home more to watch games, and stay out of public spaces a bit.

You’re kidding yourself if you think sports starting means more people staying in. If anything, it means more people trying to find a sports bar that’s open.

 

[Parkscope Joe]

You’re kidding yourself if you think sports starting means more people staying in. If anything, it means more people trying to find a sports bar that’s open.

Eeehhhhhhhhhhhhh

Bar seating in PA is closed. 25% indoor seating. Outdoor is distanced.

 

[Nick]

Eeehhhhhhhhhhhhh

Bar seating in PA is closed. 25% indoor seating. Outdoor is distanced.

That's PA. Sports restarting affects the whole country and not all states have as strict policies in places. Florida has "rules" in place that are in place to be worked around, for instance.

 

[JungleSkip]

Not so fast, my friends

 

[Nick]

Not so fast, my friends

Baltimore is said to be Toronto's other choice. Personally, I think it would be better if they played in a stadium not being used by another team. Would reduce risk of COVID spread.

 

[deadbydawn]

The Hollywood Angels of Los Angeles are going all the way this year!

Joking aside, I am actually excited to watch a few games to see how this goes.

 

[Nick]

Aaaaaaand this is exactly why the season won’t finish. The whole team should have to quarantine, but only he will miss the game. This is how an outbreak happens.

Nats' Soto tests positive for virus, misses opener

Nationals outfielder Juan Soto, who was a breakout star of the team's run to the 2019 World Series title, missed Thursday's season opener against the Yankees after testing positive for the coronavirus.

www.espn.com

 

[Mad Dog]

and....MLB and the Player's Union just agreed to a 16 team playoff for this year, 2020. Best of three for the first round. $50 million bonus money if all the playoffs end up being played.

Add on... Watching the LA Dodgers game. I am not a fan of the cardboard cut out fans behind home plate. It's distracting.

 

[TheGentTrent]

So why exactly is it that they can't allow fans in the stadium? It's open-air, and there's certainly enough spaces to socially distance if they only sell a fraction of the tickets. Seems like they're missing out.

 

[Nick]

So why exactly is it that they can't allow fans in the stadium? It's open-air, and there's certainly enough spaces to socially distance if they only sell a fraction of the tickets. Seems like they're missing out.

Entering and exiting is normally a cluster, plus add in alcohol and people’s masks will start to come down. Just more of a hassle than it’s worth.

MLB just wants this season to complete at this point, which means the players being as safe as possible.

 

[Doug A.]

Blue Jays to play majority of home games in Buffalo amid pandemic — ESPN
It’s official the Toronto Blue Jays will play in Buffalo.

 

[Nick]

4 players tested positive. They seem to have handled the situation well enough, but again, they're still marching forward and playing today. This season has very little chance to finish imo.

Marlins delay trip home after players test positive

Starting pitcher Jose Urena was one of four Marlins players to test positive for the coronavirus, sources confirmed to ESPN.

www.espn.com

EDIT: And just that quickly, the game is canceled. This was 100% the right call.




EDIT 2: They actually played the Sunday game knowing there was already 3 positive tests on the Marlins, which is just extremely poor decision making and it shows where the MLB's priorities are.


Also, the Yankees-Phillies game is canceled since the Marlins played Philly yesterday.

 

[Tbad556]

Yikes. Seems like this was inevitable with the lack of a bubble, but man is it escalating quickly. What a mess. The Marlins really set themselves up to become America's least favorite team real fast

Now a full cancellation is already on the table?

 

[Nick]

Yikes. Seems like this was inevitable with the lack of a bubble, but man is it escalating quickly. What a mess.

Now a full cancellation is already on the table?

I want to see Baseball and Football played as much as anyone, but we have to be realistic about this. Both leagues have acted like just because they play games without stands, they can fly all around the country and no one will get the virus. It's lunacy. For the NFL, it's not too late for a bubble if they get their act together. Neither league is likely to finish their season at all without a bubble.

 

[Tbad556]

I want to see Baseball and Football played as much as anyone, but we have to be realistic about this. Both leagues have acted like just because they play games without stands, they can fly all around the country and no one will get the virus. It's lunacy. For the NFL, it's not too late for a bubble if they get their act together. Neither league is likely to finish their season at all without a bubble.

Oh, I completely agree. Even without a bubble, the MLB pretty much handled this entire thing as poorly as humanly possible and it showed ridiculously fast. The NFL are going to look like complete jokes if they don't get a bubble going ASAP after this debacle.

Some more stuff to throw into the mix:

 

[Parkscope Joe]

 

[Tbad556]

Yikes. Jeter's really out here throwing blame at Philly?

 

[Nick]

Oh, I completely agree. Even without a bubble, the MLB pretty much handled this entire thing as poorly as humanly possible and it showed ridiculously fast. The NFL are going to look like complete jokes if they don't get a bubble going ASAP after this debacle.

Yup. The NFL will probably have to go the NHL route and have anywhere from 2-4 bubbles (either 8 teams per bubble or 16). People have acted like it's impossible for the NFL to do a bubble, but if they want a season, they should be seriously looking into it.

I'd suggest that Wide World of Sports and Disney's hotels would again provide the proper environment for at least one bubble... if cases in Florida weren't so high. Of course Florida's high cases haven't impacted the NBA bubble or WNBA bubble and MLS only had a few minor hiccups in the beginning. I'm sure Disney would love it as it seems their bookings are WAY down.

 

[Tbad556]

Yup. The NFL will probably have to go the NHL route and have anywhere from 2-4 bubbles (either 8 teams per bubble or 16). People have acted like it's impossible for the NFL to do a bubble, but if they want a season, they should be seriously looking into it.

I'd suggest that Wide World of Sports and Disney's hotels would again provide the proper environment for at least one bubble... if cases in Florida weren't so high. I'm sure Disney would love it as it seems their bookings are WAY down.

If only Disney had just announced that some hotels' reopenings were delayed indefinitely :look:

EDIT:

MLB Reportedly Not Considering Canceling Season Despite Marlins COVID-19 Outbreak - NESN.com

The 2020 Major League Baseball season reportedly will go on — for now. MLB on Monday postponed two games — Miami Marlins vs. Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees vs. Philadelphia Phillies — after at least 13 members of the Marlins tested positive for COVID-19 over the weekend. The Marlins...

nesn.com

 

[Parkscope Joe]

Yikes. Jeter's really out here throwing blame at Philly?

Considering the Marlins VOTED IF THEY WANTED TO PLAY LAST NIGHT AFTER POSITIVE TESTS show every word in this sentence is a lie. Every. Single. One.