Discussion

Lawman 2020-07-28 13:35:26 UTC #41

Lawman 2020-07-28 14:06:16 UTC #42

Reports are that tonight's Phillies/Yankees game has been postponed/cancelled.But, as per Joel Sherman, no Phillies player has yet to test positive.

andyb 2020-07-28 14:23:26 UTC #43

In the "why didn't they think of this?" category, the reason is some of the Phillies' tests are not back yet. Nobody positive so far, but they need all the results. Duh...

el-pietro 2020-07-28 14:30:07 UTC #44

Yankees should play the Orioles and Phillies/Marlins should sit for a few days. Figure out the schedule later. Yankees v Orioles and Phillies v Marlins were scheduled for next week at the same time anyway so with some creativity/double headers it might be possible to get in the games.
I'm still betting the season is not completed but if you are trying to do so then this makes the most sense to me.

andyb 2020-07-28 14:37:26 UTC #45

I think there are too many logistics involved to just flip teams on the schedule. I am guessing they'll be happy if every team gets 50-55 games in and they decide on winning percentage. Another option is to add DHs to later series with different teams. So if the season resumes and the Phillies and Marlins are a couple of games short, just add DHs to the next Marlins series. Same with Yankees and Orioles. It is not fair, but the schedule is not fair already.

Lawman 2020-07-28 14:45:08 UTC #46

I know. I'm just saying so far, so good.

Lawman 2020-07-28 14:53:51 UTC #47

I think they'd decide playoffs based on winning percentage. Teams are already under strain, adding DH would just serve to further that strain.

allentown 2020-07-28 16:47:40 UTC #48

This says the game should be played.

Afterall, the official position is no reason that the Sunday game shouldn't have been played, so the Phillies testing status is no worse than any other team in baseball, almost all of which certainly have pending test results. Again, baseball can't have it both ways: either the Phillies players were at extremely small risk playing on Sunday and therefore Yankees are at no greater risk in playing the Phillies tonight than they would be if they played Seattle, one of the Chicago teams or Toronto OR the Phillies players were placed at significant (and unaccpetable) risk on Sunday. Which is it? What do the 100+ pages of Covid rules negotiated with Players' Association say?

Being extra, extra cautious with Yankee's players safety, can't erase the problems with Sunday's game. The Commissioner's office is in double-speak mode.

zambonir 2020-07-28 17:00:37 UTC #49

Well, clearly Sunday's game should not have been played because of the risk to the other Marlins, not the Phillies or other personnel. I also don't think it is MLB's position that it should have been played, they have just not publicly stated that the Marlins failed to follow protocol - or even consult the league - because it reflects badly on MLB.

The question is should Friday or Saturday's games have been played (as Alfaro tested postive on Friday, apparently)? Which is really like asking can you have a season at all. But either the slowness of testing or the fact that it takes several days for the virus to show up makes it impossible to control an outbreak. Because it's the Marlins it's not going to matter if they only play 50 games and/or play 1/3 of the season without their best players, but without a bubble environment who will be next?

By contrast the two soccer tournaments have gone just fine, even though teams were removed from them entirely (easier to do in that format obviously). Not sure we'll be able to say the same about basketball and hockey given those sports are indoors and much more physical.

allentown 2020-07-28 17:05:40 UTC #50

But if this is true, then yesterday's and today's games with Yankees should have been played. the only reason you cancel is if you believe there is a high risk that the Marlins infected the Phillies on the field during the 3-game series and that the Phillies therefore have a high risk of infecting the Yankees if yesterday's and today's games are played. Otherwise, the Yankees just aren't at risk. The Commissioner seems to be expecting a lot of Phillies to test positive over the next few days. He also seems to value the health of Yankees a lot more than health of Phillies.

Lawman 2020-07-28 17:14:31 UTC #51

I think they could have been played and probably should have been played. I also agree that MLB's logic doesn't make sense. But, I've learned not to look for logic here at all.

zambonir 2020-07-28 17:19:25 UTC #52

I think you're reading a lot more into it than is necessary. They are being overly cautious, having utterly failed to be cautious on Sunday. If the Phillies end up not having any cases this week, should they then not worry for the rest of the season about transmission between two teams? It's still a low risk situation - just not NO risk. And if the Marlins did infect even one Phillies player, then all of the Phillies would have been at risk playing again. The Yankees don't even enter into it by comparison, their risk would have been low. Though I also don't think it is caring more about the Yankees to treat the visitor's clubhouse as a hot zone for one day. And there's also the stadium personnel to think about (even if the Yankees planned to bring their own clubbies).

I never really understood how they were going to not have huge chunks of players out for 7-14 days until they clarified that the isolation was only required in the event of "close contact," but it seems to me that now applies to the entire Marlins roster, if not any Phillies (assuming there are no positive tests).

It also seems like it's not possible to ever truly be clear - the Phillies might all test negative today and yesterday and then have positives on Friday. If so, will that have been the incubation period from the Marlins or a new case that could have come from anywhere (players going home, travel to NY, contact in NY)?

Lawman 2020-07-28 18:33:57 UTC #53

7. Philadelphia Phillies

Scott Franzke (play-by-play), Larry Andersen and Kevin Frandsen (analysts)

Chemistry. Rapport. Highly entertaining banter. However you want to put it, Franzke and Andersen clearly have that special something. As one fan put it, they “feed off of each other like no other broadcasters I’ve listened to or watched.” “Franzke has a great voice, great cadence, and he describes the situation well and with the requisite energy,” one respondent wrote. “L.A. has just the right amount of curmudgeon and distaste for umpires to make it entertaining.” While Franzke is lauded for his play-by-play skills — “if he started broadcasting for another team, I’d honestly consider being a fan of that team instead,” one person wrote — perhaps his best quality, another listener said, “is his ability to simultaneously encourage and undercut Larry Andersen’s endearing crotchetiness.” Andersen, according to listeners, comes off as irreverent without being out of touch. Meanwhile, another former big-leaguer has his share of supporters. “Kevin Frandsen has been successfully integrated as a third member to an already immensely popular duo. No reason to watch the TV broadcast in Philly. Ever.”

bigegypt0417 2020-07-28 18:48:03 UTC #54

Sounds like the phillies and marlin will be shut down for a period of time...

Philsmania 2020-07-28 19:19:33 UTC #55

Lawman:

theathletic.com

The Athletic’s 2020 MLB radio survey results: Readers' favorite voices of summer

Radio broadcasts of MLB games, enduring links between the sport and its fans, are perhaps more important than ever.

7. Philadelphia Phillies

Scott Franzke (play-by-play), Larry Andersen and Kevin Frandsen (analysts)

Chemistry. Rapport. Highly entertaining banter. However you want to put it, Franzke and Andersen clearly have that special something. As one fan put it, they “feed off of each other like no other broadcasters I’ve listened to or watched.” “Franzke has a great voice, great cadence, and he describes the situation well and with the requisite energy,” one respondent wrote. “L.A. has just the right amount of curmudgeon and distaste for umpires to make it entertaining.” While Franzke is lauded for his play-by-play skills — “if he started broadcasting for another team, I’d honestly consider being a fan of that team instead,” one person wrote — perhaps his best quality, another listener said, “is his ability to simultaneously encourage and undercut Larry Andersen’s endearing crotchetiness.” Andersen, according to listeners, comes off as irreverent without being out of touch. Meanwhile, another former big-leaguer has his share of supporters. “Kevin Frandsen has been successfully integrated as a third member to an already immensely popular duo. No reason to watch the TV broadcast in Philly. Ever.”

A few weeks ago, they did a ranking of the TV crews and the Phillies crew was in the bottom third.

Another more distressing ranking in The Athletic came with local craft beers at the ballpark. The Phillies--once leaders and trendsetters in this field--have fallen all the way down to #20 on the list. All they have now are Yards, Victory and Troeg's (Southeast PA's three largest brewers) and Goose Island (an AB-InBev product).

andyb 2020-07-28 19:35:49 UTC #56

I am a little worried the pitchers can't get work while the team sits in quarantine. Can they throw on their regular schedule? Do the Phillies go straight back to Nola when they restart on Friday? Probably a case to get Jake a start then go to Nola. Skipping Eflin and VV for the moment.

julio 2020-07-28 20:07:58 UTC #57

Yuengling? Or do you not count them as a "craft brewer"?

Regardless - What's missing, IMHO, is Evil Genius. I mean, Purple Monkey Dishwasher!

el-pietro 2020-07-28 21:06:31 UTC #58

Yeungling are massive! I wouldn't consider them or Boston Brewing for example craft. The American Brewers association I believe has revised their requirements upwards several times to keep those companies, and Dogfish Head (before they merged with Boston) within the definition.
Evil Genius is really good. Love City too from memory. I've heard good things about Tired Hands but didn't get a chance to visit last Spring.

LoneStarPhan 2020-07-28 21:42:13 UTC #59

With the Phillies now having four days off in a row and not being allowed into the stadium so far (Monday, Tuesday), is there not a need for some off days for pitchers to throw and hitters to get some batting in before they can return to action in real games? I hope they will be allowed to work out starting tomorrow, but It doesn't seem that anyone really knows what is going on.

It does seem the Phillies are being put at a competitive disadvantage. I was enthusiastic for baseball and followed all three games at the start of the season. These cancelled games have really crushed my enthusiasm for this season, which really does seem to be dissolving before our eyes.

Sadly, it does not seem to be limited to baseball. Here in Texas, every new day brings another change in what our schools may or may not be doing for the 2020-21 school year. High school sports for the fall are in limbo and it seems little chance that college football will have anything close to a normal season this fall. I guess the NFL is opening camps but do we not expect at least a few teams to experience an outbreak of COVID cases before they even reach the opening of games in September? What can happen next?

Philsmania 2020-07-28 22:39:26 UTC #60

Purple Monkey Dishwasher is good stuff! First sip is "Eww, this is revolting." Next sip, "It's not that bad, I guess." Third sip, "It's pretty good, actually" Fourth sip, "I like this!"