Coronavirus (sports-related only)

[zambonir]

Interesting tidbit: the Phillies' alternate site is hardly a bubble itself.

Yup. That's the issue. In theory, it should be a two-week isolation (minimum). Meanwhile, we've got the taxi squad down here in Allentown sharing a facility with events like 'Summer Fun Fest' and people camping out on the field this weekend. https://t.co/F6kYBBdm8M

— Stephanie Sigafoos ( @ssigafoos ) July 30, 2020

Summer Fun Fest coming to Coca-Cola Park

[LoneStarPhan]

This seems incredibly foolish.

[zambonir]

I'm sure there's not overlap in terms of the time periods and next to no overlap in terms of space. But still.

Meanwhile, you can buy a shirt for the only Phillies team currently playing baseball!

Lehigh Valley IronPigs Phillies Taxi Squad Tee PRESALE

[julio]

I'm sure there's not overlap in terms of the time periods and next to no overlap in terms of space. But still.

Meanwhile, you can buy a shirt for the only Phillies team currently playing baseball!

Lehigh Valley IronPigs Phillies Taxi Squad Tee PRESALE

Sigh.

Those guys playing in Allentown are NOT the Taxi Squad - which is something different, and consists of only three players. I would have hoped that the IronPigs pursuit of profit wouldn't encourage muddling these things up.

It's the same muddle with the Alternate Site vs. AAA. Just today, one of the beat writers reported that Cristopher Sanchez had been added to the player pool, and "assigned to Lehigh Valley." Except that he probably wasn't; he's on the Reading roster, and he likely stays on the Reading roster. He was assigned to the Alternate Training Site, which is in Allentown, and happens to be at the park where the Lehigh Valley IronPigs play.

Sloppy language. From professional reporters. And those of us who try to keep these rosters straight are left saying, "Whaaa?"

[LoneStarPhan]

Pretty much everything is messed up for this season for me. I was fully getting into the new season but now, I don't see how they can recover a full 30 team season. Since I am a Phillies' fan, for me, baseball may well be over for the 2020 season.

Regardless, Phillies are tied for worst record in baseball (.333). Everyone said it was important to get off to a fast start. I can't see them going to Miami next week, so it looks like either they don't play at all or the schedule is juggled.

If another team gets a player testing positive, or even a staffer, I guess at least two more teams would be shut down for days if not weeks. With players, coaches, and staff personnel all going home and interacting with family and friends, there are hundreds of potential infectious interactions happening every day. Seems unlikely that there will not be more positive tests.

[zambonir]

I know. But their marketing department doesn't care.

Personally I think an "Alternate Training Site Site" Squad would be cooler.

We're lucky they weren't given a fake team name, like the Li'l Scrapple Squad.

I've never known the major league writers to bother following the vagaries of minor league rosters and rules, but I don't think you can really blame them this time. The information doesn't seem to be out there, and it's certainly not consistent. And at this point, "assigned to Lehigh Valley" in layman's terms means someone is physically in Lehigh Valley. No one cares which minor league roster they are on procedurally or developmentally.

The latest Phillies transactions say that Listi and Stott have been 'Invited to spring training," which is another amusing bit of semantics. If they ever get around to calling up Sanchez, presumably the official transaction will have him being recalled from Reading. Though Austin Davis, who presumably was on the Iron Pigs roster, shows as being "recalled from Phillies Alternate Training Site" (whereas Irvin, McLain and Garlick were recalled from the Pigs).

[julio]

No one cares which minor league roster they are on procedurally or developmentally.

Just call me "no one."

[zambonir]

You could probably be feeding info to the beat writers instead of vice-versa. But seriously, what meaning does the information currently have? Right now, physically, you are either "assigned" to MLB or you're assigned to ATS or you are nowhere (save a few people who are rehabbing in Clearwater - if Moniak is there I assume Robertson is too, and Seranthony will be soon).

Meanwhile:

ESPN reported Wednesday night that Miami’s outbreak prompted Major League Baseball to encourage players to only leave hotels in road cities for games, mandate the use of surgical masks instead of cloth masks during travel, and require every team to travel with a compliance officer who ensures teams are following the league’s safety protocol.

Crazy that these things were not already true, and yet - players are still not prohibited from leaving their hotels, and anything still goes back home.

Phillies close Citizens Bank Park after two positive coronavirus tests; weekend...

[zambonir]

The current plan for the Cardinals and Marlins to play one game Saturday and 2 Sunday means the Sunday games would be the first 2 7-inning games

— Jon Heyman ( @JonHeyman ) July 31, 2020

Epidemiologist:

The Marlins positives went like this: 1, 0, 3, a bunch

MLB is currently planning for the Cardinals to play after a best-case scenario of: 2, 0, ?

Learn your lesson. Need to take a longer breath here. You're already on thin ice, MLB, don't push your luck. https://t.co/YdoHrdNM5p

— Zachary Binney ( @zbinney_NFLinj ) July 31, 2020

[zambonir]

Many teams are still hoping to have fans for the playoffs.

“You have a third of the MLB teams saying, we’re going to act as if we’re going to get fans in come ■■■■ or high water at some point,” said ticketing executive Patrick Ryan, whose company, Eventellect, buys blocks of tickets for clients. “And I think part of the teams, whether it’s public or not, they’re definitely saying, this isn’t going to happen in 2020, let’s move on. We’re not going to waste any more time … We’re just going to focus on 2021.” Ryan said the teams he’s talked to that are hoping for fans are planning to use a waiver and estimates about a third have

Another ticketing executive said of MLB, “What I have been told is full-speed ahead for the playoffs, get fans in the stands for the playoffs.”

As teams hope to sell seats, Senate bill could negate need for COVID-19 waivers

[LoneStarPhan]

Eighteenth Marlins Player Tests Positive For Covid-19

Something clearly went wrong with the Marlins, but when they created the 60 player pool for the 2020 season, didn't they anticipate that one or more teams might lose twenty or more players during the season?

It sure seems like they didn't really know what they were doing or how they were going to handle a situation that seemed quite possible as they planned for the 2020 season. Seems like they just hoped things would go better than they should have expected given that all top level personnel (players, coaches, key staff in contact with players) were free to go about their lives outside the structured environment of the summer camp/season ballparks.

[zambonir]

I think 20 is a little high, even with the 60 player pool. I mean, that's not actually bigger than the normal number of players you'd have realistic access to between AAA and AA. But you can't be a competitive team with even 10 players - that's 40% - missing from your major league roster. Much as we might want to joke that it doesn't matter to the Marlins.

Meanwhile apparently the Phillies had a third positive? Staffer, not coach or player.

[bkox]

#Marlins Isan Diaz has opted out of the 2020 season.

— Bernie Pleskoff ( @BerniePleskoff ) August 1, 2020

ICYMI- #Brewers Lorenzo Cain has opted out of the 2020 season. There may be more.

— Bernie Pleskoff ( @BerniePleskoff ) August 1, 2020

[zambonir]

I'm sure this will help

Comissioner Rob Manfred tells me “We are playing. The players need to be better, but I am not a quitter in general and there is no reason to quit now. We have had to be fluid, but it is manageable.”

— Karl Ravech ( @karlravechespn ) August 1, 2020

[Patchmk88]

Sounds like a trump quote.

[zambonir]

MLB says two of Phillies three tests were false positives and third wasn't necessarily from the Marlins.

I wonder which of the three is the coach.

[allentown]

So after being required to play team pandemic for 3 games, we missed an entire week with only one genuine positive to a person who wasn't a player. Way to go Commissioner. He put the Phillies in a very deep hole.

[zambonir]

Still don't have an issue with it. If they'd gone ahead and played the Yankees on Monday and Tuesday we still might have had an outbreak, and the positive tests to a coach and home clubhouse personnel certainly made the additional delay/caution necessary.

In hindsight the Marlins series should have never been played, then the Phillies would have just gone about their business resuming the schedule. The abundance of caution should have started on day 1 (and the Nats also would have been shut down after Soto's positive). In a world of long incubations and false test results that should be the default. Except that it wasn't, and then they realized how bad that might be (and looked) and changed their mind. Is cancelling a week of games every time a team has a positive going to be the new normal or are they still willing to play through 1-5 cases? Guess we'll find out soon.

[allentown]

Agree to disagree. The Marlins had multiple, and increasing, infections to players. The Commissioner saw nothing wrong with saying the Phillies should play them for three games, despite another player going down on Sunday, prior to game 3. The Marlins could have at least been required to always be masked on the field. They weren't. Then, with zero positive tests on Phillies team, their Yankees series is canceled. Still seems Commissioner treated Phillies players as expendable and Yankees players as needing to be protected against the possibility that Phillies players, who had not tested positive, would infect them. We had multiple days of negative tests wihen the last games of that series were canceled. We were getting daily tests for every player and all coming back negative, but the team wasn't allowed to practice. Nope, our season was sacrificed and our players knowingly put at risk. There was ample reason to sequester Marlins, but not Phillies. This is not what the guidelines called for. And now 2 of 3 Phillies positive tests by non-players are considered false positives. So now we are supposed to resume season after a week downtime without practice. MLB has screwed the Phillies.

[zambonir]

I guess I just don't care. The whole season is wildly irresponsible. Putting a sports league in charge of medical decisions is insane (never mind that our governmental bodies are scarcely better at it in most cases). The effect it had on the Phillies' competitive fortunes in a freakish season that still might not be played doesn't interest me one way the other. The idea that the Yankees' health was more important than the Phillies' health I don't buy for a minute. The only thing that is true is that MLB made a poor decision not cancelling our games against the Marlins. That's not a reason to keep making the same poor decision over and over again.

We'd have practiced Wed-Thur-Friday and played two games today if not for the three positive tests in the Phillies organization. At that point the Marlins (and the Yankees) had nothing do with it. I am all for caution, even if it screws up the season. If it screws it up enough it just means there shouldn't be a season.

Meanwhile we didn't want to play Monday and now they're making us because of the weather forecast, apparently.