Coronavirus (sports-related only)

zambonir 2020-07-06 16:54:33 UTC #83

I don't think Bryce Harper is Aubrey Huff, and a lot of time has passed since then. But it's to be expected that every team will have people who aren't paying attention, or think they are invincible, or will slip up. As already happened in Clearwater.

If the season is cancelled, do the players who aren't considered high-risk and opted out still get their service time?

andyb 2020-07-06 17:46:02 UTC #84

Players get the same amount of service time they had in 2019 if there is no season. Not sure if the opt-out makes a difference in the absence of any season.

This is great for veterans, not so good for young players and bad for rookies of course.

zambonir 2020-07-06 17:56:02 UTC #85

It's just starting to seem like it might be very low risk to opt out. You don't get paid, but once the season falls apart, your service time is safe.

And if you're a young player who had a full season of service time last year and you opt out, you are barely losing any money (since their remaining prorated salaries minus the advance is minimal).

Nick Markakis the latest. We could still be looking at a delayed mass exodus, and you have to wonder if the owners even want a season if stars begin to bail and it looks like they can't have playoffs anyway.

#Braves Nick Markakis on making his decision to opt-out: "I was excited to get back to playing just as much as everybody else... I think the biggest thing is I talked to Freddie Freeman and just hearing the way he sounded on the phone just opened my eyes."
— Grant McAuley ( @grantmcauley ) July 6, 2020

Philsmania 2020-07-06 18:49:01 UTC #86

Harper is no Schilling but sometimes he sticks his foot in his mouth.

el-pietro 2020-07-06 20:07:30 UTC #87

Cardinals
https://twitter.com/markasaxon/status/1280230445607723021

zambonir 2020-07-06 20:18:49 UTC #88

I don't imagine I would want to talk politics with him (or at least not his parents) but also, he's still practically a kid. I imagine his thinking has changed considerably in the six weeks since, especially now that his wife is expecting again.

bkox 2020-07-06 21:47:15 UTC #89

Sources: FC Dallas withdraws from MLS is Back http://www.espnfc.com/fc-dallas/story/4130103/fc-dallas-out-of-mls-is-back-tournament-amid-coronavirus-cases
via @ESPN App http://espn.com/app

Lawman 2020-07-07 13:16:52 UTC #90

We've all been talking about the players in MLB, let's not forget the Umpires. Cowboy Joe West said he's playing this season.

Philsmania 2020-07-07 14:18:52 UTC #91

Cowboy would probably be a surefire HOF umpire if he wasn't so abrasive and widely disliked.

zambonir 2020-07-07 18:06:01 UTC #92

Joe West: “I don’t believe in my heart that all these deaths have been from the coronavirus."

He's not opting out of the 2020 season, even though he can do so with full pay. https://t.co/SQl3tM16zh via @HardballTalk
— Craig Calcaterra ( @craigcalcaterra ) July 7, 2020

If we have learned anything over the years it is this: if Joe West thinks something is safe, it is probably not. https://t.co/9kdfKb087E
— Roger Cormier ( @yayroger ) July 7, 2020

schillingfan 2020-07-07 19:03:44 UTC #93

Joe West is a prime candidate to get a severe case if he gets infected.

Lawman 2020-07-07 19:54:07 UTC #94

While correct, it's also his risk to take That being said, if he wears a mask and doesn't get too close to the players, he should be fine. He's already socially distant from the strike zone, so that's covered.

LoneStarPhan 2020-07-07 20:31:54 UTC #95

MLB clearly has to get the testing program working or there will not be a 2020 season. If this is happening once the season starts, I guess game cancellations would be the result.

MLB needs a testing system that can produce test results with speed and accuracy. They should be able to have next morning results.

zambonir 2020-07-07 20:33:38 UTC #96

If MLB wanted to they could probably do as the Twins have and not let high-risk umpires work, but that would turn into quite the fight, especially with someone like West.

It's his risk to take so long as he agrees to follow the protocols. He says he's been "careful when I go to the golf course" but who knows what that really means? Does he still plan to play golf once the season starts? Are the umps going to be provided for - meals, transportation - with the same level of care and isolation as the teams?

Also, does it make sense to rotate a crew around the diamond as is normally done? The home plate umpire is going to be exposed to the most players, by far, so why have three of them in a single series? Why expose the two first basemen to yesterday's home plate umpire for three hours?

MLB's attempt to do all this testing without siphoning away any resources from civilian testing seem be backfiring on them, i.e., it can't be done.

BostonRoss 2020-07-07 20:58:28 UTC #97

Personally, I am concerned about the risk to Angel Hernandez and CB Bucknor and think they should sit out the season. And just to be safe, the next few seasons as well.

BaseballCat 2020-07-07 21:01:34 UTC #98

No virus would touch him...

zambonir 2020-07-07 22:23:00 UTC #99

Players in the Nashville league will be paid $400 a week, below the $502 per week minimum at Triple A that will increase to $700 next season. Most of the players under consideration have indicated they are receiving health insurance through COBRA, Nuse says.

I would like to see those bills.

bkeich 2020-07-07 22:25:46 UTC #100

... and generally bad umpire

zambonir 2020-07-09 16:49:41 UTC #101

The theory about Joe West is that most people who work with him actually like and respect him (both umpires and players/managers). I think that's going to be put to the test, because he really doesn't sound like someone who can be trusted to take precautions, and if I were the MLBPA I wouldn't want him anywhere near the diamond.

Lawman 2020-07-10 16:33:55 UTC #102

SF Giants All-Star Catcher, Buster Posey, is opting opting out of the 2020 season. As per reports, he and his wife are adopting identical twin girls who were born prematurely. He'll be spending time in the NICU.