Coronavirus (sports-related only)

[zambonir]

That's unfortunate. I had read there weren't going to be the usual batboys.

This should probably be leaguewide policy:

Told 1 precaution #Yankees will definitely have if they play in Philly is that they summoned their own clubhouse personnel to work rather than use anyone who works the visiting clubhouse at Citizens Bank Park.

— Joel Sherman ( @Joelsherman1 ) July 27, 2020

[Lawman]

Sure but now 14 people have the virus.

Correct. But, at game time yesterday it was only 4 so I think the correct decision to play was made yesterday and the correct decision was made today - postpone/cancel PHI/NYY and MIA/BAL games.

[LoneStarPhan]

We still don't know what the reason for Price missing the last couple games. If he has tested positive for COVID, it is another concern since he almost certainly had contact with many of the Phillies' pitchers in the days just prior to his absence.

[allentown]

That makes no sense to me. Clubhouse surfaces can be disinfected. Health offices do this routinely. Why should today's game be postponed, when 0 Phillies have tested positive, when yesterday's game was not with 4 positive tests and close contact, but no quarantine of those having close contact? It seems that the facts say that Sunday's game was far riskier.

[zambonir]

It just doesn't seem sustainable either way though. You can cancel games for two days while you wait for everyone to be tested twice or you play through but then cancel them after they get tested twice along the way. If the tests are positive there's no difference. Option 2 prioritizes playing baseball, Option 1 prioritizes health. It's all well and good that most of these guys are asymptomatic but not all of them have been. And for the clubhouse attendants and umps and coaches and other personnel to also be at risk is just wrong.

Heck, for all we know the Marlins caught it from the Phillies, who caught it from Bryan Price. I assume testing won't suggest that, but we'll have to see.

The games are cancelled partly for PR reasons, but also they have decided yesterday's game was high-enough risk that now both teams are in isolation. I believe the city of Philadelphia may also be involved. Ultimately, this could be shut down by cities or states, not MLB.

[andyb]

I am not so sure about that. If they wanted to play yesterday they should have probably tested everyone on the Marlins. They would have needed the 15-minute immediate response tests, but any time you have multiple infections you really need to test everyone. They should not be playing outside a bubble if they don't have rapid response testing.

[zambonir]

Supposedly they did test everyone on the Marlins. But not the quick-response kind. They could have easily moved the game to evening, for that matter. That kind of flexibility is going to be necessary, even if it affects travel.

[andyb]

And that is the problem. In baseball you play every day. You need rapid response. Other sports are in a bubble and have off days. You can get away with 24-48 hour response in that situation.

If I had to guess now, they have both the Phillies and Yankees travel back to NYC and try to play 4 games in 3 days. And Howard starts one game of the DH as long as that is Wednesday or Thursday. Bohm could be up also if Didi has to sit.

[zambonir]

With the Yankees already in Philadelphia last night and the Phillies not able to travel today I think it's more likely they'll play 3 games in 2 days and make another one up if need be. Or they could just go ahead with it tomorrow, if the Phillies pass their tests.

If they really are commited to trying to play out the season, the reality probably is that some teams will only play 56 or 58 games.

[Lawman]

I would tend to agree w/ this. It's not sustainable from multiple view points. And, don't forget about the competitive POV as well. So the Mets play 60 games, the Phillies play 55, and the Marlins 50?

[Lawman]

That makes no sense to me. Clubhouse surfaces can be disinfected. Health offices do this routinely. Why should today's game be postponed, when 0 Phillies have tested positive, when yesterday's game was not with 4 positive tests and close contact, but no quarantine of those having close contact? It seems that the facts say that Sunday's game was far riskier.

One thing that seems to be crossing political parties, businesses, state lines, etc... is uniform logic. Don't look for logic, it's probably not there.

[andyb]

Looks like the Orioles and Marlins are both going back to Baltimore with the hope of playing Wednesday.

[zambonir]

If you are determined to play and determined to finish the season on time I think you just suck it up and use winning percentage. It's not fair but the schedule isn't fair anyway. And it could cut either way. We already have new rules about rainouts/official games. Heck, why not 7-inning games?

Have the Marlins been cleared to travel, or, pending clearance?

I gather the residents of the fancy Rittenhouse condo/hotel wasn't too thrilled about this either.

[Lawman]

If you are determined to play and determined to finish the season on time I think you just suck it up and use winning percentage. It's not fair but the schedule isn't fair anyway. And it could cut either way. We already have new rules about rainouts/official games. Heck, why not 7-inning games?

Like I said, the season is a farce.

[andyb]

This does make one wonder if they should have just designed a pod system in safer areas of the country. 3 pods with 10 teams each. Or 5 pods with 6 teams each (then rotate the pods every few weeks). It would be crazy baseball, but the lack of a bubble is what is killing the current system.

[donaldorc]

I hope the season is cancelled. The Phillies' start against a COVID decimated team doesn' t give much hope for anything positive to come out of this joike of a season.

[zambonir]

I always preferred a tournament type season, which would have lent itself to pods, and to just embracing the abnormal year. Would have meant less money for everyone though. In the end it's only about money.

[xogfog]

Just cancel the damn season,

[schillingfan]

I don’t really care who wins this season. It’s was just such a joy to have the game on television. When we had our early poll, my thought was that they wouldn’t finish the season. I didn’t think the infection rate would be so bad this summer. Unlike the flu, this virus is not seasonal. Most people made the mistake of thinking as the economy opened up, the risk was going down, which turned out not to be true. A lot of people, particularly those who didn’t really experience it badly in the first place acted as if the risk had gone away. (Going to leave the man in the White House out for sake of discussion, though he clearly exacerbated the problem.)

Obviously, MLB is going to try to power this through, at least for the week. I think they need to give everybody the rapid test. I saw on the machine today on television. The doctor said the White House uses it and MLB. Apparently they don’t. He said the machine costs about $250.00,he wasn’t allowed to name the manufacturer. The machine can run 50 test tubes each containing an individual swab a day, with a thirty minute turnaround. This is peanuts to MLB.

[GunbladeVIII]

It was certainly nice while it lasted. Thanks to the piped-in crowd noise, on radio it almost sounded normal. And given the relative success of MLS in keeping the virus at bay, I found myself thinking that an outdoor sport that's inherently played at a distance for most players could be at least as successful, and that after all of the anguish and ill will that preceded it, surely enough thought, effort, and enforcement would accompany even the illusion of a season, given the stakes involved.

Today it all feels dejecting and futile, and I find myself thinking that it would have been better to lose the season than to get a taste only to have the reality crash the party.

I can't help but think that the union and owners spent the downtime fighting about money moreso than coming up with a viable plan. I don't know how true that actually is.