Phils & Covid

Sabin 2021-07-20 02:00:35 UTC #61

Hmm...trying to determine whether or not this was a passive-aggressive shot.

LoneStarPhan 2021-07-20 02:51:31 UTC #62

I just cannot take the microchip believers story seriously. If it is close to the truth, we are in big trouble. Which may actually be true.

The rise in COVID cases and corresponding rise in deaths is being linked to areas of lower vaccination levels. It seems to be a fact that those not being vaccinated are contributing to COVID deaths. I certainly would not want to be in that position if I had any chance (which everyone now does have) to avoid it.

julio 2021-07-20 02:54:40 UTC #63

No, no, not a shot at you, or at anybody. I'm just tired... profoundly tired at where we are, at what we are becoming. Large swaths of our society are abandoning reason, turning to superstitions, fantasies, conspiracy theories. We're rejecting the Enlightenment, running back to the age of fear and loathing. We have a massively technological society, and one-third (or probably more) of our people don't understand anything they use as different from magic. They believe fantastical lies that are not only untrue, but literally impossible... and yet they believe. They'll be burning witches soon enough.

Frankly, I more or less expected this kind of societal collapse... but not this soon; not until the climate catastrophes create widespread famine and death. I never expected our representative Republic to survive that. I just didn't anticipate the pace, didn't anticipate that the demagogues would lead people down the rabbit hole in advance of the catastrophes.

I'm sorry; I shouldn't dump all this on you all. But we're going to hell in a handbasket - COVID just appears to have accelerated these changes, just as it has accelerated assorted other trends that were happening, albeit more slowly.

bkox 2021-07-20 03:23:25 UTC #64

Trust me its true. There is a facebook group with thousands of members. They talk in code so facebook wont suspend their group. Any one who has gotten vaccinated is a "dancer" etc. They believe that there is microchips in the vaccine. They believe their health can be harmed by vaccinated people "shedding" on them. They blame 5g for illness and some advocate urine drinking and black salve as a therapy for health ailments.

Some have thrown out their kids or elderly parents from their homes because they decided to get vaccinated.

Some examples:

xogfog 2021-07-20 03:46:00 UTC #65

They fear a microchip, but carry a cell phone with them at all times. On one hand, it's terrible, but on the other it's textbook Darwinism. These are the same people that love the orange dictator, chant Jews will not replace us, would rather be a Russian than a democrat, believe that Hillary Clinton ran a child sex trafficking operation in the basement of a pizza place that has no basement, think that there are powerful people (oddly, mostly democrats) that kill babies to drink their blood, that the election was fake and Donald Trump is really the president and Biden is just his puppet. I'm sorry but I don't feel one bit of pity for them, that's way too much stupid. The people that I'm sad for is the portion of the black population that fears the vaccination because of long standing worries due to what the government has done to them historically, because that is a valid concern.

bkox 2021-07-20 13:29:40 UTC #66

BaseballCat 2021-07-20 13:41:59 UTC #67

I don’t foresee this changing if true. Some may have been hesitant at first, but having teammates say it caused injury or that they needed a few down days following vaccination is enough to have athletes say they will wait to the offseason. I am surprised that they are not wearing masks in the dugout. I would be happier as a fan to see them lose a day or two than set a bad example for the community at large. My hope is that they don’t believe the conspiracy theories, but are fearing loss of peak performance. It is frustrating because they are putting the team and more importantly their family at risk.

andyb 2021-07-20 13:42:38 UTC #68

This is almost a good enough reason to NOT invest seriously in upgrades for the postseason. They seem to be almost guaranteed huge roster disruptions with cases rising. It is not going to be simply a matter of luck. I think it is likely a matter of just noting there will be 100+ man-games lost over the course of the season if not more. And we know the Delta variant will cause some positive likely non-serious cases among the vaccinated, but that only means that any random player could be lost for 10 games.

Maybe we should trade every unvaccinated player.

Dirk41 2021-07-20 13:44:05 UTC #69

This is disheartening.

Is there a point where their competitiveness would override their anti vax stance?

If this was the 2009, 2010, or 2011 team, does the title being so close nullify that hesitance? Does Aaron Nola (only using what we already know) care about winning and fear the very real possibility that he can't help his team do that if he enters protocols again?

andyb 2021-07-20 13:49:44 UTC #70

Every AAAA player on Lehigh Valley and Reading should make sure they are vaccinated. One never knows when we'll need Brock Stassi and Mike Adams in the majors. This could be Marlins circa July 2020.

Squire 2021-07-20 13:49:47 UTC #71

I agree with the first part. If I'm Dombrowski I'd just say privately and publicly, given the existence of the Delta variant and this team's putrid vaccination rate, I'm not buying at the deadline because investing in this team is too risky. That's his personal choice.

flyers19rw 2021-07-20 14:46:11 UTC #72

Nola's salary is $11,750,000 for this season. He's probably was good for 33 starts this season making his money per start at approximately 356K. Lost two starts worth a total of 712K. I wonder if he's going to turn that money back over to ownership? Doubt it.
This club is as unlikeable a team as has been around here for a while. There are some players on the club that have personalities that I don't particularly care for but every team has a few of them. However when they collectively do something like refuse to vax up and use it as an excuse for injuries or poor performance, that's entering a new territory for obnoxious behavior.
Supporting the players on this club is too hard. They're thumbing their noses at the fans with their actions. Fine. I won't financially support you. Unfortunately that hurts ownership that has hired them in good faith. What I can do is, for the first time, back ownership in their fight with the union in negotiations for the new CBA. I hope that the owners take it to the MLBPA like Sherman did Georgia in 1864-65.

bkox 2021-07-20 14:56:59 UTC #73

I want forfeits to be in play next year (Im assuming COVID will still be a thing then). If your team isnt 90% vaccinated there should be no postponements. You forfeit any game that would have caused a postponement.

flyers19rw 2021-07-20 15:29:41 UTC #74

Michael Irvin:"If you're unvaccinated that means that you don't want to win badly enough."

bkeich 2021-07-20 17:01:49 UTC #75

I assume Irvin forgets how he was suspended for drug use. I guess we know how he prioritized winning and illicit drugs. What a complete piece of …

(And I am happily vaccinated, but not a hypocrite like this …)

bkox 2021-07-20 17:19:18 UTC #76

But... that was 25 years ago. One of the worst things we do in society is assume people dont mature, dont change for the better, mature, grow up.

I have no idea what kinda person Irvin is today.. but to say hes a hypocrite for something from 25 years ago seems flawed. If we constantly trash people for their past... it makes it even harder for people to change for the future.

What if our own Dickie Noles had said that? A man that dealt with drug and alcohol addiction? But has since helped countless players in the org deal with those same issues? Would he be a hypocrite?

People change. Perspectives change. If you look at yourself 25 years ago, would there be anything you felt differently about now? Did you do anything reckless in your youth? Do you know what its like to be in the spotlight and have millions of dollars and maybe not have the best people around you? Or trying to figure out how to handle the pressure.

Irvin is probably a jerk. Hes had other issues. But to say hes a hypocrite because of what happened 25 years ago doesnt make sense. Sometimes the best judges of actions are people that made similar mistakes and can look back and say learn from my mistakes. Etc

bkeich 2021-07-20 18:08:18 UTC #77

I haven’t seen much in his attitudes that imply that he has matured, changed or is regretting his actions. Seems like the same selfish … he was then.

My point is that I don’t really think much of him talking about guys caring about winning when it wasn’t his priority. Doubt that has changed and his self serving statement implying that he held winning as his highest priority is a sign of that to me.

25 years ago I was never anything like him.

I agree that someone like Dickie Noles is someone I would listen to. That is even more of a reason to openly laugh at Michael Irvin making this statement.

zambonir 2021-07-20 18:27:01 UTC #78

Would certainly be smart of them, but they'll still get called up even if they're not vaccinated. Unfortunately we already know the rate's not great in Lehigh Valley either, they could have an outbreak themselves.

But what an absolute disaster. An admission of incompetence and lack of leadership as a franchise, including the manager, and the star players they developed and signed in the first place. What would MIddleton say if he chose to speak publicly?

nycphils 2021-07-20 18:50:14 UTC #79

This is almost a good enough reason to NOT invest seriously in upgrades for the postseason. They seem to be almost guaranteed huge roster disruptions with cases rising. It is not going to be simply a matter of luck. I think it is likely a matter of just noting there will be 100+ man-games lost over the course of the season if not more. And we know the Delta variant will cause some positive likely non-serious cases among the vaccinated, but that only means that any random player could be lost for 10 games.

Maybe we should trade every unvaccinated player.

What a bunch of dumbasses. I agree that there is little point in investing in a team that is guaranteed not to be at full strength by choice.

Non scientists who believe that their own science knowledge and/or suspicion is more reliable or less risky than following the guidance created by epidemiologists with unlimited resources to find the best available answers are just foolish beyond belief. Those doing it for political or oppositional reasons are even dumber.

bkox 2021-07-20 19:06:51 UTC #80