Major League Baseball 2020

[CDu]

What exactly was the point of the expanded taxi squads? Other than guys who tested positive before the season began, have there been any positive tests that didn't result in cancelled games (not including the Marlins' vote to ignore the rules)? I can understand not wanting to play games with a whole bunch of minor leaguers, but if you can't turn tests around quickly enough to be confident that you can quarantine the positive guys and continue with the rest, I think you have to do wholesale call-ups, or you don't have a season. It seems awfully unlikely this is the last positive test (with this many people, short of a true bubble there's just too many opportunities for infection, even if guys behave themselves and follow protocols), so they have to come up with a better response. I'm really puzzled as to how they didn't have a plan for this. Or how they sort of seemed to have a plan for this - big taxi squads kept at alternate sites - but then have simply ignored that and cancelled lots of games rather than using those guys.

I think the taxi squad idea was never really likely to work. The problem is that the virus has an incubation period. So if someone tests positive, the whole team should probably have to quarantine. Otherwise, you are just potentially exposing more people by playing folks as the virus incubates.

I don't think the plan was well thought out. Also, I think they were probably hoping that it would be a random case here or there, not an outbreak situation. But then they immediately had an outbreak situation, and they (smartly) bailed on the taxi squad idea. And now they have sort of set precedent.

And yes, I don't have high hopes for them completing anything close to a 60-game schedule.

[camion]

Atlanta at Philadelphia postponed due to...








Rain.

[El_Diablo]

What exactly was the point of the expanded taxi squads? Other than guys who tested positive before the season began, have there been any positive tests that didn't result in cancelled games (not including the Marlins' vote to ignore the rules)? I can understand not wanting to play games with a whole bunch of minor leaguers, but if you can't turn tests around quickly enough to be confident that you can quarantine the positive guys and continue with the rest, I think you have to do wholesale call-ups, or you don't have a season. It seems awfully unlikely this is the last positive test (with this many people, short of a true bubble there's just too many opportunities for infection, even if guys behave themselves and follow protocols), so they have to come up with a better response. I'm really puzzled as to how they didn't have a plan for this. Or how they sort of seemed to have a plan for this - big taxi squads kept at alternate sites - but then have simply ignored that and cancelled lots of games rather than using those guys.

The taxi squad is just 3 additional players (one of which must be a catcher) that travel and work out with the team on road trips, so if a player gets injured they can call someone up immediately rather than have to stick someone on a commercial flight, scramble to the ballpark, and then infect half the team because some d-bag on the Delta flight was sick but refused to wear a mask. The taxi squad is supposed to get expanded to 5 players soon.

Are you instead talking about the expanded player pools (60 players per team)? If so, I thought the theory was to have a larger pool of players to continue to develop and call up when ready (in lieu of a full minor league system). Players not in that pool are basically taking the year off and are not available at all until 2021, so this is mitigating the loss of the minor league system somewhat (and is co-located with the MLB team to minimize travel if/when a player gets called up).

[Blue in the Face]

The taxi squad is just 3 additional players (one of which must be a catcher) that travel and work out with the team on road trips, so if a player gets injured they can call someone up immediately rather than have to stick someone on a commercial flight, scramble to the ballpark, and then infect half the team because some d-bag on the Delta flight was sick but refused to wear a mask. The taxi squad is supposed to get expanded to 5 players soon.

Are you instead talking about the expanded player pools (60 players per team)? If so, I thought the theory was to have a larger pool of players to continue to develop and call up when ready (in lieu of a full minor league system). Players not in that pool are basically taking the year off and are not available at all until 2021, so this is mitigating the loss of the minor league system somewhat (and is co-located with the MLB team to minimize travel if/when a player gets called up).

Yes, I'm talking about the 60 man pool of players available to staff rosters, which the league has, in its infinite wisdom, chosen not to force teams to call upon as there have been positive tests. I am not specifically faulting mlb for cancelling games rather than using the extra 3 players travelling with teams. I can't address the specific theory behind the expanded pool, but I would've thought it was to have a large pool of players available as positive COVID tests necessitated. As that has thus far not been the case, I am puzzled.

[Blue in the Face]

The problem is that the virus has an incubation period. So if someone tests positive, the whole team should probably have to quarantine. Otherwise, you are just potentially exposing more people by playing folks as the virus incubates.

Also, I think they were probably hoping that it would be a random case here or there, not an outbreak situation.

To your second point, I think it was unrealistic (personally I think wildly so) to expect just random cases here and there. That just seems, to me at least, very unrealistic, though I suspect you're right that that's what mlb expected. But to your first point, if their plan was to quarantine an entire team when there's a positive, and not use the taxi squad, then I don't know how they expected to have a season. Quarantining may be the medically responsible response to a positive test, but they had to know that would happen, so I'm just left wondering how they thought the season would unfold with a likelihood of positive tests and subsequent multi-game cancellations. It's a difficult season, I think everyone knows that, but for all the time that went by before the season finally started, they sure seem unprepared for things that were pretty easily predictable.

[OldPhiKap]

Atlanta at Philadelphia postponed due to...








Rain.

The lack of a federal response to deal with this menace is appalling. Clearly foreseeable; zero planning.

Go Braves!!!

[Mtn.Devil.91.92.01.10.15]

The lack of a federal response to deal with this menace is appalling. Clearly foreseeable; zero planning.

Go Braves!!!

There are many places that find ways to play baseball in all weather. Why are we still looking at sports from a twentieth century perspective?

[CDu]

To your second point, I think it was unrealistic (personally I think wildly so) to expect just random cases here and there. That just seems, to me at least, very unrealistic, though I suspect you're right that that's what mlb expected. But to your first point, if their plan was to quarantine an entire team when there's a positive, and not use the taxi squad, then I don't know how they expected to have a season. Quarantining may be the medically responsible response to a positive test, but they had to know that would happen, so I'm just left wondering how they thought the season would unfold with a likelihood of positive tests and subsequent multi-game cancellations. It's a difficult season, I think everyone knows that, but for all the time that went by before the season finally started, they sure seem unprepared for things that were pretty easily predictable.

I agree, and that was my point; I don’t think their plan was well thought out. I think they unrealistically hoped that any infections would be one-off or two-off events, and that they could just use the taxi squad to replace those one-offs as needed. I don’t think their intention was to quarantine whole teams for positive tests. And honestly, I think that a lot of everyday people were thinking about it this way too, not realizing the complexity of containing the virus.

But the Marlins outbreak and Cards outbreak exposed the flaw in their thinking: the cases were never likely to be quickly/immediately identified, and thus weren’t likely to be only one-offs that could be easily shuffled off to the taxi squad. So realistically they were always likely to need to choose between playing games with glorified minor league rosters (and still risking further outbreaks) or postponing/cancelling games to minimize outbreaks. The impressive thing was that it took just the first weekend to expose how unprepared they were.

[throatybeard]

...then I don't know how they expected to have a season.

^ This is the whole thread right here. Same goes for in-person school.

America is experiencing a society-wide refusal to see basic, basic, basic cause and effect. It's bigger than politics, it's bigger than anything.

[camion]

^ This is the whole thread right here. Same goes for in-person school.

America is experiencing a society-wide refusal to see basic, basic, basic cause and effect. It's bigger than politics, it's bigger than anything.

1. A lot of it is because it's:

Cause...

...

... Tired of waiting. People decide nothing's going to happen. Let's get on with it.

...

...

...

Effect.


2. Some if it is:

Cause...

... You have to read the fine print and do math to see the effect.

...

... Nah. Not worth the effort. Let's go with number 1 above.

...

... Effect = Mathy stuff.

[Jim3k]

There is heat between the Houston Asterisks and the Oakland Athletics. You can look to Houston's past cheating if you want, but there is something else as well. They played in Oakland on Friday, Saturday and Sunday (today).

The first two games were classic pitchers' duels. On Friday, they played 13 innings, the longest extra inning ballgame so far under the new rules. In the course of that game, CF Ramón Laureano had tripled and walked. In the bottom of the 12th, reliever Humberto Castellanos was pitching and hit Laureano, putting him aboard. Nothing came of it. The game on Saturday was uneventful. But the A's had won both on the strength of their pitching and some timely hitting, 3-2 in extras and 3-1.

Today's game was a bit different. The A's jumped out to a 5-0 lead by the third. It looked as if the Astros were about to lose their fifth straight game. They were quite frustrated. In the fourth, Houston got two back on Gurriel's home run and the tension should have abated. But in the bottom of the fifth, Brandon Bailey hit Laureano in the shoulder. Laureano was not happy, but went to first. Bailey may have said something to alleviate the issue. In any event, Laureano was left stranded. At some point Astros manager Dusty Baker was ejected for arguing balls and strikes, so he was not in the dugout for what happened later.

Castellanos came in to pitch in the seventh. After one out, Laureano faced him for the second time in three games. And again, Castellanos hit him, this time in the back. Laureano did not go to first quietly, barking at Castellanos so catcher Martin Maldonado stepped in front just to protect Castellanos. But when Laureano got to first, the Astros' hitting coach Alex Citron from the dugout began yelling foul things at Laureano. After both beckoned each other with a "come fight me" stance, Laureano fell for the bait and took off for the dugout. A bench-clearing baseball "brawl" ensued. No one was hurt, but Laureano and A's catcher Austin Allen were eventually ejected. No Houston player was tossed; Castellanos stayed in the game. And Citron never joined the fight, so despite his being the instigator, nothing has happened to him. Maybe the Commissioner will have a say later.

So Laureano was hit three times in three games, twice in the same game and twice by the same pitcher. It seems to me that Laureano had little choice. If he did nothing, he's a wimp. If he defends himself, it will cost him a fine and a suspension. I wonder if Citron would have behaved the same way if Baker had still been on the bench.

Or, has Houston decided to use an "old, tried and true" way to cheat?

[Turk]

Tigers notch another record book highlight losing both 7 inning games of double header.
That's one kookie stat.
Other teams should allow Tigs to start every inning on 2nd base. It would shorten playing time even further and still result in a W for the competition.

Not necessary at all. Weezie's Tiggers easily sweep the hapless Yucco's at the Confluence. Gregory Polanco takes out a teammate for the season chasing a fly ball. Is 10 wins too much to ask? confused:

[Blue in the Face]

Former Blue Devil Marcus Stroman, who had yet to pitch as he rehabbed a calf injury, has opted out of the season. He'll be a free agent this winter.

https://nypost.com/2020/08/10/marcus...out-of-season/

[YmoBeThere]

Laureano was fine until he didn't maintain enough social distance?

[weezie]

Not necessary at all. Weezie's Tiggers easily sweep the hapless Yucco's at the Confluence. Gregory Polanco takes out a teammate for the season chasing a fly ball. Is 10 wins too much to ask? confused:

Yeah I feel your pain. Losing to the Tigers is pretty bad. And I'm not joking

[budwom]

Yeah I feel your pain. Losing to the Tigers is pretty bad. And I'm not joking

The pandemic is so bad that it's made an unstoppable force of the Tigers. There can be no other explanation.

[weezie]

The pandemic is so bad that it's made an unstoppable force of the Tigers. There can be no other explanation.

budwom! Do I have to remind you that the first rule of Tiger fandom is to never look directly at the Tigers?!

[budwom]

budwom! Do I have to remind you that the first rule of Tiger fandom is to never look directly at the Tigers?!

I get that, but last night I was spinning the dial and they jumped out at me, video of a Tiger with an inside the park home run...really a single plus a really dumb centerfielder for the ChiSox...what could I do???

[weezie]

...what could I do???

Ok you laugh, shake your head and switch to another channel, maybe the Paint Drying Ch 965. It's still safer than watching them with your eyeballs.

[mattman91]

The Braves are out here scoring touchdowns.