Covid and MLB

donutogre

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Here is Jeter's shitty non-statement about what is going on:

View: https://twitter.com/Marlins/status/1287781348623757312


And here is a good response from Craig Calcaterra at NBC Sports, asking the basic questions that we really need answers to:

What I’d like to hear is why the Marlins played a game with over 10% of its roster having tested positive and a bunch of other tests outstanding. What was the protocol that was followed and what, if anything, might have caused them to cancel that game if not the situation present at the time. Why, as Don Mattingly said, was the idea of cancelling the game “never considered” before today’s Marlins COVID-19 outbreak?[/quote/
 

donutogre

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From that Inquirer story:

The operations manual says that after a player tests positive for COVID-19, the club must conduct contact tracing to identify the individuals who had close contact with the infected individual. The Marlins flew together to Philadelphia from Atlanta, traveled by bus to a Center City hotel, traveled by bus to the ballpark, dressed in the clubhouse, and sat in the dugout.

It could be easily argued that every Marlins player and staff member came in close contact over the weekend with the infected players. If so, the operations manual says those individuals should be quarantined or isolated pending the results of an Expedited Diagnostic Test, which the Marlins received Sunday morning. Instead of quarantining and thus postponing Sunday’s game, the Marlins played a 3-hour, 44-minute game against the Phillies and then learned Monday morning that eight additional players had tested positive.
Also, this is batshit:
The Marlins learned Sunday morning that their starting pitcher for the afternoon and two other players had tested positive for COVID-19 and would be unable to play. An apparent coronavirus outbreak was underway in the visiting clubhouse at Citizens Bank Park and the Marlins responded by asking their shortstop to determine if the game against the Phillies would be played.

“He’s kind of an unofficial team captain of our club,” Marlins manager Don Mattingly said of Miguel Rojas. “He’s always texting the group and getting the feelings of the group. So when we’re dealing with situations or things, that’s usually who we’re working through.”

“We made the decision that we’re going to continue to do this and we’re going to continue to be responsible and just play the game as hard as we can,” Rojas said.
 

Mystic Merlin

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It’s absurd that the players/coaches would decide anything. No different than asking a pitcher who is laboring whether he can get the next guy out.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Love Rojas saying the team decided they were going to "continue to be responsible" and then went out and played the game. They have no concept of what responsible is. Mattingly shouldn't have been consulting his players, he should have been consulting the league. Pre-existing protocol or not, the call to play that game should have been considered above Mattingly's paygrade the moment the tests came back.
 

donutogre

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This is absolutely unbelievable that there isn't a protocol to follow other than letting the team decide. I mean where the hell is the leadership from MLB and the Marlins' front office? Did they tell the Phillies this was going on? If I'm Philly, I'm pissed.
That's not quite how I took that story, but the fact we're not sure is in and of itself insane. It sounds to me that once you get a positive diagnosis, everyone who has been in close contact is supposed to quarantine until they get the "Expedited Diagnostic Test." The Inquirer says they got that Sunday morning, but it's not clear to me what the results were.

Also, apparently the Phillies learned of this ahead of time and decided to play anyway, as well.
 

NJ_Sox_Fan

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So, they had 3 players who they knew were positive and presumably at least 8 more tests pending results - and they left it up to their shortstop as to whether or not they should play??

I am probably one of the very few (perhaps the only one here) who thinks Covid is a tad overblown and that some of the things put into place are ridiculous, but this is so incredibly stupid that it seems unfathomable that this was how they actually went about this. It is beyond irresponsible, and I am assuming that the Phillies were totally in the dark here.

IF this is the actual story, they should be absolutely fined, lose a draft pick or something like that and just be forced to quarantine the entire team the next 14 days or until they get 2 negative tests on every player/staff member and just take a loss for every game they are missing.

Also, the fact that apparently nobody at the MLB level is overseeing test results is pretty incredulous. We test every employee here, every week. I certainly do not leave it up to the individual employee to let me know their results. The stupidity that MLB has shown throughout all of this (including the disaster of having only a 60 game schedule) is pathetic. Manfred is awful.
 

OurF'ingCity

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Any time there is a single positive test on a team, the rule should be that the team is automatically barred from playing until MLB affirmatively gives a go ahead after consulting with the team to determine the extent of the outbreak, what steps the team is taking to contain it, who else may have been exposed, etc. The whole “play first, figure out later” thing is insane.

There should also just be a flat cap on numbers of “Tier 1” (i.e. players, coaches, etc.) personnel a team can have test positive before they are barred from playing or traveling further. Say if more than 5 individuals’ most recent test was positive at any given time the whole team must be quarantined until tests can be administered and completed for every individual.

These are common sense things that should have been addressed months ago, but both the owners and players seemed focused only on the financial aspects of the season - which, of course, is stupidly short sighted since not having proper protocols to address COVID outbreaks means the whole season and the money that comes with it are in major jeopardy now.
 

Comfortably Lomb

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Letting the shortstop decide whether to play ball, expose the opponent, and nuke the season after half the team tested positive or were waiting for results has to be up there with dumbest actions in the history of baseball.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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View: https://twitter.com/nickgroke/status/1287801956170436610


Rockies pitcher Tim Collins has opted out of the rest of the season. Question of whether or not the Marlins situation influenced his decision since he was sent down yesterday. But there are presumably a lot of players who were on the edge as to whether they wanted to play (e.g. Trout) who might just decide to change their minds in light of this situation.
 

E5 Yaz

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Donnie Baseball is a fucking moron.
There's plenty of blame to go around. Hell, even if he had gone to management and said, "We shouldn't be playing," and been shot down and told to put a team out there.
 

Bongorific

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This should be it for Manfred’s tenure. That players were the ones deciding whether to play or not speaks to the absolute absence of league leadership.
 

E5 Yaz

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But there are presumably a lot of players who were on the edge as to whether they wanted to play (e.g. Trout) who might just decide to change their minds in light of this situation.
Absolutely ... and I think that if the EdRo situation had gotten more play -- or if it had happened to a higher-profile player -- there might be no games at all
 

donutogre

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There's plenty of blame to go around. Hell, even if he had gone to management and said, "We shouldn't be playing," and been shot down and told to put a team out there.
I"ve been feeling this entire time that this season is a ridiculous idea, and the way this has been handled clinches it. It's a failure at all levels, from the top of the MLB down to the way the owners are dealing with their clubs down to what's happening in the clubhouse with players and managers. We (this country) are clearly not responsible enough for this shit.
 

Max Power

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I have to say, it's nice seeing all these former Yankees cover themselves in shit the last week. Maybe Mattingly can join Rivera at the next bullshit session at the White House to say everything is just fine in MLB.

The thing is, the protocols were actually pretty good. There was a document that was released a month ago outlining where players should sit when they're not on the field, what they're not allowed to do, etc. Everything seemed reasonable. But it was plain as day that very few of the players actually took it seriously and nobody at all was enforcing it. So here we are.
 

E5 Yaz

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I"ve been feeling this entire time that this season is a ridiculous idea, and the way this has been handled clinches it. It's a failure at all levels, from the top of the MLB down to the way the owners are dealing with their clubs down to what's happening in the clubhouse with players and managers. We (this country) are clearly not responsible enough for this shit.
Yep
 

Fratboy

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So, they had 3 players who they knew were positive and presumably at least 8 more tests pending results - and they left it up to their shortstop as to whether or not they should play??

I am probably one of the very few (perhaps the only one here) who thinks Covid is a tad overblown and that some of the things put into place are ridiculous, but this is so incredibly stupid that it seems unfathomable that this was how they actually went about this. It is beyond irresponsible, and I am assuming that the Phillies were totally in the dark here.

IF this is the actual story, they should be absolutely fined, lose a draft pick or something like that and just be forced to quarantine the entire team the next 14 days or until they get 2 negative tests on every player/staff member and just take a loss for every game they are missing.

Also, the fact that apparently nobody at the MLB level is overseeing test results is pretty incredulous. We test every employee here, every week. I certainly do not leave it up to the individual employee to let me know their results. The stupidity that MLB has shown throughout all of this (including the disaster of having only a 60 game schedule) is pathetic. Manfred is awful.
Before I eviscerate you, I'm going to give you a chance to walk this back.
 

Light-Tower-Power

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So, they had 3 players who they knew were positive and presumably at least 8 more tests pending results - and they left it up to their shortstop as to whether or not they should play??

I am probably one of the very few (perhaps the only one here) who thinks Covid is a tad overblown and that some of the things put into place are ridiculous, but this is so incredibly stupid that it seems unfathomable that this was how they actually went about this. It is beyond irresponsible, and I am assuming that the Phillies were totally in the dark here.

IF this is the actual story, they should be absolutely fined, lose a draft pick or something like that and just be forced to quarantine the entire team the next 14 days or until they get 2 negative tests on every player/staff member and just take a loss for every game they are missing.

Also, the fact that apparently nobody at the MLB level is overseeing test results is pretty incredulous. We test every employee here, every week. I certainly do not leave it up to the individual employee to let me know their results. The stupidity that MLB has shown throughout all of this (including the disaster of having only a 60 game schedule) is pathetic. Manfred is awful.
This makes me so happy that the NBA is doing what it is doing with the bubble and the league overseeing the entire thing. It's too early to spike the football and declare it a success, but it has a hell of a lot better chance of working out than having teams and players policing themselves.
 

jon abbey

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Before I eviscerate you, I'm going to give you a chance to walk this back.
He's said it a whole bunch of times before, you just haven't noticed. Agree that it is infuriating and if I were a Dope, it would make me seriously think about pulling out the ban hammer. Oh wait...
 

E5 Yaz

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I am probably one of the very few (perhaps the only one here) who thinks Covid is a tad overblown and that some of the things put into place are ridiculous
I've lost two friends to this overblown pandemic. If you'd like, I can try to put you in touch with their families so you can share your opinion.
 

bsj

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Maybe now they will be more aggressive at requiring masking around home plate and requiring players to actually sit spread out in the stands like they were supposed to
 

Fratboy

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I've lost three friends to this overblown pandemic. If you'd like, I can try to put you in touch with their families so you can share your opinion.
Likewise, @NJ_Sox_Fan I can have you speak to my niece, who said breathing was like drowning for two months straight. Breathe in and then breathe out. See how easy that is? Imagine feeling like you're drowning with each breath, for two months straight. I can have you talk to my brother in law, whose sense of taste has been fucked up since February.

I can have you talk to my twin sister, who could also barely breathe without coughing every time for a month, and experience chronic fatigue.

But yeah, it's overblown and not a big deal.

Go to the V&N and support thread and tell them it's not a big deal and come back and let us know what they say.
 

RIrooter09

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He's said it a whole bunch of times before, you just haven't noticed. Agree that it is infuriating and if I were a Dope, it would make me seriously think about pulling out the ban hammer. Oh wait...
At least he doesn’t work with a vulnerable population, like in a nursing home...oh wait.
 

MuzzyField

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Maybe now they will be more aggressive at requiring masking around home plate and requiring players to actually sit spread out in the stands like they were supposed to
Bingo, I couldn't believe the proximity of players in the dugout and the lack of masks in the stands. I can just imagine how much distancing is going on in the clubhouse.

Are home teams staying in a hotel or is it family time at the house as usual? I kind of remember the players not wanting to "suffer" through 66-days without family interaction and being isolated to insure a safer potential work outcome... 'cause FREEDOM!
 

NJ_Sox_Fan

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I've lost two friends to this overblown pandemic. If you'd like, I can try to put you in touch with their families so you can share your opinion.
I did not say it was fake, or not deadly. I will give a specific. In NJ, we still do not have indoor dining, however liquor stores never closed. Malls are open. Etc. So, if you can shop in a mall, where everyone touches everything, how can you not be safe to eat indoors, with spaced out tables. It makes zero sense.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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Maybe now they will be more aggressive at requiring masking around home plate and requiring players to actually sit spread out in the stands like they were supposed to
Alternatively, maybe now MLB will be more aggressive at pretending their virus planning entailed more than the power of positive thinking or consulting journeymen middle infielders for protocol guidelines.

In all seriousness, there is no realistic way for them to salvage this absent some midstream change in how they will play the season - its over.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Seems like the rest of the games are going on as scheduled?
No reason for them not to if everyone involved is in the clear (passed their latest test). As of now, the two games not being played tonight are being classified as postponed. They're also both part of home-and-home series so presumably they could be made up with a double header later in the week.