Covid and MLB

genoasalami

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Sep 4, 2006
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Scientists say you can’t beat Covid-19 unless everything shuts down for two months. Look at Australia. it had things under control but now Melbourne is hosting an outbreak. The virus can pop up anywhere.
which is why the football season is pretty much toast.
 

Pablo's TB Lover

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Per the Matt Breen, Phillies beat writer for the Inquirer.

Matt Breen @matt_breen
9m


The Marlins learned before Sunday’s game that three players had tested positive for COVID-19. So they held a player’s meeting to decide if they should play against the Phillies. Can’t find that protocol in MLB’s 101-page manual.
GJGE MLB. The NBA works quickly, back when much was unknown about the virus, to shut shit down within an hour after the Gobert test results. And MLB gives no direction and the players get to decide whether they are going to play the game. Welp.
 

Mugsy's Jock

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Whelp, I did enjoy one super-nice diving play Bo Bichette made against the Sox in a preseason game.

But that's gonna be all she wrote, I guess.
 

donutogre

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Per the Matt Breen, Phillies beat writer for the Inquirer.

Matt Breen @matt_breen
9m


The Marlins learned before Sunday’s game that three players had tested positive for COVID-19. So they held a player’s meeting to decide if they should play against the Phillies. Can’t find that protocol in MLB’s 101-page manual.
This is INCREDIBLY fucked up. Did anyone else outside that team know? Did the Phillies or the umpires or the clubhouse staff know??
 

donutogre

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Whelp, I did enjoy one super-nice diving play Bo Bichette made against the Sox in a preseason game.

But that's gonna be all she wrote, I guess.
Glad Dan Bard came back and got that win in his first game in seven years. Who knows if he'll have it the next time he gets out there... which likely won't happen until 2021 at the earliest.
 

loshjott

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I really wanted to get to September 1st but it seems unlikely we'll even get to August 1st at this point. What a mess. If they are going to keep going, I think there needs to be a real public accounting of what their plan is in a situation like this. There is no way the Marlins are the only team that is going to get sick. The quotes from Mattlingly and Rojas are not encouraging.
What happens September 1st?
 

IdiotKicker

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They're cooked. There's no way to make this work in this setting that upholds the integrity of the season while still keeping players safe. Might not be over today, but this MLB season is not long for this world.
 

NJ_Sox_Fan

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To be fair to the MLB, its not like anyone has ever seen this virus before.
True, but it is not exactly new - it has been happening since the beginning of the year (at least) and there are several other leagues who they could have spoken with to get ideas on how to handle certain things, both here in the US, and abroad in several different countries.
 

amRadio

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I feel like a solid over/under line for the amount of time left in the season is probably 48 hours.
 

loshjott

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Is there any evidence that the Marlins took a lax approach compared to other teams?
Not as compared to other teams necessarily, because all we know is that the Marlins learned 3 players tested positive yesterday and decided to play anyway.

In fairness, other teams may have made the same decision and the fault is MLB's in not stepping in before the game.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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Based on this tweet, there was no real plan, unless that plan was "EMERGENCY MEETING"

View: https://twitter.com/ericjackson/status/1287750533638430723
Why are we surprised that they had no real plan for this? The plan for the season was 60 games in 66 days, then a 16-team tournament. The only possible plan for outbreaks in that scenario is either forfeits or cancellations. There's no room in the schedule for alternatives. They haggled over the number of games and the financials for three months, then pulled together the rest in about a day and a half. The whole thing was based on a fantasy world where the virus just disappeared once camps opened.

And there were people here wondering why some of us doubted the season would finish. :eyeroll:
 

DJnVa

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What would the plan be? If a school is opened this fall and an outbreak occurs, it will be closed again.
I don't know. But it seems asinine that it would be: "If there's outbreak, we'll call a meeting."

Can MLB really not have any come up with any ideas? They just appear to be flailing. And to be clear, I'm not surprised.
 

NJ_Sox_Fan

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Not as compared to other teams necessarily, because all we know is that the Marlins learned 3 players tested positive yesterday and decided to play anyway.

In fairness, other teams may have made the same decision and the fault is MLB's in not stepping in before the game.
The bolded part is the part that is insane to me. Not that the players would want to play - of course they would - it is like asking a boxer if after being knocked down 3 times in a round if he wants to keep going - of course it'll be a yes. The insane part is that MLB did not step in and prohibit the game from happening.
 

DeJesus Built My Hotrod

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True, but it is not exactly new - it has been happening since the beginning of the year (at least) and there are several other leagues who they could have spoken with to get ideas on how to handle certain things, both here in the US, and abroad in several different countries.
Indeed but that takes time and planning. Who wants to deal with that? Plus it involves listening to public health officials and scientists who may tell you things you don't want to hear. And the overwhelming evidence has shown that if this thing isn't currently affecting you and you ignore it, it will go away.
 

DJnVa

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I imagine a lot of MLB's decision making is going to revolve around the Phillies test results.
And some investigation into what happened with Marlins. What if we find out that some player or coach broke protocol?
 

E5 Yaz

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Indeed but that takes time and planning. Who wants to deal with that? Plus it involves listening to public health officials and scientists who may tell you things you don't want to hear. And the overwhelming evidence has shown that if this thing isn't currently affecting you and you ignore it, it will go away.
I see what you did there
 

Seels

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Lol. So the Sox aren't going to get the luxury tax reset after all. How fitting.
 

Seabass

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The fact that MLB didn't have a protocol in place to postpone a game if multiple players test positive before said game blows my mind.

Manfred makes me yearn for Selig. He's gotta go.
 

Red(s)HawksFan

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After a couple positive tests at first, the PGA Tour has done a decent job despite not being in a true bubble.
Individual sport vs team sport makes a bit of a difference. And also one or two players withdrawing mid-tournament due to a positive test doesn't disrupt the entire schedule the way a couple teams being forced to stop playing does.
 

TFP

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I think they’ve done a great job.
Mostly fine but they had an easier problem to tackle. Players are very well separated on the course vs. a team sport.
Individual sport vs team sport makes a bit of a difference. And also one or two players withdrawing mid-tournament due to a positive test doesn't disrupt the entire schedule the way a couple teams being forced to stop playing does.
Golf is two players and two caddies and its not necessary to use a locker room. It can't be compared to MLB.
I’ll also assume the tour players don’t share a locker room and training facilities.
Apologies if it seemed like I was trying to compare the two sports. I definitely was not, and agree with all the quoted posts here and think MLB should SHUT IT DOWN! /Taffer

Just was saying that it is being done without a bubble, but also requires much different circumstances. Namely that golfers can withdraw from the competition unlike teams can and they're not congregating indoors.
 

Murderer's Crow

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We're all talking about the sport being played again but I mean, there's a real risk someone dies on the Marlins. The sheer amount of infections is scary.
 

E5 Yaz

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The biggest issue going forward will be travel. They all have to get on the same plane. That gives bubble sports (and golf) a huge advantage.

We're all talking about the sport being played again but I mean, there's a real risk someone dies on the Marlins. The sheer amount of infections is scary.
We already have EdRo with a heart issue. This isn't so far-fetched