There are easy solutions to having each team play an equal number of games when games are missed at the beginning of the season. I can't imagine MLB having teams playing a different number of games.
MLB 2020: We're Playing, but We Can't Agree on Anything
- Thread starter RedOctober3829
- Start date
I posted on this in the other thread. The standard player contract provides that the contract is suspended if MLB is not played due to a national emergency. There could obviously be negotiations happening behind the scenes, but my assumption is that players won’t get paid during the stoppage.
Wait, doesn’t it have to be a presidentially declared emergency? MLB can’t declare it and let the teams avoid paying players, right? While also keeping their rights? That would seem particularly inequitable.
The Uniform Employment Contract for MLB is incredibly one-sided.
The provision in question authorizes the Commissioner to suspend the contract (and specifically states this means it can stop paying the employee) in the event of a national emergency. There is no definition of or limitation on what "national emergency" means.
The world is screeching to a halt, and I should be solely focused on the safety of friends and family members... yet here I am looking at the Sox schedule trying to decide if they start the season late, lose the games at the start, and follow rest of the schedule as is - whether the games we miss will help or hurt our overall playoff chances. Sigh. (I'm here wondering whether missing 2 weeks or 1 month or 6 weeks be best.) Not having baseball to distract me from life - even with a possibly tricky season - is a bummer. Stay safe everyone.
If the season is cancelled and we sign Mookie in the off-season, we would definitely have won that trade.
If it is only two weeks of missed games, there is plenty of season left to make it meaningful. If it goes a lot longer than that, they may have to go into November with the Series. I'm opposed to a neutral-site World Series, but if there was ever a year for it, this could be it. It could even give Marlins Park something more exciting than the World Baseball Classic.
No, Alanis, just coincidental.
If the season is cancelled the Sox won the Mookie trade regardless of where Mookie signs.
Something to note is if covid19 ends up working seasonally like the flu, they might also need to preemptively shorten the season to avoid having to cancel the playoffs as the virus ramps up again in the fall.
If there ends up being any baseball at all this year, of course.
If there ends up being any baseball at all this year, of course.
A truncated season beginning in late May or June is the best case scenario, I would guess. Meanwhile, have some good books ready to read. I might suggest this one: …...………………...……………………….. https://journalstar.com/entertainment/books/review-pale-rider-the-spanish-flu-of-and-how-it/article_575574bd-3e2b-5c94-891a-316a925d73d5.html
Kind of glad everything is postponed so we dont have to see one of our players turn into the Rudy Gobert of MLB
I think this is a fair point. I watched Adam Silver speak on TNT and searched through the interwebs a little bit but can't find any real thought on what conditions would need to happen for sports to resume to normal. Meaning, what will be an acceptable amount of cases or public risk to bring large gatherings back to somewhat normal?
It seems like U.S. sports have been put into three areas right now:
1. Reevaluate (NBA in 30 days; MLB in the next two weeks presumably; The Masters to bet set to "some later date"; the NHL)
2. Cancel (March Madness; NCAA hockey)
3. Reschedule to a specific date (Boston Marathon from 4.20 to 9.14)
In the short term, there's also a local standard as well. Say MLB is like let's start the season on 4.9 (two weeks, plus a little ramp-up time). For us, games in Seattle are 4.9 - 4.12 and Oakland are 4.13 - 4.15. Currently, Seattle and California have gatherings set to be 250 or less. If that continues or is even say 5,000, would MLB take the messaging risk to have some games in empty or low stadiums and others much larger? Especially so, if the NBA isn't back yet and March Madness would have just been concluded.
If the virus turns out to work seasonally like the flu, and there's a concern it could ramp up in the fall (after slowing down over the summer), then hopefully they've developed a vaccine by then so these mass shutdowns won't need to be repeated.
While that would be nice, a vaccine will likely not be available by then. Fall of 2021 is more likely.
https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2020-03-12/why-does-it-take-so-long-to-make-a-coronavirus-vaccine
https://www.latimes.com/science/story/2020-03-12/why-does-it-take-so-long-to-make-a-coronavirus-vaccine
There’s also no real indication that the virus will be less severe in the summer, unfortunately. That’s mostly wishful thinking.
I know this is probably a worst case scenario for baseball but if the year is completely wiped out do contracts get tolled(meaning Mookie would still have to play the 2021 season before reaching free agency)?
Last I checked, the MLB uniform player contract allows the Commissioner to supend the contract during any national emergency during which Major League Baseball is not played.
See Paragraph 11
See Paragraph 11
Heath Hembree is still part of the organization, is he not? We already know he fucks with Trump, per his own admission, who also has been slow on the uptake, so I'd say he's as good a bet as any.
Trevor Bauer wants to keep playing.
Bauer:
“To any @MLB or @MiLB players in AZ who want in on this sandlot game, please respond to this tweet and @Watch_Momentum will organize with you. All pitchers and hitters will be micd up. Mandatory. Open to any other rule suggestions. Let me know!”
Bauer:
“To any @MLB or @MiLB players in AZ who want in on this sandlot game, please respond to this tweet and @Watch_Momentum will organize with you. All pitchers and hitters will be micd up. Mandatory. Open to any other rule suggestions. Let me know!”
Tom Hanks and his wife got coronavirus in Australia, where it IS summer.
Last edited:
Just checked on this. Paragraph 11 of the uniform contract covers this but addresses “Governmental Regulation-National Emergency.” It’s not a defined term, but I’m pretty sure a decision-maker would interpret this to mean a governmentally declared national emergency. Of course, we just got that, so...
I guess MLB had a heads up a National Emergency would be declared. Do players take out insurance for such an event? It seems a goid agent would recommend that
In any case, based on the numbers its really older people most at risk. If you are under 60 its more like the flu. Nothing like 1918 when it was younger people that were most affected
In any case, based on the numbers its really older people most at risk. If you are under 60 its more like the flu. Nothing like 1918 when it was younger people that were most affected
If MLB is lucky and they get in a six week season then they can play it like the World Cup...with maybe a couple of Nippon League teams filling out the 32 team field...
I just reviewed the contents of my DVR to see if I could make some space and discovered a whole bunch of Sox games I hadn't remembered recording. I guess I'll review some of them, but I expect that a mid-season game against K.C. might not do the job, except for checking out Mr. Betts.
Some strains of the common cold are also coronaviruses. There is some research that suggest it's not so much warmer temps that decrease instances of the common cold in warmer months, but more the fact that people are outside more, windows can be opened for fresh air exchanges, things like that. Another factor is that viruses may stay airborne longer in dry air (more common in winter) than in humid air. Hopefully these things will all contribute to a reduced R0 in the coming months. Some of the tropical climate countries that had early instances of infection from China appear to be doing well, based solely on the reported numbers anyway. Singapore, Thailand, Malaysia and Taiwan, for example. (It's possible the numbers are low from lack of testing, and/or the societies are better suited for dealing with social distancing from past practice with other scares.)
But I think it's fair to say nobody really knows right now if the warmer months will help.
Not sure but guessing this is an appropriate thread to place this. Please move it/delete it if not.
As I'm sure most of you are, I am at a loss right now with sports on hiatus.
I've been listening to baseball games on the radio (in recent years via MLB At Bat) since I was a 9 years old kid living in central Pennsylvania in 1963.
Out of desperation yesterday I found a temporary fix for my addiction: a wonderful cache of over 500 classic radio baseball broadcasts -- easily accessible and playable via the Internet Archive.
View: https://archive.org/details/classicmlbbaseballradio
Last night I put in my earbuds and picked one broadcast at random from 1964. It proved to be significant for me: the first game Jim Bunning pitched for the Phillies after being traded from the Tigers for Dom Demeter. Complete with Tony Taylor, Johnny Callison, and the rookie "Richie" Allen at third for the Phils. I probably listened to that game live back then.
(I'm a long time Sox fan but I started out as a Phillies fan. As bad as they were then it was the only game in town. But I had a good buddy who for some reason loved the equally pitiful Red Sox. Bill Monbouquette was his favorite player. That was when I first started learning about the Sox and is the inspiration for my SOSH name.)
Anyway, I post the link here in case anyone else might want to tune in. I haven't take the time to check but I would be shocked if there are some vintage and not so vintage Sox games in the cache.
BTW, I've been lurking on this site for more than a dozen years. This is my first and most likely only post.
As I'm sure most of you are, I am at a loss right now with sports on hiatus.
I've been listening to baseball games on the radio (in recent years via MLB At Bat) since I was a 9 years old kid living in central Pennsylvania in 1963.
Out of desperation yesterday I found a temporary fix for my addiction: a wonderful cache of over 500 classic radio baseball broadcasts -- easily accessible and playable via the Internet Archive.
View: https://archive.org/details/classicmlbbaseballradio
Last night I put in my earbuds and picked one broadcast at random from 1964. It proved to be significant for me: the first game Jim Bunning pitched for the Phillies after being traded from the Tigers for Dom Demeter. Complete with Tony Taylor, Johnny Callison, and the rookie "Richie" Allen at third for the Phils. I probably listened to that game live back then.
(I'm a long time Sox fan but I started out as a Phillies fan. As bad as they were then it was the only game in town. But I had a good buddy who for some reason loved the equally pitiful Red Sox. Bill Monbouquette was his favorite player. That was when I first started learning about the Sox and is the inspiration for my SOSH name.)
Anyway, I post the link here in case anyone else might want to tune in. I haven't take the time to check but I would be shocked if there are some vintage and not so vintage Sox games in the cache.
BTW, I've been lurking on this site for more than a dozen years. This is my first and most likely only post.
I can't help but wonder what the shortened season will do to the front line free agents to be - like Mookie. If MLB plays a 120 game season for the sake of discussion, that might affect someone who has a slow start, an injury, or a prolonged slump. There will be less time to recover which could translate to big bucks down the road.
I understand the point, especially the part about less time to recover but a prolonged slump late in the season, or season ending injury at any point of the season will affect FAs to be in the same way regardless as to how many games are played.
EM - If this indeed ends up being your only post, you'll retire with a lifetime BA of 1.000. Well done, and thank you!
Listening to the Red Sox and White Sox. Red Sox up 3-0 in the first inning!!!
Lots of moving parts here. They can either stay in camp, go to home cities or simply go home. That leaves pitchers looking for places to throw, guys looking for places to hit. With schools shut down, it's not like they can go back to their local high school or college fields and have guys throw. College teams are sending guys home...Union is meeting to determine whether guys get paid or not. Players need to worry about housing for the upcoming season and what is happening with their leases on places...Guys on the fence have no clue if or when they are making the big league team...April 9 as a start date of the season looks like it is not happening.
Also, for anyone who wants to take a stroll down 2004 memory lane, and some other random stuff, there's the SoSH FTP:
http://www.terrisus.com/misc/soshftp/soshftp.html
http://www.terrisus.com/misc/soshftp/soshftp.html
Thanks for this!
I'm watching game 5 of the 2004 ALCS right now.
In the 6th, Pedro's fastball is down to 99 mph, and he's on the ropes. Down 4-2, bases loaded, 2 outs. Red Sox in deep trouble. Matsui up. He smashes one to RF, Nixon comes racing in-- if he misses it, the season is over-- but he makes the sliding catch, inning over!
Alive!
As of tonight, the CDC is recommending no gatherings in excess of 50 people for the next eight weeks.... so, in all likelihood, no baseball until June if not later.
More here - not on the baseball side, but on the CDC’s recommendation: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/tomnamako/coronavirus-cdc-cancel-weddings-concerts-sports-conferences?ref=bfnsplash
More here - not on the baseball side, but on the CDC’s recommendation: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/tomnamako/coronavirus-cdc-cancel-weddings-concerts-sports-conferences?ref=bfnsplash
On the other hand, Jeter's double in the bottom of the 8th, in the Grady game, was very catchable.
I've no doubt I'm not the first to think of it but has there been any discussion on any of the fantasy platforms or MLB game producers on running a simulated season?
Would be at least something for fantasy baseball starved fans to track. Games could he live streamed and stats flow straight into a fantasy platform. Better than nothing.
Would be at least something for fantasy baseball starved fans to track. Games could he live streamed and stats flow straight into a fantasy platform. Better than nothing.
Has anyone heard anything about refunds for regular season games? Silence from the Red Sox so far, but curious if any teams have said anything.
Nothing's officially been cancelled, MLB is still allegedly trying to get 162 games in even there is zero actual chance of this.
Guess they get to float the money a little longer. I really hope they don't do things like postpone a summer weekend day for a rando September weeknight. People won't be thrilled.