Monday,
3-30:
Nothing continues to change in the baseball world. The
Commish says he expects us to return to the fields around the same time our government
is telling us this will be all over. My problem with this is the fact that I
woke up this morning and found out 1,000 more Floridians tested positive, while
one of my heroes, singer-songwriter John Prine was
put on life support with this disease that ‘is going to be over in June’.
I know in my aging bones that none of our lives will ever be
the same. And, as for the game we love, what happens if we don’t find a cure
for this by the time it wakes up again next spring? Another season of this
shit? What are we going to be eating by then? Soylent Green?
I talked last night with someone whose name you would instantly
recognize. He agreed with me that he thinks baseball will not return this year,
but no one is ready to write that yet. Even sportswriters are holding out for a
miracle.
I was trying to fill up the site with posts about things that
we wrote here in the past and lists of the greatest this and the greatest that.
They call this ‘filler’,
I stopped, not because I thought you were uninspired to read
them, but the fact that I was uninspired to print them.
Instead, let’s be real here and deal with what’s on our TV
screen 24/7 and relate it as much as we can to the sport we love and miss.
I will do this daily around this time each day.
I invite your participation.
40 comments:
I don’t know why, but I just can’t see “no season” this year. Yes, the NYC metro area is badly stricken and we are learning about Florida, New Orleans, and we know Los Angeles and Chicago are heavy... I think we should have quarantined the tri-state area because as soon as we start opening up parts of our country, those people may look to flee and only with negative scores should they. Not that I don’t love my former home place, but just as I have agreed to voluntarily stay home and close my shop for my employees’ and my own safety, They should to. But will they when they hear other places are thriving and they’re struggling? I get out sometimes and see Home Depot, Lowe’s, Ferguson’s, and many places still busy with people. I ask myself why I’m heeding directives, but then I see my elderly parents and remember. However, people much younger than me have died, so... what’s right?
My point is that if this thing cannot handle temperatures over 80 degrees, we may be safe for this summer but hard to say for the fall and winter without a cure. However, I don’t see why baseball would take a whole year off. What’s the benefit to that? Play 100 games by having a double header a week for three months. My opinion.
John Prine can't be sick. We were assured in January there was no virus and it was all a Chinese hoax never destined to impact the USA. Could we have been fed misinformation? Say it ain't so.
Tex-
Good points; however,
1. There still is no proof this virus will 'go to sleep' in hot weather.
2. The baseball players that play in this game live in around 49 states right now (don't think there are any in Alaska). Let's remember they have to first be cleared there before joining their teams in either Arizona or Florida for 'spring training 2'.
3. 'Taking the whole season off' may be the only way to guarantee the safety to both the coaches and players of each team.
Reese -
We all had this wrong in January. We were dealing with limited information coming out of a Communistic country.
I totally agree with you that we said the wrong things then and we probably are still afraid to say what we really think.
This is a testing time for ALL our leaders. You say things will get better, you are slammed when they don't. You say things will go to hell and there will be no guns left in the stores.
At least we have the Kennedy Center safe.
No, Mack, "we" did not have this wrong in January. You are using Fox News talking points here, not reality.
The scientists knew and were vocal, which is why so many of us were instantly outraged by the presidents calling it a "hoax" and blaming the democrats and having people talk about how it was "under control" and so on.
Blaming on the communists is just an old, tired spin.
Listen to the science, not the politicians.
Jimmy
Jimmy
I was actually using a CNN talking point.
How are you handling this at your home or job?
Jimmy
A Communist origin is a spin?
Okay... where did this start then?
Guiliani interviewed a Hasidic doc, who claims to have had hundreds of cases, only 3 hospitalized, non intubated, saying he used a drug cocktail of
1) Hydroxychloroquine 200 mg twice a day for 5 days
2) Azithromycin (spelled correctly?) - 500 mg once a day for 5 days
3) Zinc - 220 mg once a day for 5 days
https://techstartups.com/2020/03/28/dr-vladimir-zelenko-now-treated-699-coronavirus-patients-100-success-using-hydroxychloroquine-sulfate-zinc-z-pak-update/?fbclid=IwAR18tc-FJHFTMgnuTxT8PJzMtF-PoduS7KZp7UV_F6fO9ubK_5oVZYfNFgc
Give it a watch, see what you think.
Dr Birx thinks all cities could experience what NYC is now experiencing, to varying degrees - since that seems like it could be happening in future weeks, that pushes out any thoughts of restarting baseball.
In Suffolk County, where I live, there were 662 confirmed cases on March 22. Now there are over 5000 just 8 days hence. Even with ever-expanding testing, an 8 fold increase in 8 days is scary.
One of my brothers (not Steve) got it, and seems to be doing OK - still, while he waited 8 days for the results, he said it felt like nothing he had ever gotten before.
Three other people I know said the same thing when they were extremely sick with the "flu" like never before - back in January. Who knows if they were early cases?
Tom
I opened up the site to this kind of post so we all talk about what is on our minds, regardless of what we think politically.
Please lock yourself up Tom.
All -
One thing.
I am very glad I did this.
People like Reese and Jimmy don't agree with people like me on a lot of things, but I think we can all agree that it makes no sense to say that everything will be cool by Easter.
Please... please keep up the communication here.
John Sickles just said that a 60 game MLB season starting in August with no fans looks possible but he sees the entire minor league season shut down until 2021.
I think MLB & MLBPA should agree that they will play baseball in front of empty stadiums or will we never see baseball in 2020 or maybe even 2021 depending o how fast they can come up with a vaccine. Even with a vaccine people will die just a lot less hopefully. People die every year from the flu now.
I read an article that said if all the baseball players were to come down with the flu they would do very well because they are young and very healthy. The only ones you would need to protect is the managers, coaches and trainers. Use social distancing in these cases.
Sports in the USA has to start up again for the mental health of the public
March 30, 2020 at 10:02 AM
We have firemen, policemen, doctors, nurses, people who fill the grocery shelves all making a lot less than baseball players. Why can’t MLB agree to play in empty stadiums. Plus I can see a plan should be developed that only people who have had the virus and are therefore immune can be let into the stadiums. This way you would start filling up stadiums slowly. I can not understand why MLB and MLBPA can not figure out a plan in which they would feel safe.
Are the MLB teams paying their ballplayers millions of dollars to stay home?
MLB should talk to Dr. Faucci how to proceed.
Raw
Interesting...
I think closing down the minor leagues for the season is a bad decision. It puts all of these ballplayer dreams of being major leaguers one year later. I do not know why they can not play in empty stadiums until fans can be let back in. In the meantime the games should be on local TV stations. Most of the cases these teams use only buses to get from one stadium to another. There should be a way to make these buses completely clean before the players get on the bus. If this doesn’t work let them drive to games.
There is talk about a second wave from Dr. Faucci possible coming this fall. If that happens then we lose baseball for 2021.
Mack, to the extent I can, I am.
My wife wanted to get out yesterday, so we drove to a friend's yesterday. Pull up, he's in driveway. We motion to him to keep distance, yet he keeps closing in towards our car, regardless, and before he got to within 10 feet, we drove off.
A guy we know, a former cop who works as a non-cop now in Manhattan and lives in western Queens (I think close to Elmhurst hospital, which was inundated), on March 10 posted on facebook: The Virus Is Fake News.
From such people stay far, far away.
People are often stupid, frankly.
Getting back to the first guy, why people don't understand you can converse 50 feet away just fine is beyond me. Sound, after all, does travel.
I saw a video of a church in New Orleans that still had service on Sunday!
Raw
You are looking at this with a half filled glass.
I look at it as a half empty version.
I am a high risk 73 year old that wants to see all my grandchildren someday graduate college.
The worst thing that can happen to these high school players is they lose one year for the sake of safety.
1000 more people tested positive in Florida yesterday. Would you chose to allow your grandson to go train in that state this year?
Tom
Did you see that packed in crowd at that mega church in Tampa? Isthat safe religion?
I talk to my brother in law every day. He lives in Long Island. He says this with love. Says New Yorkers are basically stupid over this.
I lived in an east side high rise. Do you really think everyone in that building is riding alone each time they get in their elevator?
If people get upset when I bring up facts of a political nature they will go absolutely ballistic if I tackle religion. However, for the sake of the parishioners, just stop doing masses. Spirituality is an internal thing and does not require the transmission of viruses.
Reese
They just issued an arrest warrant for the priest that held that service.
Now when it comes to religion, you and I are in agreement.
As for politics, you are free to state your opinions n these updates.
Mack, some Christians are hyper-faith. Maybe that FLorida church was. That can get you super-dead, because it is super-presumptuous and based on selective bible verse picking. A smart Christian will find you other verses to set them straight.
If some believers want to act invulnerable, then go outside for a long, leisurely walk when tornadoes are nearby. No different Regardless of faith, or lack thereof, stupid people will get sick, get others sick, and get health care workers sick - and get people dead.
Heck, in NJ, they were breaking up Corona parties. Some people are incredibly stupid.
Tom -
I lost my faith years ago in South East Asia.
How can any God justify carnage like that?
Don't any live outside the country, especially in the Carib?
This is actually something I can agree with Reese on, so I guess it's not all bad. 😝
Nobody seems to notice, but Trump and his experts keep telling us, "no more than 10 people in a group, and 6 feet apart".
Then he gives his updates with a crowd behind him (I counted 14 at the signing of the bailout), standing for an hour+, shoulder to shoulder.
Classic case of "do as I say, not...". 🤬
Have you seen evidence that people who have recovered are now immune? It's a theory being tested, but no results yet.
I hope it's true. 🤞
Actually, there is now evidence that some in China that were treated and then released have now come down with it again.
Got me on that one.
In a few weeks, we will be seeing people having Easter dinners and Passover Seders, with multiple friends and family at the table.
You can't force people to be sensible.
My housing community had a meeting of the pool committee yesterday. Walked by them talking 6 inches away from each other.
Bill
I do not understand the man anymore.
He makes no sense. Stay off the stage and let the man you named in charge of this handle the press releases.
He simply can not help himself.
You asked me if I would let my grandson go train in Florida which just had 1000 new cases. My answer to you, what if you grandson was a policeman, fireman, doctor, nurse or grocery clerk. Would you tell all of these people to stay home from their work. If feel if you have security at the training fields and you have a closed facility where the players could come and go and just be among other players. As far as I know they are playing baseball in South Korea even though they have new cases every day.
Not sure why MLB decided to have a draft this year if there is no place for these players to play after they are drafted
Raw
South Korea delayed the start of the season again.
As for police and firemen, the last I look none of them were 18 years old.
I think it going to be a long time before we see sports again in the USA. Sports will not be able to start up again until we get a vaccine and that will not be until a year or year and a half away. Not even sure if that will work because you have to make sure you have enough for anyone who wants it.
Do you think the Wilson’s can sell the Mets under these circumstances?
My guess...
Yes and at a reduced price.
They have ordered their real estate people to dump NOW
Someone like Steve Cohen will move in quckly at around a 1 bil figure.
Great Post Mack. Thanks for doing this.
To answer Raw’s question on why they can’t play in front of empty stadiums, is you will be paying players without getting revenue. I parking revenue, no concessions, and of course, the ticket buyers. Imagine at around an average of just $70 a ticket for say 30,000. That’s $2.1MM revenue for that game alone. Yes there are expenses like electricity, paying ushers and other employees, and sharing 40% with the visiting team, but those revenues are irreplaceable if you want to pay players
Texas Gus, if fans can't come, players will be have to be paid less somehow. Would Max Scherzer, for instance, pitch for $500,000 a start rather than $1 million? Game has to be financially viable for owners.
Society has to come up with some way we can start opening venues up again. Whether it be ballparks, theater, concerts, etc. We did our scientists, and medical experts come up with some way for us to do this or we are going to be a closed society for a long time to come.
Agree that this is a terrible period but we will survive as long as we bond together. Once again I ask folks to keep this site free of politics.
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