then coronavirus happened, 2020 baseball

the naps is good. they could replace chief wahoo with a cartoonishly over the top napolean character and play “the marseilleise” in the 7th inning

it's time for the Cleveland Drew Carey Shows

the grovers

The Spiders is good (brings back memories of that picture of their striped sweater spring training unis of that famous Cy Young picture):

Cy Young of the 1898 Cleveland Spiders at spring training in Hot Springs, Arkansas, March 1899. pic.twitter.com/4p1GdLnUxv

— Baseballography (@Baseballography) February 17, 2020

but I think I prefer the Cleveland Bone Thugs n Harmony.

the thumb-crop kinda blows it, full img:

https://i.imgur.com/9eOaegG.jpg

lol Cy

the Cleveland Sweaters

Cleveland Dudes

the Cleveland Nine

^real suggestion, i would like that

Happy 4th of July!

Don't forget to wear a mask. pic.twitter.com/Y8pWPsphdS

— MLB (@MLB) July 4, 2020

Good for Price.

https://bleacherreport.com/articles/2898865-dodgers-david-price-opts-out-of-2020-season-cites-familys-health-as-priority?utm_source=cnn.com&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=editorial

Posnanski on Cleveland, Lou Sockalexis etc:

https://joeposnanski.substack.com/p/changing-of-a-name

4 cardinals with covid19 now

btw that article morbs posted is really good, one of posnanski's best (that i've read)

very unofficial, incomplete tally:

The following are the reports from teams that I have been able to gather from various media outlets, websites and Twitter pages.

Cardinals: Ricardo Sanchez, Genesis Cabrera plus one identified individual. [ZS edit: + Elehuris Montero, as of this morning]

Braves: Freddie Freeman, Pete Kozma, Touki Toussaint, Will Smith.

Cubs: Two staff members. That total may or may not include Pitching Coach Tommy Hottovy, who disclosed his struggles with his diagnosis.

Reds: Two unnamed players.

Astros: When asked why Yordan Alvarez was not in Houston, manager Dusty Baker said he couldn’t answer because of “league mandates.”

Rockies: Charlie Blackmon, Phillip Diehl, Ryan Castellani

Royals: Salvador Perez. Manager Mike Matheny disclosed that he had the virus several weeks ago.

Angels: Two unnamed players.

Brewers: None at intake, but positive cases from testing in previous weeks.

Twins: Willians Astudillo, Nick Gordon, Edwar Colina, Miguel Sano

Mets: One 40-man roster player.

Padres: Tommy Pham

Giants: 1st round draft choice Hunter Bishop.

Mariners: “More than one player.”

Phillies: 7 players and 5 staff members. 4 players were disclosed and have been placed on the COVID-19 Related Injury List—Scott Kingery, Hector Neris, Ranger Suarez, Tommy Hunter.

Blue Jays: Unconfirmed, but there were 4 phantom injury list placements with no injury disclosed—Jonathan Davis, Elvis Luciano, Brandon Drury, Hector Perez

Indians: Delino DeShields, Jr.

Rangers: Brett Martin

Dodgers: Club has seen positives, but won’t clarify whether they are active players

Keep in mind that an unknown number of these are in addition to the 31 positive tests that MLB and MLBPA disclosed the other day. By my count, there are potentially at least 4 other clubs that have cases that have not been disclosed, likely more.

+ those who have opted out:

RHP Mike Leake, Arizona Diamondbacks
RHP Joe Ross, Washington Nationals
3B Ryan Zimmerman, Washington Nationals
LHP David Price, Los Angeles Dodgers
CF Ian Desmond, Colorado Rockies
C Welington Castillo, Washington Nationals
RHP Tyson Ross, San Francisco Giants

NYY: DJ LeMahieu and reliever Luis Cessa

Posi

keepin it posi

this whole thing seems increasingly fucked up and no one has the wisdom or courage to shut it down

The first few days of Major League Baseball’s planned return amid the COVID-19 pandemic has been bizarre, players throwing in masks and managers wearing gloves as they leave the stadium. It’s also served as a stark reminder of how complicated the testing and policing process will be.

First, intake tests have been woefully incomplete, forcing teams to change or postpone workouts, and the player’s promised personal protection equipment has not yet arrived.

While MLB released an official statement Friday saying that the first intake results totaled just 1.2 percent (38 out of 3,185) of those tested, it comes with an important caveat: a vast majority of teams had incomplete or pending results. They were not able to submit those to the league by the deadline.

“This has to get fixed,” said Nationals reliever Sean Doolittle, who — as usual — provided honest, articulate commentary about an unprecedented endeavor. “There is a lot of players right now that are trying to make decisions that might be participating in camp that aren’t 100 percent comfortable with where things are at right now. That’s where I am.”

Doolittle has been tested four times, half of which have taken longer than 48 hours to get results. As he spoke on Sunday over Zoom, he paused for a minute to check his cell phone. Still no results from Friday’s test.

There was initial skepticism that one lab in Salt Lake City, Utah would be able to handle the volume of the league’s tests with a turnaround of 24-48 hours. Those concerns seem more valid after the first weekend. On Sunday, Oakland was forced to cancel its position players’ workout because it didn’t have all its intake test results. The A’s pitchers and catchers still took the field, but with an already shortened three-week summer camp, that hardly seems fair.

I can’t believe they aren’t just doing all grapefruit/cactus games

I’d go to a game in the current situation. No one around me in stands? Just the way I like it.

wait, are they intentionally trying to "pox-party" all the players/staff so that they'll be immune by the time the season starts?

The Athletic also learned from sources that testers did not show for Angels and two other, unidentified clubs Sunday. Angels players did saliva tests on their own; team shipped tests to lab in Utah. Monday workout pushed back from 9 am PT noon to make sure testers are present. https://t.co/BGD0FQGmGr

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 6, 2020

mookie where is your last quote from?

https://theathletic.com/1910362/2020/07/05/this-has-to-get-fixed-mlbs-incomplete-data-delayed-results-and-missing-ppe

I’m honestly amazed. They had months to get ready for this.

astros canceling their practice today because they're still waiting on test results from friday.

ultimately, i think this is a good thing (for the country), because it helps draw attention to the dismal testing situation. trump admin doesn't care about regular people waiting for tests, but if people start complaining about the baseball men they might start to pay attention again

it also brings out a lot of strange comments from people who automatically assume that the baseball men should get access to better/faster tests than the rest of the population

thanks

nats also cancelled practice today after not getting results back 72 hours after tests

even if everything worked as planned, doing tests every other day and having the results take 48 hours leaves some big holes

waiting for some big names to start opting out

#Braves Nick Markakis on making his decision to opt-out: "I was excited to get back to playing just as much as everybody else... I think the biggest thing is I talked to Freddie Freeman and just hearing the way he sounded on the phone just opened my eyes."

— Grant McAuley (@grantmcauley) July 6, 2020

#STLCards have cancelled their workout today because of delayed testing results.

"There's a little frustration in our camp as far as getting test results." --Mozeliak on a Zoom call with reporters.

— Anne Rogers (@anne__rogers) July 6, 2020

schedules have been announced. opening day on 7/23 (yankees v nats, giants v dodgers), with the rest of the league on 7/24. last day of the season on 9/27.

also lol at this event:

8/13: White Sox and Cardinals play in a special Field of Dreams Game in Dyersville, Iowa.

ah yes, playing baseball in masks in front of no one, to honor a fictional story that's not actually about baseball. tradition!

I'm told that Jesus Luzardo did test positive for the coronavirus. He will have to self-isolate for 14 days as per the MLB safety protocol.

— Susan Slusser (@susanslusser) July 7, 2020

Update on Bruce Maxwell (2017 regular-season game chatter) from Howard Bryant:

When Maxwell looks at an America in reckoning after the killing of George Floyd by the Minneapolis police, he sees that America, the America of 2017, and it informs his cynical view and justifiable rage. He sees GMs in a game that has ruined countless careers of players who were outspoken then -- GMs who did not sign him after his protest now holding up Black Lives Matter signs at the 2020 draft. He sees players who did not support him then now being lauded for their courage facing racism. This week, Cincinnati Reds All-Star first baseman Joey Votto took batting practice wearing a Black Lives Matter T-shirt. On June 26, The Wall Street Journal profiled several Black executives, silent for years, who now want to talk. Black players who weren't there for Maxwell then are now seeing their outspokenness carrying more reward than risk -- the same people who did not speak with him then are being listened to now -- all because today's tipping-point moment has made it safe for them to speak. He does not see courage. They risked nothing.

"The season's gonna resume. They're going to get more fame because it's going to look like they're standing up for what's right," Maxwell says. "They're making T-shirts and they're showing they care, but they don't go back to the original sacrificed person. Where was all of this then? It's easy to talk because everyone's talking. I was out there by myself. I'm bitter as f---, and I'm not hiding it."

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/29414410/the-exile-oakland-bruce-maxwell-birth-mlb-black-player-movement

(Incredible article.)

it is very good

Who wore it better? #CampColiseum pic.twitter.com/eMmUPeLso5

— Oakland A's (@Athletics) July 8, 2020

love it

At the start of summer training, Martinez took a few sips of water, went to spit it out, then realized he had a mask on. Scherzer, the Nationals’ 35-year-old ace, had started to lick his fingers more in the past few seasons. He liked to rub spit into the bottom of his right palm. He used the bit of moisture to improve his grip on pitches.

Now, though, Scherzer has to replace spit with sweat from the back of his hair. Turner is learning not to spit or crave seeds. Octavio Martinez, one of the Nationals’ bullpen catchers, is considered non-playing personnel and will have to wear a mask while working with pitchers. After Wednesday’s workout, he ran stadium steps and stretched with a mask on, getting used to his new normal.

we're gonna get through this guys

The Rockies are planning on having up to 10k fans in the stands.

that will end well

how many for the Cubs?

How taxi squad works .. 1) 18$ a day and you have to pay 8$ dues”plus tip cause the Clobby is a nice guy . “They provide you 2 meals “ , apartment with out a TV, “you need to get your own tv, sheets for bed, pillows,bathroom stuff, cleaning stuff, kitchen supplies..

— Adbert Alzolay (@adbert29) July 9, 2020

ingrates

wau

Here is what’s going to keep #BlueJays players in their stadium/hotel bubble this summer:

Per multiple sources, players have been told penalty if seen outside ballpark is $750,000 fine and potential jail time.

— Scott Mitchell (@ScottyMitchTSN) July 10, 2020

Ambient 5

Eno details a fascinating development in baseball 2020, and baseball people see another advantage to pre-recorded crowd noise: Teams will be less able to hear sniping from the opposing dugout, defusing potential confrontations. “It may prevent some ugliness,” one coach says. https://t.co/2X4AD6Qy4W

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) July 10, 2020

(I know, I know.)

Eno is a fan of Eno, I asked him once in a Fangraphs chat and he confirmed

btw I hate this idea, why take away the one potentially interesting thing about this situation