Photo credit: Rex Fregosi. Baseball is back!
Angels News
Here is a summary of what the Angels season will look like. The Angels have signed Reid Detmers at last. The Angels have announced their initial roster. There are 55 men. Reid Detmers is not on it. Chris Rodriguez, on the other hand, is on the 60 man roster and ready to put a bad couple of years behind him. Out of the top 100 starting pitchers for a 60 game season, The Angels have five of them. Happy belated birthday to Jim Edmonds.
General Baseball News
Teams may be asked to play elsewhere if their city is deemed a coronavirus hot spot. I wonder where the diamondbacks are going. I guess the Blue Jays are at least going to do spring training in Toronto. With the 14 day quarantine, they can’t seriously be planning to play their home games there. This is interesting. If whole teams drop out due to coronavirus, MLB may continue the season with the teams that are left. It’s PED suspension season. At least one of these guys went for a drug of abuse.
I’m going to be the naysayer–I’m not excited that baseball is coming back. I’m just as much a baseball fan as anyone on this site, and my love for the Angels goes back to the 1960s. However, what MLB is dishing out is not MLB-level baseball. Sure, they’re MLB players, but the rules have been bastardized, the schedule is ridiculous and the players are gambling with their health, not to mention any fans that get to a game.
If I had the power, I’d shut the game down until next year and hope there’s a vaccine available. Otherwise, some knucklehead who’s been exposed will come to a game and infect thousands. It’s not worth it.
I believe this line of thinking is what’s best for America. Obviously the lockdown’s done a lot more good than harm for all Americans and I think more locking down will only strengthen the over all mental and emotional health of your average American. Nothing like night after night and day after day of nothing to do but re-watch Friends or be alone with your thoughts…. or better yet, your family member’s thoughts AND all the awesome stuff you can find on social media to shape us all into happy and well rounded people.
Soon I think Americans will forsake all these candy assed pass times we came up with in the last century and get back to the activities that made us the great nation we are. We will MAKE things again, like crystal meth and Costco tub gin. Who needs ball games when we can all get into archery and bare knuckle boxing? Maybe we’ll see an end to all the angry jiggling on social media and people will start settling their slights and disagreements by dueling like people with actual spines. Hell, I can see us get bored and hungry enough to pick up our old traditions of pointlessly invading Canada and kicking Mexico’s ass in a war every few years.
Baseball’s overrated. Who’s ready to play whist by candle light for large sums of cash?
get a life
What? You hate whist? How about gin rummy or bridge? They’re all good as long as they can be played by candle light while drinking and gambling. There’s other stuff we can do, have a pack of dogs fight a bear for example, or clear some trees from a pasture. Fishing? Arena sports may never be safe again, along with concerts, movies and many other things, but we will still have options….. like pushing a hoop down a street with a stick while maintaining a good safe distance from each other.
You better bring your own stick or I’m telling Karen.
I am right there with you. I’m still going to watch every single game, though.
Some (reporters) don’t think a season will happen, or if started, will be completed due to lack of a sufficient number of qualified (i.e. MLB ready), healthy players (others?). Your objection may end up being a moot point.
This season is more like an exhibition, so the schedule is cool. Hate the runner at 2B plan; may as well start an extra inning with 2 on, one out.
Doubt if any teams open up their parks.
Be well, and if they don’t play, the Rally Thong has that much more time to air out, yes?
At the end of each season (and game), the Rally Thong is stored in a hermetically sealed safe to maintain its effectiveness. .
i.e. Knockoff Zip lock bag
Yeah. All told it just doesn’t feel like they are actually going to be able to pull off any sort of season. If they do, that’ll be nice, but I wouldn’t hold our breaths for 2020. I’m mostly giving up on this season and am more worried about the NFL season happening.
I had a dream last night where I went to the stadium for a baseball game, teams warming up, and I went to a concession stand to buy some hot dogs and popcorn and whatnot. Then I turned around and went home to eat it and watch the game on TV! HA! Sign of the times. 🙄
Take out only bub
No wings?
Wonder who the first star star to drop out will be
Albert.
Not a chance. He is very close to passing Willie Mays on the All-Time HR list and moving ahead of Arod on the All-Time RBI list.
You can bet Albert wants to play.
I jest.
Mike Leake. See Rahul above.
Wouldn’t call Leake, Desmond or Zimmerman stars… “established/well known”, yes.
You know, Albert is in the high risk age group… > 65.
Will Spring Training include games against other teams? Intersquad? What? Will it be televised?
No, No, No, and No. it isn’t official yet with the schedule, but I read somewhere it is just practice and training at the various teams own stadium and then right to the real games, no practice games v. other teams. No preseason Freeway Series.
I’m glad. I never liked preseason games — just made me impatient for the start of the Regular Season. I could never understand how people shell out good money for the preseason product.
Update: https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/06/mlb-rule-changes-2020-health-safety-protocols.html
Apparently teams can schedule up to 3 exhibition games (and unlimited intrasquad games).
Beat me to it. Yeah I saw this on Bleacher Report. It said also that if a team needs to, it can schedule exhibition games against the team it will face in the season opener.
Cool that C-Rod, Adams, and some others will get to be on the 60-man roster. Not that they’ll get much game time, but a cool experience nonetheless.
It is like extended spring training, but with all the big league coaches and perhaps easier for them to be called up if they are doing well (or the team really isn’t).
Definitely.
Whoa, Mike Leake of the DBacks just opted out of the season. First player to do so in MLB, if I’m not mistaken.
Pssst… Albert (hint)?
Nah mang, I’m in the best shape of my life.
So, do to the Corona virus, teams will drop out one by one as the season progresses. That is some desperate thinking there.
Who would be willing to take advantage of this?
How do you mean?
The league willing to continue on, like it’s a battle against an invisible enemy.
I still don’t think they can pull it off the way it is set up now, and feel they should not have tried in the first place. Too many factors out of their control. Too many people not concerned, and some that may spite the situation.
The other part. Someone is always willing to take advantage. If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t trying.
If Pittsburgh calls in sick, continue? If New York, Boston, or any of the Big 5 call in, then?
It’s all about revenue, no mater what. It doesn’t even need to be COVID-19, could just be injuries beyond being able to replace. I would think if you made a trade, a 14 waiting period should be mandatory before reporting. Quarantine? Don’t think the union would allow that kind of isolating.
So many things to this that just haven’t been covered, just because it is still mostly unknown.
Catcher batter umpire, all well within six feet. Play at the plate? Add more players, less distancing. Lots to factor in here. One guy transmits? Two teams, at least, gone. Umpire crew, gonzo. Game before travel day. Could be more, Thanos snaps.
I’d rather they try now and figure some stuff out. If they have to shut it down for 2020, so be it, but maybe it will put them in a better position for 2021.
We need to learn to live with this thing. Hoping it goes away or there is a vaccine is a flawed strategy.
You gotta wonder how many teams have to drop out before we bemoan the loss of “competitive integrity” in the game.
Depends on the popularity of the team, and how much pull, inspired, the owner has.