Photo credit: Rex Fregosi
There are still nagging financial questions being negotiated between MLB and the MLBPA. The question of vesting options is giving them the most trouble. MLB has formally announced the rule changes for 2020 and there are a lot of them. Once a player has been placed in the 60 man pool, he can only be taken back out of that pool by being exposed to waiver claims or trades, released, outrighted or designated for assignment.
The Toronto Blue Jays appear to have gotten special approval from the Canadian government to play their games in Toronto. Presumably this will involve some kind of exemption from the 14 day quarantine rule for visiting players. The Twins have made a decision to take 68 year old bullpen coach Bob McClure and 66 year old major league coach Bill Evers off the field due to concerns about COVID-19. They will still be paid and will probably take on advisory roles of some sort. Will other teams follow suit and begin a youth movement among their coaching staffs?
Several players have already decided to opt out of the season, including Mike Leake and Ryan Zimmerman. Ian Desmond with powerful words late at night. Anthony Rizzo intends to play despite being a cancer survivor. Aaron Judge intends to play despite having suffered a punctured lung in late February.
Multiple employees of the Rangers tested positive for the coronavirus and an anonymous source says many of them are terrified for their safety. John Heyman has a problem with the term “Summer Camp.” The calls for Fenway Park to crack down on the racism are really heating up.
Ok, it is July 1. ‘Spring’ Training should be upon us.
Commencing the refresh cycle waiting for the annual Rex Fregosi spring training photos. That will be the sign of normalcy – of baseball being back.
Refreshing …. refreshing …. refreshing …………….
(I miss baseball).
July “Spring Training” is happening at Anaheim Stadium, with no spectators allowed. Maybe someone has a drone with a camera they can fly overhead.
Here is to the thoughts and prayers that the ball players all stay safe and healthy. l have seen more doctors in the last 3 months than all the players on the Angels roster. Glad to see Cole and Peters on the roster though as l still am hopeing that those kids have some big years. Tonight there will be no folks rooting for the acts on AGT, kinda going to be like what sports with look like if only the players are involved. Will the NFL play in empty stadiums? Or NCAA Football and Basketball play before no spectators? Well all players should be well rested and strong and healthy going into a 60 game schedule l would believe so maybe we can make the playoffs. Dodging the bullet this season are the Astros as there will be no one to raze them for cheating. Hope to return more often down the road, take care folks.
The best 2:20 you’ll spend today — kids playing baseball. Reminds me of watching the Angels teams in the early 1970s.
https://twitter.com/BaseballCentraI/status/1278076343930978306
I fully support any player who wants to take this year off. Life is about choices and if they are making an informed decision, great. After all the whole point of working hard is to provide for your family.
Ian Desmond gained a lot of respect from me. I think we see the current problems with youth baseball differently, but that doesn’t mean either of us is wrong. He’s ponying up his own time, experience, and resources to fix the problem. THAT deserves respect.
i definitely can ABSOLUTELY support any one’s personal decision though i have two issues with Desmond’s statement so pardon me if i hesitate to join the rush to sanctify him-
1. he basically calls out any and all former teammates in an extremely public manner
2. i’m confused about lack of opportunity he calls out for under-represented minorities – yeah, too bad they don’t have they same kind of privilieges all those kids in the DR have which give them a leg up on American kids in reaching the MLB
It’s the new strategy de jour. When your skills have obviously fallen off, especially if you add that to having big holes in your game to begin with, and your contract is up and you know no one is going to want to pay you a ton of money or start you then “speak truth to power” knowing that 70% of people won’t really be all that angry with you because they mostly agree and you are safe in your mansion anyway. Social media martyrdom…. the new post career broadcasting gig.
When Ian’s 2022 option isn’t picked up it’s not going to be because he sucks at baseball now. It will be because The Man is angry with him.
I’m all for Ian doing what ever he wants. It’s his right. But there’s nothing heroic about this at all. The MLB already builds fields, buys equipment and then sends stars out to beg “under-served” kids to play baseball. If the majority just aren’t into it I don’t see how it’s baseball’s responsibility to change that or how it’s a moral failing not to. There aren’t very many black baseball players, the NBA is mostly black, there are few white wide receivers, both black and white players are under represented in La Liga and Sumo wrestling while MMA is pretty diverse and Chinese people dominate ping pong. People play the sports that interest them. Boo f***ing hoooo.
I see baseball as a symbol of life in general. Go back a generation or two and you had tons of small businesses sponsoring teams and the vast majority of kids had two parents in the stands. It was about having fun.
Nowadays all that has changed and communities as a whole are worse for it. Baseball is just an obvious way of reflecting it.
That’s a good way to look at it. I have noticed, both in sports and music, that there is also a tendency with all kids to just give up on hard things if they don’t see themselves being good at it (and being recognized for it) really fast. When it comes to drums, guitar, baseball or hockey they all seem to do one of two things, give it a try, suck, and give up and play video games, or give it a try, show a lot of early promise, get super into it, spend a ton of their parents money on it, and get really really good.
But I rarely see kids now days who just play ball and don’t mind being the fifth best player on the team, or play guitar and just get off on being able to play songs they like. If they don’t feel like golden gods pretty fast they just give up and do something easier that involves fewer people.
When it comes to sports though I wish USA Tennis would get a little white guilt going on the mens side. I don’t care about tennis, but it is fun to watch when it’s good, and could you imagine if athletes like Allen Iverson and Randy Moss chose to play serve and volley? US Tennis would slaughter everyone, and a good tennis player makes so much money it even dwarfs FIFA stars. Pro tennis should just go to harlem and watts and recruit, Make Tennis Great….. Finally.
If Heyman comes here, I apologize for misspelling his name. (I don’t have the editorial power to fix it now.)
Arte, Arte, Arte….
https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/minor-league-baseball-cancels-2020-season-heres-what-it-means-for-prospects-and-teams/
It is such a self defeating endeavor. Every player the Angels don’t develop is one they have to pay free agent money.
I hope teams really do walk-off the field in Boston and force the removal of racist fans from the stadium. Heckling players about dropped balls and strikeouts is an honored tradition, but racism no longer has a place in baseball.
Also, Heyman is an idiot. If it’s summer and it’s camp, why is calling it Summer Camp inappropriate? And if Spring Training 2.0 isn’t any better, then what the heck do you propose?
If it is so onerous and dicey for the players that we should be calling it something with a danger-affiliated name, then why the hell are we having it?
Don’t think too hard on it. Just clap your hands slowly and acknowledge Heyman’s muscular sensitivity and the intelligent depth of the furrows in his virtuously gleaming brow.
This one in the replies to Heyman made me laugh.
OT: RIP Carl Reiner.
Lot’s of people are described as a legend. He defined the term.