Tuesday, July 7, 2020
Preseason Update: More Fear and Loathing(of Coronavirus) in Oracle Park
Anyone who was optimistic about the upcoming baseball season actually taking place got a rude wakeup call today as the Giants had to cancel practice at Oracle Park due to delays in getting results from test samples obtained over the weekend. That is pretty much a microcosm of the entire country right now. On top of that, there are reports of positive tests keep piling up with up to 10 players missing from some training camps with speculation it is due to positive tests.
I think i'll start taking over/under's for how many more days we have before MLB shuts down again.
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July 23!
ReplyDeleteRather July 22.
On the 23rd it's:
Giants @ Dodgers 10:08 PM ET Dodger Stadium - Los Angeles, CA, 1st of 4 game series!
Then Home for the Padres and Rangers, 3 each before going to Colorado for 4 and back to LA for the Dodgers (?) before heading to Houston!
Some on your blog, Doc, don't think highly of Texas and SD relishes in underachievement, but that's 10 tough games to start before things relly go down hill.
The "under" July 22 may save the season!
See
https://www.google.com/search?client=firefox-b-1-d&q=sf+giants+2020+schedule#sie=t;/m/0713r;4;/m/09p14;mt;fp;1;;
Yeah, DrB, I hate to be a downer but I just don't see this working. As much as I love baseball, public health comes first. And this virus is nowhere near under control right now.
ReplyDeleteMy bet is that the cancellation call comes this Friday.
Either Richard Justice or I is very wrong about the National League.
ReplyDeleteRichard Justice: National League fans will love the designated hitter. Look, NL fans only think they hate the DH. They’ve convinced themselves that it’s not real baseball (it is) and that it takes a strategic element away from the game (it’s complicated). Besides that, the era of pitchers hitting has passed. NL pitchers batted .131 in 2019, and that’s no one’s idea of fun.
Some will like it but I think a LOT will HATE IT!
That's if there is a season. Don't know the over/under date, but how can they have a season with players coming down with it and so many opting out?
As a baseball fan, I hope there is some kind of baseball season this year. The way things look right now on the public health front, I would say the odds are against it.
DeleteRe. DH. I hated the idea for the longest time, but I sick of seeing the #5 and #7 batters get on base and realize there is almost no chance either of the are going to score. Give me that extra good hitter and make pitchers work to get out of innings. Bring it on!
Also strange to me are pitchers opting out: with the DH they don't bat & they don't run the bases; they mostly stand in the middle of the diamond avoiding proximity with others with some backup duties deep behind 3rd or home and an occasional run to 1st to get an out which is their sole possible encounter with a virus.
DeleteWithout an excusing medical condition of their own, a pregnant wife is their greatest risk.
With seemingly so many players showing up with the virus I wonder if they've taken the least precaution.
There are some of us with age and conditions who live in constant fear of a death sentence when forced to a store, avoiding our grown children and our grandchildren (in my case from 2 yo to 33).
Oh yes, pitchers have it so tough without an easy out in the 9 hole when they cleverly design their game to get to that situation which in a close game disappears with a PH.
I love the National League game with its strategy, punctured by an occasional Bumgarner.
Eh, there is covering 1B on grounders to the right side, covering home plate on PB's and WP's. Now there is some emerging evidence of airborne transmission beyond the 6 ft radius. I am not going to criticize anyone for opting out.
DeleteYes, I think a lot of players probably think they are indestructible and are not being safe in their personal lives. I am sure that is worrisome to older players who have families they are trying to protect.
I have a co-worker who is a good friend. I will stop by his office and chat for a few minutes almost daily. Before eat-in restaurants started to open in California, he shared that he was driving to Arizona and eating in restaurants there. I haven't been back to chat since.
You're right: people do things for their reasons not ours (especially mine).
DeleteIf optouts of players (not so much NRIs) reaches 100, there will be no season.
I thought about covering home late last night. It happens but rarely is there an actual play and often the runner scores standing up.
Using putout stats from Fangraphs, (someone) calculated the average putouts per game by position. The breakdown goes like this:
1B: 8.5
C: 7.6
CF: 2.5
LF: 1.8
RF: 2.0
2B: 1.8
3B: 0.7
SS: 1.4
P: 0.6
Source:
https://forums.operationsports.com/forums/mlb-show-last-gen/640011-putouts-position.html
Without batting or running the bases, a pitcher's worst chance is probably the dugout or locker room.
N95 masks are a good idea when off the field and keeping ones hands out of ones faces helps a lot.