2020 MLB Season Thread

[brucejoel99]

The owners' proposal is a real laugher. You want these men to put their bodies on the line for peanuts? Ownership has no sense of patriotic duty and no sense to do anything to expand the audience for most easily playable sport during an airborne pandemic. Then no season it is! The players don't look like the bad guys at all!

Yeah, the offer that the owners submitted to the players is a slap in the face, not least since it's the players & managers who are taking on the extra risk. The owners trying to screw the players over while simultaneously painting them as greedy is beyond shameless. If there isn't a season, then the owners will only have themselves to blame.

[brucejoel99]

The 2020 MLB Draft will be held over two nights and 5 rounds. The 1st Round and Competitive Balance Round A will be on 06.10.2020 and the rest of the rounds will be on 06.11.2020.

Can't wait to watch all 5 rounds & the 3 free agents that'll be signed for $20K.

[brucejoel99]

https://twitter.com/jeffpassan/status/1267277338468810755?s=21
"Welcome to the 2020 World Series between the Minnesota Twins & the Chicago Cubs. It's December 4th & the temperature is currently minus 10 here at Wrigley Field. Now let's play ball!"

[brucejoel99]

Its gonna be rejected by the owners ESPN is reporting

Yeah, at this point, I feel like we're either gonna see A) the players agree to something similar to what's been tossed around, wherein they'd play like 100 games for 50% of their normal salary (though the owners don't seem inclined to agree to it); or B) them playing a significantly-shortened season (~60 games) with expanded playoffs. Hell, the playoffs will probably end up being the only profitable part of this season anyway.

[brucejoel99]

The MLB & the MLBPA have reached an agreement on the 2020 season, so you know what that means: baseball is BACK!

Players will get their full pro-rated salaries for the 60-game regular season: a 60-game season is 37% of a normal 162-game season, so a player making $25 million per year will make about $9.4 million, & a player making $10 million will make $3.7 million. Additionally, all players (high-risk or not) will be allowed to opt out for the season, but those players who aren't high-risk or who aren't living with a high-risk person &/or a pregnant spouse won't be paid.

Players are reporting to 'spring' training camps by July 1st so they can undergo COVID-19 testing, with 'spring' training officially beginning on July 3rd. Rosters will expand to 30 active players to begin the season, though that number will drop to 28 after 2 weeks & to 26 after 4 weeks. Aug. 31st will mark the delayed season's trade deadline.

The regular season will start on July 24th & end on Sept. 27th, so that's 60 games crammed into 66 days. Teams will stay in their geographic regions to limit travel, with teams playing 40 games in-division & 20 games interleague with their geographic counterpart (so, for example, the Marlins will play 40 games - 10 apiece - vs. their NL East opponents, & 20 games - 5 apiece - vs. the AL East teams). The playoffs will proceed as normal, with 3 division-winners & 2 wild-cards per league.

As for changes to the game itself, the designated hitter will be universal this season as an added protective measure to help prevent pitcher injury, but the DH will NOT be universal in 2021, the final year of the current collective bargaining agreement (beyond that CBA, however, we could end up seeing the universal DH stick for good) & extra innings will begin with a runner on 2nd base (if the MiLB rules are adopted, then it'll be the batter in the order prior to that inning's leadoff hitter) so as to prevent marathon games.

[brucejoel99]

They're gonna keep the Universal DH, I can see it. We have seen the last of pitchers hitting and its a horrible thing. I can keep solace that I saw live Johan Santana hit a home run off the foul poll after several successive foul balls. Truly a travesty.

Yeah, I'm not offended by the existence of the DH or anything, but I do like the idea of different rules for both leagues. It makes interleague games far more interesting than interconference games in hockey & basketball.

And maybe I'm a bit biased here, being a fan of the NL, but I love pitchers who rake. Who among us didn't at least crack a smile when Bartolo hit his first HR after almost 2 decades in the majors? That's the great content I signed up for. Bartolo hitting a HR was basically the moment of the decade, but stuff like that won't happen again if they permanently make the DH universal.

But hey, right here & right now, I'm just happy we'll see some baseball in 2020.

Now, LET'S F**KING GO MARLINS (I can dream) !!!

[brucejoel99]

I don't think people appreciate just how weird this season might get. Because of that, this is just some random BS I think is reasonably possible & doesn't reflect who I actually think the best teams are.

AL: Twins, A's, Blue Jays, Yankees (WC1), Mariners (WC2)

Twins secure the top seed by beating up the Tigers & Royals all season. The Blue Jays call Pearson up & he immediately begins kicking ass, & Grichuk's Yankee-killing powers secure the division title. The Mariners sneak into the playoffs with something like a 32-28 record, but everybody still memes their drought.

NL: Rockies, Braves, Reds, Dodgers (WC1), Giants (WC2)

Because 2020 is stupid, the Rockies randomly end up with the best rotation in baseball. Freeland is the Comeback Player of the Year, Gray remains solid, & Marquez is the year's obligatory random starter who manages a 1.00 ERA through 10 or so starts.

The Giants use their even-year baseball superiority to make their way into the World Series because why not.

[brucejoel99]

Tigers are actually looking pretty dang good so far, they took the series against the Reds 2-1, and the pen has looked solid. It's likely a fluke series, but I was still impressed by what I saw from Jacoby Jones and Gregory Soto. The bats looked good against the Reds bullpen, CJ Cron hit 2 home runs during the series and he had some great defensive saves. I still definitely doubt this team, but I am sure that we have a bright future in the motor city.

Technically equivalent to a 5 (& a 1/2) game winning streak!

[brucejoel99]

The Marlins & Orioles will face off tomorrow as the first-place teams in the NL & AL East...

What a f**king world we live in. Then again, the more I think about it, the more 2020 just feels like a Marlins World Series type of year.

[brucejoel99]

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/29544264/report-astros-ace-justin-verlander-done-season

Justin Verlander is out with a forearm strain, and may be done for the season.

Of course...If Houston makes a run in the playoffs, Verlander might return...

The Astros' karma is fluctuating like crazy.

[brucejoel99]

Y'know, a lot of people are focusing on the health risks for the players (which - as we've seen from E-Rod developing myocarditis - can be really serious), but I think what's not being given enough attention is the risk that coaching staffs have been exposing themselves to. Some of these guys are pretty old.

[brucejoel99]

I'm guessing they'll have to use winning percentage to determine playoff eligibility now (that is, if the season even makes it to the finish line).

[brucejoel99]

At this point, our 2020 World Series winner will just end up being COVID-19.

In any event, though, here's info on the revised schedule for the Yankees, Orioles, Nationals, Phillies, & Marlins.

[brucejoel99]

I was so excited for baseball & the Marlins' dumbassery resulting in their being off for almost a week has kinda torpedoed that excitement for me :/

[brucejoel99]

I was so excited for baseball & the Marlins' dumbassery resulting in their being off for almost a week has kinda torpedoed that excitement for me :/

They are bad so it's ok...

Yeah, but us Marlins fans live on the annual 'beginning-of-the-season' hope that "this might be the year they're not as bad."

[brucejoel99]

I was so excited for baseball & the Marlins' dumbassery resulting in their being off for almost a week has kinda torpedoed that excitement for me :/

They are bad so it's ok...

Yeah, but us Marlins fans live on the annual 'beginning-of-the-season' hope that "this might be the year they're not as bad."

The Marlins have fans?

There are dozens of us! DOZENS!

[brucejoel99]

ooopsie.
https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/29570869/source-mlb-calls-cardinals-brewers-game-due-coronavirus

Yeah, there's no chance the season finishes.

[brucejoel99]

It's just not feasible for there to still be an entire season if games are being postponed pretty much everyday. There just won't be enough time.

Not to mention, a few governments are probably gonna start paying attention if all these road teams keep bringing the virus in across state lines. That in & of itself is also a major threat to the season finishing.

[brucejoel99]

Manfred needs to do the right thing and cancel the season.

The NBA and MLS should also realize that a "bubble" is no protection and shut down too.

There should be no sports until there is a safe, proven vaccine.

The bubbles are working, though. The right thing for Manfred to have done would've been to fight for one in their negotiations with the players.

[brucejoel99]

Manfred needs to do the right thing and cancel the season.

The NBA and MLS should also realize that a "bubble" is no protection and shut down too.

There should be no sports until there is a safe, proven vaccine.

The bubbles are working, though. The right thing for Manfred to have done would've been to fight for one in their negotiations with the players.

Yes, because Major League Baseball Players, the most selfish and overpaid players in all of sports (not that the owners are any better) would have agreed to the conditions that came with a bubble.

Yes, the players are looking really dumb right now for declining the bubble option, but it's not like MLB even made any legitimate effort to get a bubble in the first place. They floated it as an idea & players weren't into it. But MLB didn't fight for it or get creative about how to make it happen or how it could be easier for the players. Plus, at the time, they thought it would be closer to a 162-game schedule, not the 50-60 we're getting now.

And it's not like the NBA players loved the idea of the bubble the first time they heard about it without any specifics either. But if MLB had said it's 60 games, we'll split it up into 2-4 regions, we'll figure out how families can get tested & visit once a month or every other month, we'll make it as short as possible with 7-inning double-headers, etc., then they could've made a bubble happen were it a priority. But they fought the MLBPA for pennies, not for the bubble. Hence why the NBA, NHL, & MLS are all off & running while we can't even complete a full week without multiple teams being f**ked.

[brucejoel99]

Just heard on the radio that TV networks are being told to find alternate programming for next week & that Manfred is going around saying that if this weekend doesn't go well, then that might be it. So yeah, the season is probably gonna be halted or outright canceled.

And if this season stops, then it's over, because there's certainly no time left for a 2nd relaunch with actual protocols & a bubble to become a reality. They better focus on figuring something out for next season, because 1/3rd of this country are proud science-deniers & are still acting like f**king children.

So NBA & NHL it is, I guess! But hey, glad we at least got our 3 games in! What a tease.

Oh, & football is never gonna work either, & I doubt NBA & NHL are gonna play a whole season in the bubble next year either, so let's all hope that a successful COVID vaccine is found among the current candidates, because I don't see how sports successfully navigates all of this without one.

[brucejoel99]

https://twitter.com/WCVB/status/1289667334420836352

On the bright side, he's expected to make a full recovery.

However, how many more warning signs does MLB need before they decide that enough is enough? They're really playing with fire here, & I'm not even sure what's gained other than some TV money. I hope that they wise up in time before more players get really sick.

[brucejoel99]

Just heard on the radio that TV networks are being told to find alternate programming for next week & that Manfred is going around saying that if this weekend doesn't go well, then that might be it. So yeah, the season is probably gonna be halted or outright canceled.

And if this season stops, then it's over, because there's certainly no time left for a 2nd relaunch with actual protocols & a bubble to become a reality. They better focus on figuring something out for next season, because 1/3rd of this country are proud science-deniers & are still acting like f**king children.

So NBA & NHL it is, I guess! But hey, glad we at least got our 3 games in! What a tease.

Oh, & football is never gonna work either, & I doubt NBA & NHL are gonna play a whole season in the bubble next year either, so let's all hope that a successful COVID vaccine is found among the current candidates, because I don't see how sports successfully navigates all of this without one.

This sounds like literal fake news. Would love to see a source that isn't speculative reports radio chatter, which is right precisely never. The only people on Twitter demanding this termination are nobodies with an agenda to make everything look as bad as possible. The players do not want it. The owners definitely don't want it. Yesterday's words were clearly an empty threat to players to make them stop going to casinos and strip clubs (sounds like this is an America problem, not a baseball problem that dangerous indoor establishments are open). If the players had any respect for their managers and coaches, they would cut it out.

https://twitter.com/JonHeyman/status/1289632548339900416?s=19

This is Rob Manfred we're talking about here. Given his habit of saying one thing one day then saying the opposite only days later, I'd be very surprised to see the season last another week. Basically none of the players are following any protocols, masks aren't mandatory (90% of the players in the dugouts are maskless), & they're still able to go out. Nobody (be it the players or the league) act like they actually give a sh*t about distancing.

So, yeah. The season is doomed.

[brucejoel99]

https://twitter.com/JeffPassan/status/1290022370984378368

[brucejoel99]

Can't take me out to the ballgame
Gotta stay away from the crowd
There won't be peanuts or crackerjacks
But I'm sure glad that baseball is back
Let me root for the health of the home team
If they get sick it's a shame
For it's 1, 2, 3 positive tests & you're out
At the COVID-era ball gaaaame.