[ESPN] MLB suspends spring training, delays Opening Day at least two weeks

Yes, there is a 15 minute test available, I took it

No idea how easy it is to get in mass quantities

 

They discussed it at length but there was no way the players in mass were going to approve it. They wouldn’t agree to being removed from their families and basic society for that long

We have to remember that just like those of us on this message board, all the players don’t have the same viewpoint on everything that is going on in 2020. Getting a huge majority to agree to that wasn’t happening, especially in an environment like baseball where the players and owners don’t trust each other as far as I can throw a bus

 

Yep, and surpassing Selig on that should have been really hard to do

 

I would think keeping them in a controlled environment would be easier on the road than at home, where they are free to go where they want when they leave the park?

And it’s not like they will be flying commercially?

 

Schedule will be interesting

With everyone playing division teams 10 times each and the other leagues rival division 4 times each, I would guess we see 5 game series with the division teams to reduce travel? And if they plan to keep home/road games equal, will have to have some 2 game series with those teams, or maybe it will be all 4 game series and some teams will have more home or road games?

I’m just glad we will get to kick the Dodgers ass, regardless of where

 

The 5 game series would make sense but the early indication was those would be 3 and 2 game series...just add that to Manfred's ledger.

 

Hotels and the plane itself would be the issue. Masks and staying 6 feet apart are fine if not breathing the same air for hours at time. If left to their own devices, I expect players to have the same number of interactions with people as they do with playing a game of baseball if not more not counting travel related issues.

Based on the number of players infected in initial testing (not even counting the ones that couldn't make it to testing), players not playing baseball during a pandemic just isn't safe.

 

Isn't NBA bubble going to allow families inside it? On being away from society...that's what everyone should be doing whether in a bubble for work or not.

 

Still think it would be as safe or safer than when they are at home and able to roam more

On the plane they will be with people who have been tested every other day. Hotels are at very low occupancy these days

If you compare that to people staying home all the time then I agree it’s more dangerous. Thinking all these young athletes are staying home and being safe in comparison to road trips I just don’t think is the case for many of them, probably most of them

 

From what I’ve read it will start without and will allow females in after a period of time. Also talking about far fewer people in NBA than MLB

 

That surprises me, but with Manfred I guess it shouldn’t

That will be a ton of 2 game series

 

The main, and still unknown, concern is what happens in the event that one player has a false negative test... and then spends hours in a lockeroom, plane, or hotel with the rest of the team? Right now teams are shutting down entire practice facilities (NBA) when they have more than one positive test.... that won't work for a team once the season gets started.

On a somewhat optimistic note, the EPL, which features roster sizes similar to MLB teams, just announced they've had zero positive cases since their season re-started. That's the best case/comparable scenario since they do feature travel and a non-bubble like implementation... then again, you don't use your hands in soccer! (that was a joke).

 

Players shouldn't be spending hours of time in enclosed spaces with their teammates. Plane is a tough nut to crack.

That said. A lot of players got sick without playing. The question is whether they are safer with or without MLB games. The smart and rich players are likely to opt out.

 

There's a pretty big difference between you and your family living in away from society in your own home with all your stuff and your own space vs being in a hotel room somewhere halfway across the country, especially for families with kids starting school in August/etc. NBA only made it work because the regular season is only 2 weeks long, and then people start getting to go home, and more after each round of the playoffs as teams get eliminated - so the numbers shrink quickly.

 

Unfortunately, the UK is averaging 600 new cases daily vs the US at 44,000. It's easy to have no positives in a sports league when your country largely has the virus under control.

 

Agreed... but when they're at the stadium, during a game, where are they truly safe?

Its equivalent to being in a grocery store, or large restaurant with social distancing. Recycled air still an issue. Clubhouse isn't the once safe haven where these guys would spend hours-on-end in. Getting treatment in the medical areas or weight room aren't necessarily safe either. Batting cages, pitching cages, bullpen, etc.

Its not truly avoidable... but the biggest problem is that its so rampant in almost every MLB city right now... timing is pretty god-awful.

 

Agreed.... likely still the biggest variable for an overall league's success... the amount of cases in the society they're trying to re-open.

 

Is the KBO keeping players in a bubble? I know they are traveling but not sure what logistics they are using?

 

Will be interesting to see, not many of the “rich” players have opted out to this point. Price is the only ultra rich category guy to do so. Trout is obviously talking about it but isn’t he in camp?