then coronavirus happened, 2020 baseball

If the season ended today — and in 2020, that’s not just a trite turn of phrase — the Orioles would be In the playoffs.

Third-best record in the AL, that's what's up!

Jeff Passan advocating for a single-site postseason bubble. Surely that's theoretically doable?

it would seem possible for a small set of teams, but if they're still thinking of 16 teams participating...maybe not?

i think MLB teams typically have around 60 people in their traveling party, so that's 960 people in the bubble. not sure how that compares to NBA/NHL

Lol Manfred and MLB so hapless.

FA cup just came to a conclusion over here in England and it's remarkable how... non-fraught it all was. They seem to have worked out how to do it.

We are aware that Yadier Molina, Paul DeJong, Junior Fernández, Rangel Ravelo, Edmundo Sosa and Kodi Whitley have tested positive for COVID-19.

All six individuals made the decision to grant permission in order to release this information. pic.twitter.com/tqjcG6SNx0

— St. Louis Cardinals (@Cardinals) August 4, 2020

i’m sure they could do a playoff bubble in arizona. 16 teams is a little awkward but it’s cut in half in a matter of days

apparently we just decided that there will be 28-man rosters *in the playoffs*

maybe the mets can trade billy hamilton for a starter at the deadline

Bieber looking mortal.
Castellanos on the other hand, must have made some insane swing-tweaks in the offseason.

Did the Nationals always dance so much?

through 11 games/392 PA, arizona is batting .194/.273/.266 as a team, with a DH, for a 54 wRC+

well, i guess they were saving it for McCullers, because boy did they ever tee off on him.

brilliant cutting edge ideas:

After coronavirus outbreaks forced Major League Baseball to postpone 21 games over the first two weeks of its season, it is strengthening its protocols, including requiring players and staff to wear face coverings at all times, except for players on the field of play.

Teams were informed of the changes in a memo obtained by the Associated Press, which said teams were told that repeated or flagrant violations could cause a team to be banned for the rest of the 2020 season and/or postseason.

Players are required to wear face masks while in the dugout or bullpen, something MLB’s operations manual had not stipulated before. Since games have begun, most players have not worn masks in the dugout and have been shown exchanging high fives, failing to observe social distancing and spitting. The memo also indicates that umpires must wear face masks at all times, unless they cannot do their jobs.

Each team’s compliance officer will enforce protocols, which require players and staff to wear face coverings at all times in hotels and in public places, including on team buses and airplanes. While on the road, teams must provide a large private room or ballroom where staff and players can get food and maintain social distancing. Players who want to leave the team hotel must get approval from their compliance officer.

Teams are being told to limit the size of their traveling parties to essential personnel and to have unoccupied rows on team buses and to maintain distance seating on flights.

Teams also must provide covered outdoor spaces and areas where players for both teams can maintain social distance during weather delays rather than hanging out in their clubhouses.

each team has a compliance officer... but what about the umps – specifically dipshits like Joe West?! i want someone on his ass 24/7!

not it

It’s good to remind yourself at least once a day that this happened...... pic.twitter.com/U4fTCl6z7O

— Cody Decker (@Decker6) August 6, 2020

dylan bundy has become the dylan bundy he was always meant to be

25:2 K:BB

Uhhhh what the fuck is this @Athletics @AthleticsPR?? Good on Liam for shutting that shit down but your guy is throwing up a Nazi salute, twice. Don’t care if it’s a joke, that’s not cool. Everyone in that uniform is setting an example, and this is bullshit. pic.twitter.com/YnllNST2Py

— Robert (@robert_etc) August 6, 2020

wtf

I had to do a double take when I saw Bundy’s line. Who is even going 9 innings right now?!

you can read the replies this time

MLB has announced schedule changes for a number of teams that have been affected by postponements: pic.twitter.com/TSnZ9N6uzf

— Mark Feinsand (@Feinsand) August 6, 2020

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/08/cardinals-postponed-again-covid-19-outbreak.html

A plane banner reading "Houston Asterisks" will fly over the Coliseum in Oakland before the Astros game today

— 2020 Astros Shame Tour (@AsteriskTour) August 7, 2020

*settles in after a hard week of work*

alright, ready for the cardinals to finally play a game tonight, here we go boys

oh

guess i'll go paint a plant, fuck

Zack Greinke must really hate his teammates 😂 pic.twitter.com/efuA8zQaEA

— The Rickey Henderson of Blogs (@RickeyBlog) August 8, 2020

This DETvPIT game is insane.

wow finish in Oakland last night with A's coming from behind in the 13th to beat Houston

Did they start with a man on second 4 innings in a row??

they did; neither team scored in the 10th-12th

https://www.espn.com/mlb/boxscore?gameId=401225875

I'm surprised more teams aren't rostering something like an "extra-innings" specialist PH:

High speed, bunt/IF-chop for a hit, moves the runner to 3rd and mitigates the double play risk for the following batter.

lol they both successfully bunted the runner over to begin the 10th; didn't try that again

i love when a ghost runner game runs 4:13

sorry, I think it needs to be less of a sacrifice situation but more of a bunt-for-a-hit pure-speed play. Because 0-outs, men on 1st & 3rd and SB-speed on 1st = 90+% run-probability.

So, the #Cardinals, if they are to play a 60-game schedule, now would have to play 55 games in 49 days. That assumes they play the Pirates Monday, far from a given. https://t.co/eyHxQNYMWa

— Mark Saxon (@markasaxon) August 7, 2020

guy who knows anything at all about covid19 voice: there's no fucking way they play monday's game

MLB is on record that they are fine with some teams playing <60 games

This DETvPIT game is insane.

― Jersey Al (Albert R. Broccoli), Friday, August 7, 2020 8:29 PM (yesterday)

omg haha, they are continuing where they left off...

Altuve commits his 3rd error... of the inning. twitterers say he's officially rattled.

It’s too late for me to make any money on this or win the bold prediction lottery but I could totally see a team approaching 40 wins in this... event. Between variance and the ongoing threat of death I can see a bunch of high end players just vanishing or developing “symptoms” if the team starts 10-20 or something like that

W. Yacksel Ríos

Playoff spots are determined by winning percentage, so it can be an advantage to miss some games -- fewer games = less regression to the mean. There is no way that the Cards will be forced to make up more than seven games. Cue the controversy when a 30-30 team misses the playoff cut and a 26-25 team makes it in.

Guys I think there might be an asterisk over this season

madison bumgarner: 17.1 IP, 7 HR, 8.62 FIP, hardest-thrown pitch today was 87.7

one day i'll write up a whole thing about how the "if you throw 650 innings before age 24 your arm won't make it to 30" thing is very real

(unless you're sutton or maddux or blyleven and you didn't really need your velocity anyway)

Wasnt Maddux a hard thrower for the first half of his career?

not really, the most generous sources i can find say he occasionally hit 93 in the beginning. his velo still dropped and it didn't matter because he's greg maddux.

i'm hopeful that kershaw can last 5 or 6 more years off his wits and ability to evolve, assuming he can stay off the IL

Hitting 93 in the late 80's/early 90's meant you were a power pitcher! Not many guys threw harder than that, but he didn't become dominant until he found his control and started winning Cy Youngs every year. By that time, he understood that he didn't need to throw hard to succeed.

Bumgarner's velo might go up as the season goes on (he wouldn't be the only guy messed up by the short July "spring" training) but the move from Oracle Park to Chase Field isn't going away.

Clemens and Seaver threw a lot of innings early, but they were under your 650 threshold, and are obviously exceptions anyway.

The league OBP is .311, which would be the lowest since 1972, another year that led to an important rules change. Since the rubber was set at 60'6" in 1893, there have been just 11 seasons of lower OBP.

— Joe Sheehan (@joe_sheehan) August 10, 2020

I wonder if the notion of a 60-game season (and prospect of an even shorter one) is causing hitters to press a little, knowing you can put up some big small-sample numbers