Jeremiah

Good to see you back.

He was shouting out his Jewish supporters. Challah!

I thought that Manfred told the union that another team-wide outbreak would make MLB consider cancelling. I guess we'll see. This outbreak is not encouraging.

13 Cards staff and players test positive for COVID. Series between DET and StL PPD. https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/29590369/cardinals-tigers-postponed-due-virus-outbreak

Plus here we have all of the early voting locations. That also lessens crowds on election day.

1.) Extend unemployment/stimulus benefits to those who are unable to work during this pandemic. 2.) Where I live, we checked out computers to all kids who needed them. I had nearly 100% attendance in my Zoom classes. T-Mobile and Cox have been working with the local districts to provide internet access to families who need it for distance learning. 3.) That's an issue that isn't materially changed by switching to a distance model. Whether they're in the building or not, I send home reading lists, links to videos that reinforce what we've been working on, give parents tips on how to help their little readers, online resources the kids can use (Kahn Academy, IXL, Accelerated Reader). I don't teach math, but there are similar resources available for that as well. 4.) Here, the local districts continued to provide breakfast and lunch for local students despite the closed schools. The largest district here even opened the service to kids who attend charter schools since charters weren't providing that stuff. But, yes, the government does need to do most of the heavy lifting here since it is an issue that affects literally everyone in the country.

Not knowing the exact protocols, I'd guess they need to determine everyone who has COVID on MIA and any other team who may be affected. Once that's determined, they probably need to isolate the whole team, since it meets the criteria for a teamwide outbreak, for a specified number of days. Once that's done, then they'd probably start calling up the taxi squad. I'd guess if it was as simple as "next man up," that'd already be done.

Which is exactly why they want that cap. Any argument about parity or a level playing field is nonsense. Arod is trying to buy the Mets, a team that could print its own money if it’s managed properly.

Salary caps just shift more revenue to ownership while severely limiting options for mid-level players. They don't cap the amount of money a team can make. Most of the arguments for salary caps have to do with creating parity. MLB doesn't have a problem with parity. Advances in statistical analysis have really changed the way teams evaluate and develop players, allowing teams to make more informed decisions about big contracts to star players. At any rate, the teams making the playoffs lately aren't just the big market teams. Looking at the last 25-ish years, the only consistent string of big-market dominance is in the AL East (NYY/BOS), and that division has always been that way. You can also say the Dodgers of late, but they aren't really big FA market spenders. Friedman never has been. A salary cap is not something MLB needs. Success in baseball is all in drafting and developing talent.

That Vegas number is a gross generalization. The local paper here, which will take any opportunity to slam the public schools, says that number is more like 90% have access to computers and the Internet. As with anything, though, the devil is in the details. Lower-income families are three times less likely to have access to technology like that. That is an issue local schools are working on. My school allowed all kids that needed them to check out Chrome books. We surveyed families and let them know we had these computers, which are for student use anyway, available. Distance learning is not ideal, but we’re doing all we can to make sure technology is available. I know the district has also partnered with Cox and T-Mobile to get Internet and tablets to kids who need them as well.

Yeah, I'm wondering about that too. As far as I have heard, that has not been explained.

I agree 100%. The whole position of Baseball Commissioner was created to give the institution some credibility, some kind of oversight after the Black Sox scandal. Those owners knew that sometimes teams need to be saved from themselves by someone who can look at things solely through the lens of what is best for MLB. The problem is, ever since Selig made himself Commissioner, that office has served more to do the owners' bidding, rather than what is best for baseball overall. Makes sense since Selig owned the Brewers at the time. I think Manfred has really f'd this up, but the owners wanted that 37% number and wouldn't budge. Manfred held to that like a loyal puppy dog. Manfred has acted more as MLB's lawyer then it's leader.

I agree with this 100% It feels like we're in the minority on this point, though, and I don't understand why. Remember the push-back when MLB was going to allow "Spider-Man" movie ads on the bases? Where is that energy now? The baseball uniform is the last ad-free space at a ball game. It should absolutely remain that way. Chuck has compared uni ads to ads on AngelsWin. With all due respect, I think that's apples to oranges. I may be wrong, as I'm just an elementary-school teacher, but a website like this one has limited revenue streams. Memberships and ads would seem to be about it. So Chuck does what he has to do. I get that. Major-level sports teams have nearly endless revenue streams. I won't get into the minutiae of it all, but you can't take a piss at a stadium without an ad in your face. Literally anything can have a team logo slapped onto it for a nice licensing fee. I recently saw team-branded AA batteries. I mean, how often do you ever see the actual battery? But there you go. Point is, there are limitless advertising opportunities for teams. They don't "need" to sell ad space on uniforms at all. It's just a shameless money grab. Stradling had said "why not?" to the idea, which is, I think, a form of resignation most fans have about this. I would say, just because you can do something, doesn't mean you should. The uni is the last ad-free space. Keep it that way.

There's also the fact that the players and essential personnel are assuming 90% of the health risks. Ownership/management doesn't necessarily need to travel or even be at the games. Trout and his wife have a baby on the way. I'm sure other MLB families do too. There are also likely families who have kids/spouses that have compromised immune systems. The money is a huge concern, but I'm sure this goes beyond the money concerns.

He was an honorable mention, but I remember Gary Disarcina was having a great year with the bat in '95. Things started to unravel in the regular season once he got hurt.