Is it correct that we’ve only had positive tests but no one with actual symptoms of COVID? I think it’ll take someone with the full blown illness before they cancel the season.
according to ths
some Cardinals players have experienced ‘mild’ symptoms
As of today August 4th (day 11 of the new season?) the Miami Marlins have played three games. Not looking good, unfortunately
So, if the Nats go 39-21, and the Marlins finish 2-1, the Marlins prevail?
Christian Yelich is having a particularly horrid start to this weird season. He went 0-3 with three strikeouts today, dropping his average to .088.
Eduardo Rodriguez of the Red Sox was infected, and the illness caused cardiomyopathy. He had to end his season because of it.
Was the introduction of the DH to the NL a reaction to COVID 19, like some of the other rule changes? I haven’t heard any explanation of this change.
Supposedly, it’s because there will be so many interleague games during the shortened season and they want uniform rules. It seems like a pretext for something they’ve wanted to for a long time.
Yeah, I think that’s the primary point (increased interleague play), along with the fact that it’ll keep pitchers a little safer, when they were worried that pitchers were going to have a hard time staying healthy with the reduced spring training (they were right).
From an MLB politics POV putting the DH into NL play during a year that will be one giant asterisk in the history books makes sense.
If it’s a disaster it’ll quietly be dropped and said to have been an experiment. Oh well; win some lose some.
And if, as many predict, it’ll be a non-event, it’ll quietly just be part of the overall weirdness of the 2020 season and by the time 2021 rolls around it’ll be yesterday’s news and none but the incorrigible curmudgeons will still be flapping their gums about it.
How long until people stopped bitching about when they lowered the pitchers’ mounds in 1969?
It’s a bit different, if it ends up being the testing ground for DH everywhere. For some it’s a complete change to how the game is played. So you may be hearing it for as long as people complain about Wild Card games - which is still being complained about.
I do think the NL DH as well as the geographic based opponents are two changes that MLB has wanted and will be here to stay. I’m ok with both of them.
The runner on second stuff I think is gone after this season. I get not wanting to have some 17 inning marathon in such a compressed schedule.
Actually I think this one inherently has more legs than NL DH, not less.
Why? Because RoS affects game length and that’s about broadcast time and therefore money. DH is mostly about very slightly increasing likely scoring and on-base action.
By the end of this “season” we’ll have data on how much the RoS rule has shortened extra-innings games. ~60 games times ~30 teams = ~1800 total less the vagaries of what gets rained out, cancelled for COVID, etc. It won’t be a giant sample, but it will be a sample.
If the answer turns out to be that RoS doesn’t really alter the duration distribution of extra innings games the traditionalists will win and it’ll be declared a failed experiment. If not, not.
The RoS rule was in use for MiLB last year. I watch a lot more MLB on TV but attend a lot more MiLB in person. It wasn’t obvious heresy. By the time we’re in the 10th, everybody just wants to go home. Including the highly paid players who’d like to wrap this one up because tomorrow’s a workday too.
The DH is something that the players’ association wants. It’s very likely to stay.
So play 12 innings and call it a tie. At least you will have played the same game for all 12 innings (which is better than changing the rules after 9).
If everyone really wants to leave when extra innings start, why not just play 10 and then flip a coin? It makes just slightly less baseball sense than RoS.
Nitpick - there will be ~900 games total this season- 60 games x 15 (each game has 2 teams ).
Eloy Jimenez turns this pop-up into an inside-the-park home run for Christian Yelich.
LOL - and all I hear from my family in Milwaukee is “IN THE PARK HOMER BY YELICH!”
D’oh!! Thank you.