Major League Baseball has formally announced a series of alterations to the upcoming schedule in the wake of the Marlins’ Covid-19 outbreak. The changes are as follows:
- All Marlins games are postponed through Sunday. As a result, the Marlins aren’t expected to play until next Monday.
- The remainder of this week’s Phillies-vs.-Yankees games have been postponed. As a result, the Phillies aren’t expected to play until Friday.
- The Yankees and Orioles are now scheduled to play at Camden Yards on Wednesday and Thursday.
- Additional scheduling alterations for the week of Aug. 3 will be announced by the league later this week.
Those alterations seemingly leave the Nationals without an opponent this coming weekend, as had been recently reported to be the case by Joel Sherman of the New York Post. Major League Baseball concluded its press release with the following statement:
The difficult circumstances of one Club reinforce the vital need to be diligent with the protocols in all ways, both on and off the field. We will continue to bolster our protocols and make any necessary adjustments. The realities of the virus still loom large, and we must operate with that in mind every day. We are confident that Clubs and players will act appropriately, for themselves and for others, and the data provides reason to believe that the protocols can work effectively.
Notably, the release doesn’t address the bizarre scene on Sunday that saw Marlins players and field staff make the final call on playing — rather than a league official or health expert — even as positive tests piled up. Both shortstop Miguel Rojas and manager Don Mattingly said after the game that the team never gave strong consideration to calling off the game. It’s rather remarkable that the decision on whether to play that day fell the field level in the first place, however. Whether any alterations to that decision process will be implemented moving forward remains unclear.
MLB’s press release indicates that the other 29 teams have not had any new positive tests among on-field personnel since July 24. That would seem to clash with the Reds’ July 25 announcement that Matt Davidson has been placed on the IL following a positive Covid-19 test, though that test may have technically been conducted prior to the 24th. There have been several other players placed on the IL without a reason given, although that doesn’t ensure any have had a positive test. Teams are permitted to place players on the Covid-19 IL if they show symptoms or are exposed to someone known to have tested positive.
What a farce. Let’s just see who isn’t playing. Ok, you guys play each other. Sandlot pick up games. This is not a season. It’s all extended spring training. Get ready for the asterisks! Waste of a year.
Yep I can see it now… **—played the Marlins out of turn. The season is the same for everyone, the playoffs are the same for everyone—just because it is different than what YOU are used to, it doesn’t have to warrant an asterisk.
Well handled situation by the Commish actually. He also performed well on MLB Network yesterday where he was rather grilled by Tom Verducci. Seems to be getting some footing for the first time during his rough tenure.
yeah i think the league’s willingness to work through this is a great moment for Manfred.
Completely agree! And their risking these athletes futures … the rules, the playoff structure (last I checked this wasn’t the NBA) & there’s a reason basrball is played everyday for 6 months .. so the elite teams actually standout.. A really terrible team could end up winning. Its a total farce and I love this game and definitely miss it A LOT! I miss real baseball bc thats not what they are doing right now!
Well said. I feel a class action suit coming against MLB for a multitude of reasons.
‘Murica… don’t get your way? No problem, just sue everyone!
Manfred is a Gypsy.
If someone is tying you down and forcing you to watch, I suggest you notify law enforcement as I’m certain that’s illegal. Otherwise shut up and let the rest of us enjoy it.
If Don Mattingly and the Marlins FO let their players play in a game while knowing that they were positive for the virus they should be given a hard suspension from baseball. I wouldn’t even care if they got banned, they may ruin the season for the entire league.
MLB baseball knew of the positive drug tests also and did nothing. Who’s going to ban Manfred?
Where do I sign up?
Haha! I’ll sign up too!
Drug tests? Wake up dude. Who’s talking about that
Manfred is the worst person in baseball history. He ruined the game.
Manfred is a creature of ownership, nothing more. If you have a problem with him your real problem is with them. Some day everyone will get it. Maybe.
baseball’s history of commissioners isnt too great…
Manfred is a gypsy.
Ok
Ultimately this falls on the MLB. They can’t direct teams to make their own decisions then get upset when it blows up in their face. This disjointed effort is exactly why the virus is still out of control in the US. Everyone needs to be in lockstep when taking precautions. That means MLB needs to take the lead. If they’re allowing teams to make these calls at their own discretion the process was bound to fail from the start.
That’s like saying if the President doesn’t endorse wearing masks then I won’t wear one. It’s the teams responsibility to make the right decision, regardless of what the league does.
Yeah. It’s almost like we have plenty of evidence that competent leadership is needed in times of crisis.
No it’s like the president saying “states can do what they want” then the president calling for punitive action against a governor that made a bad decision. It was always in MLB’s power to prevent this from happening.
You’re not suggesting that the president would disclaim federal responsibility for something then call for punitive action, like withholding funds, from state and local officials that disagree with him? Perish the thought!
Was this too hard for you to understand?
” one Club reinforce the vital need to be diligent with the protocols in all ways, both on and off the field.’
Is it really so hard to understand what happened? A player caused this.
Goodness…they didn’t know, they didn’t let players play who TESTED positive. What DID happen was they played, knowing they had exposure to guys who tested positive, and would possibly test positive (which happened) in the future. What SHOULD have happened was that MLB should have canceled the Sunday game after the 3 additional positive tests.
Right, what I’m saying is they should never have set up such a system in the first place. If MLB doesn’t want positive players playing they need to be enforcing that, not tell the teams “it’s your call.”
This would be like not having any rules against sign stealing, then punishing a team for failing to discipline a player caught sign stealing. If this is the policy you want, enforce it.
Do you suspend the opposing team since they allegedly knew and agreed to play?
No on all fronts. Make the Marlins field a B squad, make a rule voiding the 40-man rule just for this season and force Miami to start players they don’t want to.
I wonder how this would’ve played out had it been the Yankees, or Dodgers with this outbreak instead of the Fish…
Valid thought
Yep. Had that thought too. The conspiracy theories would close the season down. But since the bread crumbs lead back to Florida, it’s just another finger being pointed at political blah, blah…
Right. You want Mattingly and Rojas to make these decisions while the CDC can’t agree on what day of the week it is
Mattingly figured if they played, the sunlight would kill the virus.
I remember the good old days when MLB had a commissioner. Sheesh, I’m getting old…..
Which commissioner are you referring to, out of curiosity? Vincent, Giamatti, and Kuehn were overmatched in the job. Selig was the owners’ hand puppet after a long career as their water boy. Uebberoth was more independent, but he promoted collusion. Baseball has never had a Pete Rozzele or David Stern. The owners are too dysfunctional and nearsighted.
This is only week 1.
Just cancel the whole “season” already.
The KBO said they’d shut down the league for 2 weeks if a single player tested positive. They’ve been playing non-stop since early May.
But South Korea has controlled the pandemic throughout their country. We haven’t.
Bingo!
Cancel the season? Why? No one is getting sick. Not even the positives
Freddie Freeman enters the chat
So does Eduardo Rodriguez
Eduardo Rodriguez has been diagnosed with myocarditis resulting from Covid-19.
See?? Exactly what I am talking about! Thank you! Poor guy!
Agreed! Thank you!
Get out the duct tape fellas.
Manfred and MLB would have looked a lot less stupid if they had just cancelled the season.
nope, that’s 100% wrong
TOTALLY AGREE!
This commissioner is the worst ever.. from his stupid rule changes to even having a season this guys a bigger disaster than any irwin allen movie
Hey mets fan… Did you read the statement. A player broke protocol. Blame the player, not the commissioner.
You ever heard of a thing called vicarious liability? It’s why an employer can be held responsible for the actions of their employees.
You want to wear the big boy pants, you have to be ready for the buck to stop on your desk.
A player? What about the other guys that are positive? They werent near the braves….if Florida really is a hot spot, why did he let them stay there?.. if California is rising again why are all those teams staying there?..should have never been a season..
Hey Halo Fan…did YOU read the article above? Nowhere in the article does it mention that a player broke protocol. Because there isn’t a set protocol!
The writer even states “ It’s rather remarkable that the decision on whether to play that day fell the on field level in the first place, however. Whether any alterations to that decision process will be implemented moving forward remains unclear.”
No protocol on what to do in these situation has been 1) brought to light as of yet OR 2) there isn’t any protocol in place.
Blame the leader of the MLB. Not the player.
“The difficult circumstances of one Club reinforce the vital need to be diligent with the protocols in all ways, both on and off the field.”
They have people who do trace contact investigations. They know who caused this, it was a player. I
Marlins season should be forfeited. They blatantly played the game knowing the had positive tests. Why would any team want to to play them? How inconvenient that the Phillies play the marlins after all their postponements. What a mess
Marlins players went out and partied in Atlanta risking their season and their lives.
They deserve what they got! The “Rona”!
Just bring up some minor leaguers and play. This is complete BS.
As long as we keep playing ball I’m good.
It’s only a dozen players out of 60. 48 left! Bring in more of the Marlins out-of-work minor leaguers, buck up and play ball!
Asterisks all around unless my team wins then it’s legit
Even if my team wins Id expect an asterisk on this ridiculous season. The winners will never be considered legit.
This seasons all about adding a couple more homers or strikeouts onto your baseball reference page until they have to postpone or cancel the season.
Could’ve sworn this short season was all about recouping financial losses and preventing the game from entering total irrelevance. I’m sure the baseball reference will hold up in arguments. Or not.
Attempting to play the 2020 season amid a pandemic was a bad decision and it only figures to get worse as we head towards the fall when another surge in the virus is expected. The season should never have been played.
The “the bizarre scene on Sunday that saw Marlins players and field staff make the final call on playing — rather than a league official or health expert — even as positive tests piled up” was ludicrous but is also symptomatic of what is going on in our country in general in dealing with this insidious mutating virus.
MLB was wrong. The NFL attempting to play a season is even more ludicrous considering the amount of contact that occurs compared to baseball. The NBA and NHL also figure to have issues as their suspended 2019-2020 seasons begin to say nothing of trying to commence with their next campaign later this fall.
You can bet the NFL is going to beg for the HCQ prophylactic course of treatment.
Exactly!!
Why not just split the series. Each team gets a win, a loss and a tie if needed.
Marlins get all L’s
They need to expand the rosters even more, and give more leeway of keeping those players and not lose them through waivers.
Exactly. Just make these rules for this season, for obvious reasons.
MLB needs to go into hiding. I hope they lose bigly. These ingrates need to find real work also.
Tigers in World Series, asterisk or not, we’ll take it lol
Actually why not let Marlins play their other 30 for 2 weeks while they quarantine the roster. Won’t matter a whole lot in the season and other teams may have to later too.
Teams should get an automatic win if their opponent is not healthy enough to compete.
honestly i wonder if Rojas and Mattingly get fines. if these guys really had good reason to think there was an outbreak within the team then they should have notified a health expert.
Too many people are wondering why MLB didn’t pick a hub city like the NHL and NBA. Well…
– MLB plays nearly every day, the other sports do not.
– NHL style rinks are easily accessible, NBA courts can easily be made indoor or outdoor.
– Arizona and Texas get up to 110 degrees or hotter, Florida humidity brings lots of rain.
– Can’t play every game in dome stadiums, too many games and not enough domes
– California won’t accommodate for various reasons.
– Obviously baseball isn’t welcome in Canada.
It was this way or no season. Hub city idea had too many problems and not enough solutions.
A confirmed case is NOT a confirmed viral load case.
The outbreaks occur as a result of high viral loads. That’s about 20% of the cases.
America needs to stop freaking out over + cases.
All +’s should have followup testing for high viral load.
High viral loaders can’t be self-quarantined. There needs to be supervision.
Planes & buses are confined spaces. It’s hard to greatly improve that ventilation.
They need fans to push the air down towards the floor quickly.
Someone must rountinely wipe up the center aisle where the fans are directing that air. Bleach is needed for carpets.
Masks MUST be worn the entire trip including bathroom breaks.
If players are that undisciplined then supervision is needed at all times including
trips to the bathroom.
I’m not against players having to wear a locked mask of some sort during transports.
Somethings not right with this game and the players. To much stuff going on you know what I mean i am so close of packing this game in and others I know started already
But…but…but…you Trumpsters said this virus thing was a hoax?