MLB 2020

[ursus arctos]

Yeah, then this very much is not for you

I can't tell if the Monkeys are an offensive juggernaut or if the Lions are abject, but Rakuten have scored 24 runs in two games

[jefe]

The latest plan to get thru 2020 involves everyone playing in their home stadia starting in midsummer, with 3 divisions of 10 teams, playing only in your division. Wests, Centrals, and Easts, with the sole exception of swapping Pirates for Braves for this season only.

[Ginger Yellow]

I don't really see how this plan addresses most of the problems with the previous Arizona plan. I guess it deals with players been separated from their families, and the heat, but it introduces new ones.

[danielmak]

It's hard to see how any of these plans work unless all players are completely isolated in between games: Isolated with family with no family members breaking quarantine, players go to ballpark to compete with and against players who also have not left their houses, players return home. But there is always someone who breaks quarantine. I found out about a former co-worker who had been sick with COVID. He and his family were in total lockdown. Didn't even leave for food and only relied on delivery. One of two things happened: one of the delivery folks was sick or the teenagers were sneaking out of the house. My money is on the latter.

In other news, I tend to put on whatever game MLB Network is showing while I eat lunch. These games they edit to 2 hours are unwatchable. There is no rhythm to the game because al we see is pitch, ball or strike or hit, repeat. When they show games from the 70s or 80s that have not been edited, the games flow. This tells me that the problems with today's game aren't about speeding up pitchers (usually) but keeping the damn batters in the box. The natural rhythm between pitchers controlled by a pitcher and catcher is fine. And add ear pieces so there's no monkey business with sign stealing and the natural rhythm is even better. Btu the main problem for me is batters taking a stroll between every single pitch. I'm sure I have posted this before, but now I have a clearer sense of things comparing these different time periods, different edits, different complete games unedited.

[Hot Pepsi]

This may be the highlight of this season and, someday, viewed as one of two highwater marks for the Rays franchise during their time in Florida.

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/...players-league

[ursus arctos]

One for Mr. Thistle on the great man's birthday

https://twitter.com/theaceofspaeder/status/1259231034815713287

[Incandenza]

One of my high school's finest.

[Levin]

The Royals are paying everyone in their minor league structure which is both amazing and chimp change to the owners and what every team should be doing.

When does the current players agreement come to an end? I know that there are negotiations ongoing are they part of the planned talks or are they special ones due to the lack of play?

[ursus arctos]

The current Collective Bargaining Agreement ends after the 2021 season

The ongoing "negotiations" (which have so far primarily seen the owners issuing a series of unacceptable diktats abrogating their earlier agreements) were occasioned by the pandemic and relate only to the 2020 season, though both sides are obviously trying to position themselves for the CBA talks.

Is "chimp change" more or less than "chump change"?

[Hot Pepsi]

This is going to be a well-deserved disaster for baseball and I suspect I may be one of the people that gives up on it.

[danielmak]

There will be arguments for sure but in general a lot of the big issues requiring negotiation between the contract have gone relatively smoothly (e.g., players have agreed to increased testing and stricter penalties for various suspension-related activities and Manford has not imposed pitch clock or some other rules; owners also agreed to COVID-related payment/service time that is to the players' advantage).

But the big issue obviously is money. It is insane that qualifying offers come with draft picks attached. That is not true free agency. And the luxury tax is a salary cap but that cap does not have a floor. In some sense, the luxury tax has worked to create some opportunities for teams but there is no way the union is going to continue to allow teams to tank even if that tanking means younger union players are getting paid more money because those players are now in the big leagues when they would have been stuck in the minors in the past. And while I certainly feel bad for older players, I would rather see some kids on my team than Adam Jones. And I use Jones as an example because he is the kind of player you want to do well: he was a stud, he has always been a stand up guy, he is not afraid to speak up about important issues but does so in a way that invites contemplation. But I wouldn't want a team I follow to spend 10 - 15 million on him if he's blocking someone who would be him 6 years ago. Anyway, I do not see a strike or a lockout, especially after COVID eats up most of the season.

On that front, if baseball gets going. I'd love to see college-style playoff tournaments right from the off. Every team is in this year. Round-robin. Win and advance. Lose and go back home until next February.

[danielmak]

I've been out of the loop with baseball news but tuned into some of MLB Tonight and heard that there was an expectation that a deal had been struck for a 60 or 62 game season but now the union is balking and filing a lawsuit.

But that's not what brought me back to the thread. MLB Network started a series called Voices of the Game a few weeks back that began with Vin Scully. Tonight they're onto the second episode with Jack Buck. I thought these were going to be documentaries but really the hour-long shows are a collection of calls framed by discussions between Bob Costas and Tom Verducci. As a guy who loves listening to baseball on the radio and is generally drawn to the tone and pace of all baseball announcing compared to the over the top calls that tend to feature in other sports, I appreciate the series. With that said, and I know I am very biased being a Dodgers fan, there is a big dropoff from Scully to Buck. Buck is (obviously) very good but the charm that tended to feature in his other speaking endeavors, some of which were featured in this episode, were missing from the big moments. That is, this show jumped straight to his calls in big games, many of which really are iconic. But there's nothing leading up to the calls and his response after the calls either lack the same depth as Scully or the show just cut.

I know this post is akin to arguing for Williams over DiMaggio or vice versa. We're talking cream of the crop (Harwell will probably come next in this series, deservedly). But usually historians who drill deeper can tease out who really is the top. And for me Scully has an easy storytelling quality that makes him very, very special. Anyway, if you have access to MLB Network, check out the series.

[ursus arctos]

It isn't a deal

The Commissioner is going to unilaterally declare a 60 game season and the players will file a grievance. But the season will go forward.

I don't think that Buck belongs in the same series as Scully. Harwell does.

That said, I'd be hard pressed to do eight episodes of guys in Scully's level.

[Levin]

This is a really stupid question but can only teams own draft picks?

One thing I've picked up on that doesn't seem to be in any of these "players reject 60 game season" is that the players offered a 70 game season and this 60 game season is in response to that. God, news makes me annoyed. This is only an issue because the players agreed to be paid pro-rata in March.

[ursus arctos]

I'm not completely sure what you are asking, but yes, draft picks can only belong to clubs

And unlike several other North American pro sports, MLB does not allow draft picks to be traded or sold to other clubs.

[Levin]

Sorry, it was a half baked, first thing in the morning thought about draft picks having monetary value and even if they could be only used my teams in cartels would they have value if a 3rd party held them. But it's all moot with regards to baseball as you say. And I'm sure that other sports wouldn't allow it.

[Hot Pepsi]

In the other sports, draft picks aren’t sold. They’re traded along with players. I’m not sure if they can’t be sold, but I’ve never heard of that happening. Players aren’t sold either. Sometimes cash is part of a deal, but not often. Often the team trading away the more expensive player, agrees to pay some or all of his salary for a period even after he goes to the other team. That amounts to the same thing, although the accounting for that for salary cap purposes is complicated, perhaps.

[ursus arctos]

Worth recalling that Charlie Finley's attempts to trade star players for "packages" consisting primarily of large amounts of cash were voided by the Commissioner, establishing a precedent that is still being respected by all clubs.

Things were different before World War II, when the practice was reasonably common. Connie Mack sold off two champion Philadelphia Athletics teams to the highest bidder and Red Sox owner Harry Frazee famously sold Babe Ruth to the Yankees so that he could invest the funds in No, No, Nanette.

Third party ownership hasn't plagued North American team sports, though there have been cases of agents or wannabe agents "advancing" significant sums to college players that have cause severe problems for the players and their institutions.

[Hot Pepsi]

According to Wikipedia, it was a show called My Lady Friends, not No, No, Nanette, that was financed with the proceeds from Babe Ruth.

I read about that once but can’t recall the details of why popular story is that it was No, No, Nanette. It just sounds sillier, I guess.

[ursus arctos]

It's a show that people have heard of (there was a revival on Broadway in the 70s), though it makes for a better story if the show was a flop and Frazee effectively set the Ruth money on fire,

[jefe]

Opening Day is July 24th. 60 games in 66 days.

[Hot Pepsi]

After all that, they didn’t agree on anything and it’s not going to feel like a real season anyway.

[ursus arctos]

The owners never had any intention of agreeing something. This was always how it was going to end up.

[Hot Pepsi]

Exactly. So what was the point of all of that?

[ursus arctos]

To reduce the volume of the owners' losses and allow them several months of free propaganda demonising the players in advance of negotiation on the next CBA