I’ll say up front that this strikes me as extremely wishful thinking given that we already know the delay to the start of the season is virtually certain to extend well past the original April 9th “new” Opening Day, and even that range is so fluid because we don’t know when the country will feel like the COVID-19 outbreak projects to be under control.
But, hey, it’s always nice to be hopeful:
Red Sox president Sam Kennedy says the current thinking is that regular season games on the front end of schedule will be added on to the back end, but situation is fluid.
— Joon Lee (@joonlee) March 13, 2020
Sam Kennedy, Red Sox prez: Current thinking is MLB would move missed games early to back end of schedule to try and save 162-game ssn. Obv that would push ssn into November. But all is tentative and fluid right now, as with everything else.
— Scott Miller (@ScottMillerBbl) March 13, 2020
If the delay winds up lasting into May (as I suspect it will), then you’d be talking about bumping the REGULAR season into mid-NOVEMBER if you just tacked on the lost schedule onto the end of the season. I don’t see any way that’s feasible.
So, instead, to get to 162, you’re looking at some kind of CRAZY overload of double-headers (probably with hugely expanded rosters) to try to get to 162 games in a shortened season. It’s just so hard for me to see that version either.
Trying to split the baby between the approaches isn’t much better.
The Cubs have 32 regular season games before May, and the regular season is scheduled to end on September 27. Even if there were a number of doubleheaders added and almost no off-days, the best you could is finishing the regular season, what, in the final week of October? You’d REALLY have to accelerate the playoffs at that point, or resign yourself to playing at neutral, domed locations. Anyone really want to see the Cubs play their home World Series games anywhere but Wrigley Field? Yuck.
For now, we have to wait to see when MLB is projecting the regular season to start before we could really start speculating too much on how they’ll make the season work. To me, 162 games feels like a pipe dream (and frankly, I’d just be happy if they’re able to get in a solid 120 or something, plus a normal postseason).