Players Taking Care of Players, Concerns About College Baseball Because of College Football, and Other Cubs Bullets

It’s no surprise that major film releases have been delayed right now, and that means pushing back the entire Phase 4 slate of Marvel flicks (booooo – but I understand! – but booooo). ‘Black Widow’ now won’t drop until Nov. 8, ‘The Eternals’ on Feb. 12, ‘Shang Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings’ on May 7, 2021, ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ on Nov. 5, 2021, ‘Thor: Love and Thunder’ on Feb. 18, 2022, ‘Black Panther 2’ on May 6, 2022, and ‘Captain Marvel 2’ on July 8, 2022. Here’s hoping the Disney+ releases of ‘Wandavision’, ‘The Falcon and The Winter Soldier’, and ‘Loki’ won’t be impacted because of the interweaving timelines. Folks are going to need their at-home Marvel content ASAP!

That reminds me: Disney+ has basically everything you could want from the Marvel universe, so check it out here, with a free trial or a bundle sign-up, and support BN in the process.

Some additional support for players who were in camp as non-roster invitees, but who otherwise wouldn’t have received the April and May funds apportioned as part of the MLB/MLBPA agreement:

The players’ union has set up a support program for non-roster players in spring training who were not covered in the advance payment the union received from MLB. More than 300 players eligible for money that would supplement $400 per week they will receive from MLB through 5/31.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) April 3, 2020

Non-roster players who will receive the payments from the union are broken down into five tiers according to service time. Those with six years or more in majors can earn as much as $50K. Program is voluntary; players who are more financially secure can choose not to participate.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) April 3, 2020

Good news from MLBPA: The union will distribute money to any non-roster player with at least one day of major league service who was still in big league camp as of March 13. The payouts depend on service time:

0-1 year: $5,000
1-2: $7,500
2-3: $15,000
3-5: $25,000
6+: $50,000

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) April 3, 2020

Jayson Stark takes a fascinating look at the way college baseball is going to be transformed by the COVID-19 fallout, and not JUST because of the way the MLB Draft has changed:

“There is no way it’s all going to look like it looked before"

New column: MLB & the NCAA did what they had to do. But for college baseball, that's trouble

1,000 kids who won't get drafted
Seniors & juniors coming back
How do they all fit?
Where's the $?https://t.co/iZr0D7dnet

— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) April 3, 2020

I’ve been thinking a lot about how the shrinking of the draft (and bonus deferrals) could reduce the pool of talented players coming to professional baseball, and also a good bit about how the draft changes will also lead to an untenable glut of players on major college rosters. But what I hadn’t really considered until Stark explored it: with more and more revenue-generating college sports impacted, universities will have MUCH less money to apportion to the non-revenue sports (like baseball is for a lot of schools). That means, for a very specific example: if college football is a no-go this fall, it would be like a financial bomb exploding at a lot of these colleges, and baseball – among other sports – would be directly affected. Then, in turn, if college baseball is fundamentally damaged by the inability for schools to support it, the talent pipeline to MLB and MiLB further erodes.

Among the quotes: “If there’s no college football this year, that’s kind of the doomsday scenario,” via Michigan baseball coach Erik Bakich. “Holy cow. If there’s not a football season, it’s gonna be scary …. The biggest threat to college baseball is no college football season,” via TCU baseball coach Jim Schlossnagle.

Anthony Rizzo and his family foundation continue to do great work:

View this post on Instagram

Tonight we were able to feed TWO hospitals. Staff at @uchicagomed were treated to some amazingness thanks to our friends at @volare_italian_restaurant We also delivered our first meal in New York to NEW YORK PRESBYTERIAN HOSPITAL. We served 200 MEALS tonight because of your generosity. Thank you for helping us make a difference.

A post shared by Anthony Rizzo FamilyFoundation (@anthony_rizzo_familyfoundation) on Apr 3, 2020 at 5:50pm PDT

The South Bend Cubs have some words:

https://twitter.com/SBCubs/status/1246105179709231106

I love this, and I love all of you:

Thank you for staying #SafeAtHome and sharing your Cubs pride with us. #MyFriendlyConfines pic.twitter.com/exdPgMsptZ

— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) April 4, 2020

Thank you, Michael, for sacrificing your marriage so we could have #Sports #Content:

When my wife and I were dating in college, she came over to my family’s lake house for a summer weekend.

We played wiffle ball.

This is what happened when she tried to catch a fly ball. pic.twitter.com/NKcFk16MO4

— Michael Cerami (@Michael_Cerami) April 4, 2020

(In all seriousness, Michael has indicated they both have good fun with this video now in hindsight. As they should. Because it’s great.)

Gardening and outdoors stuff at Amazon while you’re at home maybe doing a little extra work outside as the weather turns? #ad

Meanwhile, the Bulls are finally making real change, and the Bears are having a QB competition:

Meet the First Four Candidates Reportedly on the Table in the Bulls Front Office Overhaulhttps://t.co/zIF2RgJCOz

— Bleacher Nation Bulls (@BN_Bulls) April 3, 2020

Surprise! (Not a Surprise): Bears Say They Now Have an "Open Competition" at Quarterback https://t.co/p3X4olZpoe

— Bleacher Nation Bears (@BN_Bears) April 3, 2020