NEWSLETTER
I finally got around to watching Chapter Two of ‘It’ and … shrug. I was mixed on the first installment, which forewent tension and the fear of the unseen in favor of gore and special effects and jump scares. The second was a lot of the same, which feels like such a waste of a central monster that is entirely predicated on the idea of feeding off of your fears. The story, for me, has always had its limitations (even the book), so the only way it was gonna really entertain me was if Pennywise was terrifying (like the Tim Curry version was for me as a kid). No dice. Bummer.
If YOU want to watch a movie today, might I suggest signing up for Disney+ and/or the bundle with Hulu and ESPN+? Tons of movies (including the sports docs on ESPN+), and when you sign up, it supports BN in the process. Win-win!
• Michael got into the maybe-I’ll-finish-up-back-where-I-started part of the Jon Lester Boston radio interview yesterday, but he got into so much more, including a more robust explanation on why it’s so important for him to have an early heads up on if/when a return to Spring Training is going to come:
“If I’m younger, I’m still probably throwing bullpens and doing things to stay kind of locked in. But now I’m … Yeah, I’m playing catch. I’m moving my arm. I’m doing my weights. I’m doing my stuff. But I need to know a date to ramp it up,” he explained. “I don’t want to waste bullets down here in the backyard or at some high school. That’s the hard part of this whole deal. Really the hitters will probably have the advantage when we do come back over the pitchers just for the simple fact because how fast can we really ramp up where we aren’t risking injury. Not only injuries where you miss a start or two, but the bad injuries where you miss the whole season.”
• All the more reason that any timelines that start circulating can be considered only best-laid plans, rather than sure-fire calendars.
• An anonymous baseball source at the Washington Post pegs baseball’s revenue hit this year at a minimum of multiple billions, which sounds like a lot, though it’s a pretty wide range for a sport that generated more than $10 billion in revenue last year. As we’ve discussed, while some expenses will disappear, too, it’s highly likely that the loss of paid attendance (and the associated revenues from fans at games) will clip off multiple billion dollars in revenue league-wide. Then you throw in a shortened season’s impact on TV revenue (if you’re able to get a shortened season at all), and yes, it’s not hard to imagine that baseball could see total revenue cut in half this year. How those losses should be absorbed remains a very challenging issue to sort out when it comes to the return of the sport, because not every player is compensated equally, and not every owner is situated equally. There will be disagreements between the players and owners … and also within those groups.
• I just hope that players and employees are reasonably well taken care of, and then, after that, everyone tries to take a long-term view to whatever this season can be. In other words, the decisions about this year should be about the next five to ten years, rather than just trying to squeeze out every last short-term dime. This is a horrible time for everyone. If baseball gets together as a team, so to speak, and navigates it thoughtfully, however, they might be able to offset some of the short-term pain with some long-term gains in goodwill, fan size, and national attention. Again: *if they act collectively.*
• One scary thing to contemplate from the Washington Post piece? Reportedly, $2 billion of league expenses are for non-player personnel. Sure, some of that group includes very well-compensated executives, but the bulk are just regular folks who work in baseball. I fear that they would be first to feel the pain if there are massive revenue losses, and that would be the kind of damage to the sport that might be hard to overcome for a long time. Most teams are paying employees in full through May, but it’s an open question after that.
• More giving by the Cubs, and thanking the front-line workers:
Give the gift of hope and unity on #GivingTuesdayNow with a donation to #CubsCharities COVID-19 relief efforts. Together, we support our city and communities during these challenging times. https://t.co/8llX7VmeeS pic.twitter.com/tWUKoE58pv— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) May 5, 2020
MLB is proud to team up with 13 other sports leagues and thank #TheRealHeroes, our frontline healthcare workers.
Watch the PSA, featuring All-Stars @TheJudge44 & @ChristianYelich alongside 30+ other world-class athletes:
pic.twitter.com/x8M0F7xmqf— MLB Communications (@MLB_PR) May 6, 2020
• I would hope you already know which Cubs half-inning is going to be included:
LIVE now: https://t.co/jRpRTs8esg is streaming 42 “Epic Innings” back-to-back over eight hours in chronological order. Replays at 5 pm ET. Details: https://t.co/GEDYB4KUqp— Anthony Castrovince (@castrovince) May 6, 2020
• But here’s my question: if not the top of the 10th in Game Seven, what are some other Cubs half-innings you’d want to see? How about the 2017 NLDS inning where the Cubs scored four off of Max Scherzer? That was nuts and fun.
• Big discounts on various Echo devices at Amazon today. #ad
• That pitcher could hit a little bit:
105 years ago today, Babe Ruth hit the first of his 714 career home runs.
Oh, he also pitched 12.1 innings that day. No big deal. pic.twitter.com/OzDwXyHDTG— Baseball is Fun (@flippingbats) May 6, 2020
• If you can’t get enough of me, subscribe to the podcast I do over at The Athletic with Patrick Mooney and Sahadev Sharma – it’s on their app, but it’s also available wherever you get podcasts for free:
This turned into a particularly fun pod, which was a very welcomed half an hour right now. Can't promise it'll hit you the same, but I was grateful. @TheAthleticCHI @PJ_Mooney @sahadevsharma https://t.co/aDIpIoYPVi— Brett Taylor (@Brett_A_Taylor) May 6, 2020
• Our adopted team in the KBO is now 2-0 after another offensive explosion:
That sound https://t.co/naJm7YXK2O
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) May 6, 2020
