NEWSLETTER
I haven’t missed many Cubs games over the past decade, and especially over the last five years, but when you’re covering a team as closely as we do here at Bleacher Nation, it’s tough to actually catch 3.5 hours of all 162 games. I won’t admit it again, but there is life outside the Cubs.
Of course, this season is very different. We’re all starved for baseball right now, and I hope we all recognize how quickly it could go away because of the pandemic. We’re also aware of the fact that CBA negotiations in a year and a half may take even more baseball out of our lives in the near future. Needless to say, I have no plans to miss any games – at all – this season. There’s only 60 and I want to see every single second of every single one of them.
But also … these 60 games are at the same pace as a regular season. Tighter even. And life still happens. So I guess what I’m saying is I’m dreading missing any games over the next 3 months. Because if every win counts as 2.7 Ws this year, well, then, every missed game is like missing 2.7 games!
I Just Want to Touch My Friends
But if you think experiencing baseball from the outside is going to be weird this year, how do you think the players feel? Jesse Rogers talked to players on the Cubs, Red Sox, Dodgers, and others to get a sense of what they’re thinking and the biggest takeaway? Not high-fiving, hugging, and generally touching each other seems to be the most common concern (which … adorable).
“Not giving people high-fives,” Kyle Schwarber said. “In baseball, you’re used to patting someone on the back or butt or whatever it is. Now you’re trying to respect everyone’s [space].”
As a full-blooded Italian from a big Italian family, I can assure you, we’ve had issues not kissing each other hello and goodbye every time we’ve seen each other. So I can relate.
Obviously, some others players mentioned the masks and the routines, but largely not celebrating with each other is the bigger concern.
Opting Out Isn’t Necessarily a “Now” Decision
At The Athletic, Ken Rosenthal discusses the nine players who’ve already opted out of the 2020 season, as well as the handful of others who’ve sorta teased the possibility, including bigger names like Mike Trout, Buster Posey, and the like.
Posey, in particular, mentioned the possibility of opting out and has missed a couple practices since with a “personal issue,” which may just be him weighing his decision:
Gabe Kapler on Buster Posey: "He's dealing with a personal decision and personal issue right now. "
— John Shea (@JohnSheaHey) July 10, 2020
Immediate update: He is opting-out, because he adopted twins!
Obviously, any player can opt-out at any time (and they’d always have my support), but we should remember a few key things. First, if you’re NOT a high-risk player (as defined by … the league?), opting out will cost you your 2020 salary as well as your service time. And it’s the latter point that remains important for younger players.
According to Rosenthal, some players may wait to opt-out until they either have enough service time to qualify for free agency at the end of the year or are certain their team is no longer going to remain competitive this season. In other words, if you’re a player on an uncompetitive team, you might wait until you hit your service time goals and then leave as soon as its clear that your team will not contend.
Trevor Bauer, five prorated days of service time away from qualifying for free agency, is one such candidate. And if the Reds were to – for some unexpected reason – get off to a horrendous start, he’s the *type* of player who might consider ending his 2020 season early (knowing Bauer, I sincerely doubt he’d do it, but the point remains). This could create some really weird issues in the second half of the season. So while I will still support any player who decides to opt-out, let’s hope, for the integrity of the game and season, the opt-outs are health-related and not solely self-serving.
The Asterisk Question, and How Many Games Are Needed for a “Legit” Season? https://t.co/Kr1k2LLT7D pic.twitter.com/a5Hnl9lOO5
— Bleacher Nation (@BleacherNation) July 10, 2020
That’s About Enough Out of You, Joe West
In case you missed it, Joe West made some misguided comments on the death rate of COVID-19, implying a little too much virus-denialism for comfort. Actually, they were flat out horrendous comments and I wouldn’t have felt the need to point that out, if he didn’t double down a day later, proving he learned absolutely nothing from the general reaction across baseball:
Those statistics aren’t accurate, I don’t care who’s counting them.
….
Our system is so messed up they have emptied hospitals because there’s no elective surgery. The government has been giving these hospitals extra money if someone dies of the coronavirus. So everybody that dies is because of coronavirus. I don’t care if you get hit by a car, it’s coronavirus.”
That’s literally a conspiracy theory and it’s dumb and dangerous.
Normally, ignoring these sort of comments is easy enough, but if these are your opinions, it’s not hard to imagine your position on the efficacy and necessity of the health and safety protocols agreed upon by the players and league. And at that point, you’re not risking your own life (Joe West is a 67-year-old, clearly out-of-shape umpire with a history of high blood pressure) you’re risking the lives of players and personnel who do take it seriously.
So I guess I’m glad the umpire’s association disavowed his comments and promised to take all protocols seriously regardless of personal opinion, but that doesn’t really feel like enough.
Frankly, I don’t think Joe West should be out there this year. For his own safety, and the safety of everyone else.
Let’s Buy the Mets!
At least five groups submitted bids to buy the Mets recently, including a $1.7 billion offer from the Alex Rodriguez/Jennifer Lopez group and a $2 billion offer from Steve Cohen, who nearly bought the team several months ago, that comes with another $2 billion offer for SNY. It’s apparently not clear if SNY is even for sale – indeed, that was partly why Cohen’s original bid fell apart back in the winter/spring – but at $4 billion for all of it … how do you say no if you’re the Wilpon’s?
No one else is even particularly close.
Brewers Add Scrubs (& Top Prospects) to the 60-Man
The Brewers, like many teams across MLB, did not come close to filling up their 60-man 2020 roster when those names were initially due. But just recently, they added another 13 players, using up 58 of their 60 total spots.
Unsurprisingly, many of the new additions are actually just top prospects who aren’t expected to contribute to the big league club this year – the Brewers are simply getting them important developmental time.
The Cubs, for reference, have used up 51 of their 60 spots so far, with some top prospects like Miguel Amaya, Brennen Davis, Brailyn Marquez, and Christopher Morel among those least likely to actually contribute to the Chicago Cubs this season. Perhaps as the season draws nearer, we’ll see some more prospects added to the roster, but I don’t expect the Cubs to get too close to 60 too soon. Remember, adding a guy to the 60-man is easy, but taking him off risks a lot more.
Where is Everyone Playing Again?
Because of COVID-19 and the showdown between the union and the league, everything that happened last offseason was largely forgotten. Allow me to remind you of some changes across baseball:
Madison Bumgarner is on the D-Backs
Gerrit Cole is on the Yankees
Mookie Betts is on the Dodgers
Anthony Rendon is on the Angels
Corey Kluber is on the Rangers
Nick Castellanos is on the Reds
Pedro Strop is on the Reds
Josh Donaldson is on the Twins
Yasmani Grandal is on the Sox— Michael Cerami (@Michael_Cerami) July 9, 2020
Andrew Simon (MLB.com) discusses the 10 potentially most impactful “cameos” of 2020 – in other words, players who might play 60 games (and only 60 games) with their new club. It’s a fun list.
Nationals Get Their Rings
This would’ve been awkward:
Stephen Strasburg says he was nervous when opening his World Series ring because his name was misspelled on the box. But the ring is all good. He can't wait to get home to show his kids. pic.twitter.com/2RLOFqwnxy
— Bobby Blanco (@Bobby_Blanco) July 9, 2020
Sean Doolittle continues to be one of my favorite non-Cubs ever. This is awesome:
wow this is a really good book pic.twitter.com/FW3hXEGBFv
— Obi-Sean Kenobi Doolittle (@whatwouldDOOdo) July 9, 2020
