Coronavirus and the 2020 Season (Season Postponed, pg3)

[JoeMcKim]

Especially in a normal year when a lot of times teams in first place at the All Star break don't even make the playoffs. In a 50 game season you can play above your skill level and make the playoffs when realisticaly you're not that great of a team.

[AWvsCBsteeeerike3]

Baseball, I feel like more than any other sport, has a stark difference between the postseason and the regular season. The regular season requires 5 starting pitchers plus quite a few fill ins as wear and tear takes it toll. Once teams get to the postseason, they rely on 3 starters and possibly a 4th every now and then. So, a team that has 5 110 ERA+ throwing 200 innings, that's what 20ish WAR, and a juggernaut of a rotation. But, take those individual pitchers and and their roughly 4 WAR value and throw any of them against a Cole or Scherzer or Flaherty or Buehler or whoever you want to say are at the top of the game, and that juggernaut rotation is going to be an underdog in at least one, likely two, games in a 5 or 7 game series.

This is obviously a hypothetical and leaves a lot of variables. But, just goes to illustrate that teams built to withstand the longer 162 game season and do it well aren't necessarily built for postseason success.

In my opinion, it's become pretty apparent that teams like the Astros, Yankees, Dodgers, etc have figured this out and have really tried to stack their rosters with those high-end talents....which is kind of a no-brainer. But, not necessarily so. The dodgers, in particular, making use of the IR to bolster the back end of the rotation is kind of an example.....maybe.

Compare that to football where there are only 16 regular season games that puts an emphasis on winning each game. Hockey and basketball have somewhat longer seasons and more teams in the playoffs. Those sports vary significantly on how much impact one or two players can have, but in the end, they're still playing the same game in the postseason.

It just seems the rules are different for baseball and player usage once the postseason starts moreso than other sports.

[go birds]

On Sportscenter they just announced the owners are gonna have a counter offer with only 50-60 games for the season. Wow. Seems kinda pointless if it’s that short a season

I get where you're coming from, and it does sound short. But if they want to keep to a similar-looking schedule (meaning not playing every day plus doubleheaders), 60 games is about what you'd fit into a season that spanned from early July to late September.

Now, if they are trying to keep a similar-looking schedule, that would seem to imply they wouldn't go with 30-man rosters, either, because there would be more-than-expected off days sprinkled into the season.

Sounds to me like they are trying to reserve some space for an expanded playoff, which would obviously take longer than the "regular" playoffs, and that those expanded playoffs would take place at home parks, not neutral sites.

A lot of assumptions from a guy who hasn't seen any proposal documentation, but just reading between the lines/connecting dots.

You're right,. My main concern with such a short season is, what are we really determining at the end of it?

to make as much money as possible. that's about the long and short of it.

[mikechamp]

Remember that excitement from yesterday? Well, here's some cold water:

As of now, however, a 50-game season doesn’t look like something the players are going to accept. Commissioner Rob Manfred is allowed to implement as long or short a schedule as he wants; however, as Ken Rosenthal and Evan Drellich of The Athletic reported earlier, the players may be able to object based on the agreement the sides made in March. That deal says the commissioner’s office must make “best efforts to play as many games as possible.”

Beyond the money factor, there’s concern on the players’ side over whether a 50-game season would be worthwhile, Jesse Rogers of ESPN.com explains. For instance, would it behoove the players to put themselves at greater risk for injury or contraction of the coronavirus during what would essentially be one-third of a typical season, wherein they’d earn far less money than expected? Rogers also wonders how such a shortened season could affect salaries down the line, as teams and players would have to weigh such a small sample of statistics in future contract talks.

This continue to look like a dire situation for the game, especially with time running out toward actually starting any kind of season (remember, the players would still have to go through another few weeks of spring training beforehand). Now, if the owners don’t offer another counter-proposal, the players will be “done” talking, Sawchik reports.

https://www.mlbtraderumors.com/2020/06/ ... mlbpa.html

[mikechamp]

You're right,. My main concern with such a short season is, what are we really determining at the end of it?

to make as much money as possible. that's about the long and short of it.

go birds gets a gold star for remembering that famous quote from Lance Berkman: "No matter what they say, it's always about the money."

[Jocephus]

Travis Sawchik of FiveThirtyEight reports that a potential 50-game MLB season is not acceptable to players.

It should be said that a 50-game regular season hasn't been formally proposed, but it has been floated as a possibility. The issue for the players is a financial one. While this newest concept would include full prorated pay, the bottom line doesn't really change. Sawchik writes that the first proposal would give players about 31 percent of 2020 pay and this new idea would give them just about the same. The players opened the door to some flexibility with the idea of deferrals, so there's certainly some room for negotiation. Odds are if there's a season, middle ground will be found between the concept of 50-60 regular season games or the players' proposal of 114 games. Still, Sawchik notes that the players will be "done" talking if the owners don't come to the table with an official counter-proposal.
Source: Travis Sawchick on Twitter
Jun 2, 2020, 12:14 PM ET

[heyzeus]

Has anyone mentioned recently that, all things considered , it would be really, really nice to have some baseball?

[go birds]

yea not because i care about baseball but because i care more about fantasy baseball since i can win money (how timely).

[InvincibleCakeEater]

Has anyone mentioned recently that, all things considered , it would be really, really nice to have some baseball?

That's me.

I absolutely do not care if the Orioles are hot for 50 games and win the World Series. I got to watch professional baseball players play my favorite sport competitively for a few months.

[Jocephus]