BASE-BALL

[ftballfan]

Just disband the Marlins and move ahead with 29 teams. Not like they matter.

There are problems with having an odd number of teams.

Seemed to work with the NBA between 1995 and 2004.

The NFL had 31 teams from 1999 to 2001, and the NHL has had 31 teams since 2017.

As for the Marlins situation, I can't say I'm surprised. Hopefully, the Rays are being more careful about it.

Not sure if this is 100% true, but I did see that a few Marlins may have gone to a nightclub (maskless, of course) in Atlanta after their exhibition game. If that is true, the player or players that went to the nightclub should be heavily fined and/or suspended for conduct detrimental to baseball. Also, the Marlins team should have to forfeit the games that have been PPD if they're not able to be rescheduled.

[1995hoo]

Just disband the Marlins and move ahead with 29 teams. Not like they matter.

There are problems with having an odd number of teams.

Seemed to work with the NBA between 1995 and 2004.

The NFL had 31 teams from 1999 to 2001, and the NHL has had 31 teams since 2017.

As for the Marlins situation, I can't say I'm surprised. Hopefully, the Rays are being more careful about it.

The NHL also has 21 teams throughout the 1980s and the NBA had 23. When the NBA expanded late in that decade, they added four teams, then added two more (Toronto and Vancouver) in the mid-1990s. So the NBA had an odd number for a long time. They only went to 30 when Charlotte got a new team after the original Hornets moved.

[ilpt4u]

Not sure if this is 100% true, but I did see that a few Marlins may have gone to a nightclub (maskless, of course) in Atlanta after their exhibition game. If that is true, the player or players that went to the nightclub should be heavily fined and/or suspended for conduct detrimental to baseball. Also, the Marlins team should have to forfeit the games that have been PPD if they're not able to be rescheduled.

I'm not an attorney, and certainly not a labor attorney, but having been around Unions enough in my life to this point, there is no way your employer can punish you for your actions on your time. The MLBPA would have a field day with that. There cannot be any fines/suspensions for going to a nightclub when the players are "off the clock."  And that begins by assuming this nightclub rumor is true to begin with, which who knows?

Now, what there could be disciplinary action for is playing a game while testing positive instead of having quaranteend those individuals. A "players only"  vote to decide to play instead of quaranteen...THAT is what either the Marlins and/or MLB need to take some form of corrective action to ensure that is NOT the way this is handled going forward

The forfeit, is a non-starter. Competitive-balance issues especially for teams in the "East"  that had those forfeit games vs those that had to be played against the Marlins, and even for teams in the "Central"  and "West."  With only a 60 game schedule and 8 teams per league making the MLB Playoffs, the beneficiaries of those forfeits get a pretty major leg up on their competition

[Hot Rod Hootenanny]

Just disband the Marlins and move ahead with 29 teams. Not like they matter.

There are problems with having an odd number of teams.

Seemed to work with the NBA between 1995 and 2004.

The NFL had 31 teams from 1999 to 2001, and the NHL has had 31 teams since 2017.

As for the Marlins situation, I can't say I'm surprised. Hopefully, the Rays are being more careful about it.

The NHL also has 21 teams throughout the 1980s and the NBA had 23. When the NBA expanded late in that decade, they added four teams, then added two more (Toronto and Vancouver) in the mid-1990s. So the NBA had an odd number for a long time. They only went to 30 when Charlotte got a new team after the original Hornets moved.

Baseball is showing how an odd number of team does NOT work. Along with the Marlins being out, the Phillies have been left out to dry and won't be playing till Saturday (and supposedly none of the Phils have tested positive for COVID over the weekend)

[ilpt4u]

Just disband the Marlins and move ahead with 29 teams. Not like they matter.

There are problems with having an odd number of teams.

Seemed to work with the NBA between 1995 and 2004.

The NFL had 31 teams from 1999 to 2001, and the NHL has had 31 teams since 2017.

As for the Marlins situation, I can't say I'm surprised. Hopefully, the Rays are being more careful about it.

The NHL also has 21 teams throughout the 1980s and the NBA had 23. When the NBA expanded late in that decade, they added four teams, then added two more (Toronto and Vancouver) in the mid-1990s. So the NBA had an odd number for a long time. They only went to 30 when Charlotte got a new team after the original Hornets moved.

Baseball is showing how an odd number of team does NOT work. Along with the Marlins being out, the Phillies have been left out to dry and won't be playing till Saturday (and supposedly none of the Phils have tested positive for COVID over the weekend)

I was under the impression MLB was pushing back Phillies games, since it was known the Marlins played the Sunday game against the Phillies with players who tested positive and played anyway

MLB is using an "abundance of caution"  before putting the Phillies back on the field, as COVID is known to potentially have an incubation period

Assuming no positive tests by Saturday morning on the Phils, they will play their Saturday doubleheader. At least that is the current plan

[1995hoo]

Just disband the Marlins and move ahead with 29 teams. Not like they matter.

There are problems with having an odd number of teams.

Seemed to work with the NBA between 1995 and 2004.

The NFL had 31 teams from 1999 to 2001, and the NHL has had 31 teams since 2017.

As for the Marlins situation, I can't say I'm surprised. Hopefully, the Rays are being more careful about it.

The NHL also has 21 teams throughout the 1980s and the NBA had 23. When the NBA expanded late in that decade, they added four teams, then added two more (Toronto and Vancouver) in the mid-1990s. So the NBA had an odd number for a long time. They only went to 30 when Charlotte got a new team after the original Hornets moved.

Baseball is showing how an odd number of team does NOT work. Along with the Marlins being out, the Phillies have been left out to dry and won't be playing till Saturday (and supposedly none of the Phils have tested positive for COVID over the weekend)

I was just responding to the comment about an odd number of teams. What makes baseball different from the other sports is that baseball teams play almost every day as long as they have at least one day off at least every 21 days, per the CBA. In hockey, for example, the CBA says no team can play three days in a row (the minor leagues are different).

This is why, until the annoying expansion of interleague baseball, both leagues had even numbers of teams (14 in the AL and 12 in the NL when I was growing up). It was impractical to make the schedule work otherwise because one team in each league would have had to have a day off every day and it would have been extremely difficult to manage a full 162 games, even had they played more doubleheaders. Under the current schedule, there's an interleague game pretty much every day of the season. Going to an odd number of teams would cause the same problem as before even with expanded interleague scheduling.

[SEWIGuy]

Just disband the Marlins and move ahead with 29 teams. Not like they matter.

There are problems with having an odd number of teams.

Seemed to work with the NBA between 1995 and 2004.

The NFL had 31 teams from 1999 to 2001, and the NHL has had 31 teams since 2017.

As for the Marlins situation, I can't say I'm surprised. Hopefully, the Rays are being more careful about it.

Not sure if this is 100% true, but I did see that a few Marlins may have gone to a nightclub (maskless, of course) in Atlanta after their exhibition game. If that is true, the player or players that went to the nightclub should be heavily fined and/or suspended for conduct detrimental to baseball. Also, the Marlins team should have to forfeit the games that have been PPD if they're not able to be rescheduled.

I doubt they could be fined or suspended unless it is within the bounds of the CBA with the Union.  I am pretty sure players can go to clubs, etc. because I heard an interview with the Brewers' manager talking about the conversations he has had with players about being responsible, etc.

Forfeiting games is something that I doubt is covered by the CBA.

[1995hoo]

Two Cardinals players positive and their game against the Brewers today has been postponed. That means 20% of MLB's teams are idle today. The Nats will only play twice in the next week, assuming no more postponements (their three games against the Marlins this weekend were postponed and they had scheduled off days Monday and Thursday).

[STLmapboy]

Two Cardinals players positive and their game against the Brewers today has been postponed. That means 20% of MLB's teams are idle today. The Nats will only play twice in the next week, assuming no more postponements (their three games against the Marlins this weekend were postponed and they had scheduled off days Monday and Thursday).

Shit. I actually enjoyed the home openers against the Pirates.

[CoreySamson]

What the heck is going on with the Astros. The amount of injuries they've sustained is incredible. All of the below players are injured:

Verlander, Alvarez, Brantley, Urquidy, Osuna, Devenski, and Diaz are all injured, not to mention tons of minor leaguers.

Yet they are still on a 7-game winning streak playing with tons of subs.

[Alps]

What the heck is going on with the Astros. The amount of injuries they've sustained is justified by cheating for multiple years.

FTFY

[NWI_Irish96]

We're 5 weeks away from the end of the season and with the expanded 16-team playoff on the horizon, there are already 8 teams with > 90% probability of making the playoffs. Yes, having home field advantage for 3 of 5 or 4 of 7 games is nice, but not valuable enough to risk injury to key players. As these teams start to move closer to 100%, I predict that we are going to see a lot of teams resting key players the last couple weeks of the season.

In future years, if MLB is going to keep an expanded playoffs, whether it be 12, 14 or 16 teams, I'd like to see MLB create more incentive for earning higher seeds. Give the higher seed 4 home games in best-of-five series with a 2-1-2 format and 5 home games in a best-of-seven series with a 2-2-3 format. Give teams a real incentive to put their best lineups out all the way to the end of the season.

[ilpt4u]

I like the idea, if an expanded "Wild Card"  round sticks around beyond this year, that it be a 3 game series, but the higher seed wins the series with just 1 win, whereas the lower seed has to win 2 games to win the series

I'm not sure I like the idea of continuing that to the Divisional Series, but the idea could even work there. Higher seed only needs to win 2 to advance, lower seed needs 3 wins to advance

I don't like that idea at the LCS round or the WS

[Alps]

I like the idea, if an expanded "Wild Card"  round sticks around beyond this year, that it be a 3 game series, but the higher seed wins the series with just 1 win, whereas the lower seed has to win 2 games to win the series

You know that would be a 2 game series, right?

[ilpt4u]

I like the idea, if an expanded "Wild Card"  round sticks around beyond this year, that it be a 3 game series, but the higher seed wins the series with just 1 win, whereas the lower seed has to win 2 games to win the series

You know that would be a 2 game series, right?

Sorry, I had a brain fart. I know now... 

[Flint1979]

White Sox whooped the Tigers 9-0, nice.

[kevinb1994]

White Sox whooped the Tigers 9-0, nice.

Tigers weren't too mighty, eh? 

[Flint1979]

White Sox whooped the Tigers 9-0, nice.

Tigers weren't too mighty, eh? 

Not at all which I love seeing.

[hotdogPi]

What's interesting about a 9-0 score is that 9-0 is the score that gets recorded if a game is forfeited.

[CoreySamson]

Add Bregman and James to the injured list.

[jp the roadgeek]

Speaking of the White Sox, Lucas Giolito with the first no-hitter of the season as they blank the Pirates 4-0.  13 K's, and only 1 walk away from a perfect game.

As for my Sox: we won tonight, but overall, it's been an epic trainwreck.

[ET21]

I've been enjoying the White Sox so far

[NWI_Irish96]

I've been enjoying the White Sox so far

Me too. Very weird game last night. 3 errors by the Sox in the 1st lead to 4 Twins runs, and an error on the easiest of fly balls leads to 3 Sox runs in the 9th.

Almost a foregone conclusion that the playoffs are forthcoming. Just a matter of whether they finish 1st, 2nd or 3rd.

[Henry]

I've been enjoying the White Sox so far

Me too. Very weird game last night. 3 errors by the Sox in the 1st lead to 4 Twins runs, and an error on the easiest of fly balls leads to 3 Sox runs in the 9th.

Almost a foregone conclusion that the playoffs are forthcoming. Just a matter of whether they finish 1st, 2nd or 3rd.

FWIW, it's a very good year for Chicago baseball, because my Cubs are in first place...again!

[thspfc]

I've been enjoying the White Sox so far

Me too. Very weird game last night. 3 errors by the Sox in the 1st lead to 4 Twins runs, and an error on the easiest of fly balls leads to 3 Sox runs in the 9th.

Almost a foregone conclusion that the playoffs are forthcoming. Just a matter of whether they finish 1st, 2nd or 3rd.

FWIW, it's a very good year for Chicago baseball, because my Cubs are in first place...again!

First place in a below average division, yes.