Outside the Confines: The pandemic strikes back

Here’s to a better second half. Remember, being a sports fan should be fun. If the Cubs start trading players away, enjoy the ones that are left. They might not win as many games, but I can promise you that every player in the major leagues is an incredibly talented ballplayer. Or you could decide to cheer for the Giants or Rays (for example) for a few months. But keep coming back here to stay up-to-date about the Cubs.

There are always the Cubs minor league teams. And in case you can’t bring yourself to watch the Cubs today, MiLB.tv is free this weekend, starting tonight. If you’ve been wanting to see for yourself what Brennen Davis and Ed Howard look like on the field, this is your chance to check it out.

• Apparently this pandemic is not over. I’m not going to get into why it’s not over (because you all know why), but I will say it should be over and it’s a literal tragedy that people are still dying. Compared to that, it’s small potatoes that yesterday’s Yankees/Red Sox game was postponed after six Yankees tested positive for COVID-19. At least half of those players have been vaccinated and are currently asymptomatic. All-Star outfielder Aaron Judge is one of those who tested positive, which means everyone who played on the AL All-Star team is potentially exposed.
• Also, the entire Korean Baseball Organization has suspended play after an outbreak. The KBO has postponed all games through Sunday and then will start a pre-planned break for the Tokyo Olympics. They will not resume play until August 9.
• As long as we’re on the KBO, Pirates first baseman Will Craig has signed with the Kiwoom Heroes. Craig admits that one reason he signed to play in Korea is because he wanted to get away from that play where he failed to step on first base against Javier Báez. You know the play [VIDEO].

• Just finishing up with the All-Star Game festivities, Zach Kram has the winners and the losers from the All-Star Game.
• One winner was Fox, as the television ratings for the All-Star Game were up slightly from 2019, despite the controversy over the location of the game. (The Athletic sub. req., but here’s a short non-paywalled summary.) It should be noted that the 2021 ratings include “out-of-home” viewing, i.e. in a bar or restaurant, and the 2019 ratings don’t. But even adjusting for that, it’s still a win for MLB and Fox, because even flat ratings from year to year are good news in the business these days,
• Clinton Yates writes about how this year’s All-Star Game was all about fathers and sons.
• Three ESPN writers explain why All-Stars Vladimir Guerrero Jr., Shohei Ohtani and Fernando Tatis Jr. are the new faces of baseball.
• Reds outfielder Nick Castellanos disagrees, arguing that commissioner Rob Manfred is the face of baseball. Hannah Keyser disagrees with Castellanos, but she does worry that the commissioner and the administrative side of MLB are getting in the way of promoting the terrific young stars of today.
• Devan Fink calculates just how valuable Shohei Ohtani has been on the field for the Angels.
• The All-Star Break is also the symbolic mid-point of the season. David Schoenfield has grades for all 30 teams. (ESPN+ sub. req.)
• Michael Clair hands out some “weird” awards for the first half.
• Mark Feinsand has nine players on the trade market whose value is increasing as we near the deadline.
• Mike Axisa has some “bold” predictions for the second half.
• Will Leitch has one second-half prediction for each MLB team.
• Gabe Lacques has the five most important players of the second half.
• Alden Gonzalez examines who will win the NL West, the toughest division in baseball. (ESPN+ sub. req.) Umm, the Diamondbacks? That would be quite a story.
• Matt Kelly has some statistical achievements that could be reached this season.
• Gabe Lacques looks at how Kris Bryant and the Dodgers Chris Taylor have become the most unselfish stars in the game. (By “unselfish,” he means willing to play wherever their team needs them to play.)
• Normally, when a broadcaster is fired mid-season, it’s because . . . there’s a drive into deep left field by Castellanos and that will be a home run . . .the broadcaster did something wrong. But the Angels fired broadcaster Daron Sutton at the All-Star Break and gave no reason. Sutton was technically the backup Angels broadcaster to Matt Vasgersian, but Sutton has actually called more Angels games than Vasgersian this year. Former Marlins broadcaster Rich Waltz will step into Sutton’s role.
• The Orioles-Rays game on YouTube next Tuesday will be the first in MLB history to have an all-female broadcast team. Melanie Newman will have the play-by-play and Sarah Langs will do the analysis. Alana Rizzo will be the on-field reporter. The pre- and post-game shows will be hosted by Heidi Watney and Lauren Gardner.
• Dodgers pitcher Trevor Bauer had his administrative leave extended again to July 27.
• Ken Rosenthal reports that the Twins are trying to sign outfielder Byron Buxton to a long-term extension. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• The Mariners plan to promote top prospect Jarred Kelenic to the majors when the second-half starts. Kelenic was promoted earlier this season but was sent back down after he went 0 for 39 to start his MLB career.
• The Mets are going all AC/DC on July 30 as they will be back in black (uniforms) for the first time since 2011.
• Andy McCullough looks how White Sox manager Tony La Russa fared over the first half of the season. (The Athletic sub. req.)
• Ashley MacLennan writes that there needs to be more baseball movies for kids. The problem is that no one thinks they can compete with 2002’s Air Bud: Seventh Inning Fetch.
• Ron Kaplan explains why it won’t be a problem accommodating Orthodox Jewish players in the major leagues. Two Orthodox Jews were taken in this week’s MLB Draft, although only one, Diamondbacks third-round pick Jacob Steinmetz, is expected to sign.
• And finishing up with the draft, Dayn Perry has the 15 best names of players taken in the MLB Draft.

And tomorrow will be a better day than today, Buster.