Bleed Cubbie Blue - Sara’s Diary: Life without baseballA Chicago Cubs Fan Community Since February 9, 2005https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/community_logos/47557/cubbieblue.png2020-07-23T15:15:00-05:00http://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/rss/stream/209470132020-07-23T15:15:00-05:002020-07-23T15:15:00-05:00Sara’s Diary, day 132: The return of baseball
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<figcaption>Dr. Anthony Fauci testified before Congress wearing a Nationals mask. He’ll throw out the first pitch of the 2020 season. | Photo by Al Drago - Pool/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>And introducing a new feature called the Pandemic Baseball Chronicles</p> <p id="t2Vg4C">This diary started as a late night brainstorm as I watched every major sports league shut down due to the COVID-19 pandemic. I had no idea what was about to happen, but I knew it was historic. I also happen to live in an iconic neighborhood built around baseball and I wanted to be able to look back later and remember what happened on an (almost) daily basis. I believe I originally pitched the idea to Al as sort of like the letters they read in Ken Burns documentaries, but with a lot more sass. </p>
<p id="EN8jLY">After 132 days baseball is finally back, but we are still in historic times. There are already so many signs in the exhibition games we’ve been watching that baseball in 2020 will be unlike any season we’ve ever seen. To that end, I’m transitioning this series to a related series we’ll be calling the <em>Pandemic Baseball Chronicles. </em>Since I’ll return to some of the other features I’ve written in previous seasons (Grading the Starters, Sara’s Snapshots, and By the Numbers to name a few) the Pandemic Baseball Chronicles will not be a daily feature, but I will write it more than once a week as stories crop up. It will cover the intersection of the pandemic and the nation’s pastime. Like Sara’s Diary sometimes it will be serious, sometimes it will be whimsical, and sometimes it will just be weird.</p>
<p id="7h3X1k">It will be a place to talk about <span>Yu Darvish</span>’s <a href="https://twitter.com/BCB_Sara/status/1285369493083041794">pandemic hair</a> (and trust me, as a woman with waist-length hair who hasn’t had a haircut in 4½ months, I get it) and <span>David Ross</span>’ outstanding choice in face masks.</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">OMG, David Ross is wearing a new mask that is literally the W Bus. <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cubs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cubs</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/PandemicBaseball?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#PandemicBaseball</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OpeningDay?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OpeningDay</a> <a href="https://t.co/HQLbchxdzi">pic.twitter.com/HQLbchxdzi</a></p>— Sara Sanchez (@BCB_Sara) <a href="https://twitter.com/BCB_Sara/status/1286077532023009282?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 22, 2020</a>
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<p id="VNuPwp">It will also be a place to capture fan reactions to the season. My morning news show literally opened with a scene from <em>Field of Dreams</em> today and I found myself tearing up over baseball for the tenth or eleventh time this week. As I’m writing this they are talking about Dr. Anthony Fauci throwing out the first pitch of the 2020 season:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">World Series Champion Ryan Zimmerman gives Dr. Anthony Fauci a pep talk before his <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/OpeningDay?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#OpeningDay</a> first pitch.<br><br>(Which, by the way, is TOMORROW.)<a href="https://twitter.com/MLB?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@MLB</a> // <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/NATITUDE?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#NATITUDE</a> <a href="https://t.co/zoVNU3jUw8">pic.twitter.com/zoVNU3jUw8</a></p>— Washington Nationals (@Nationals) <a href="https://twitter.com/Nationals/status/1286039095022702592?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 22, 2020</a>
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<p id="VV5wtW">I hope everyone who has contributed to the rich conversations we’ve had about COVID-19 and baseball will continue to engage similarly with the new series. Al and I understand that having those conversations is important, we’re really just changing the title of the posts where they’ll happen.</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2020/7/23/21335355/saras-diary-day-132-the-return-of-baseballSara Sanchez2020-07-21T16:15:00-05:002020-07-21T16:15:00-05:00Sara’s Diary, Day 130 without baseball: Three days to go
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<figcaption>Kris Bryant tries to leg out a grounder against the White Sox | Mike Dinovo-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>And some fun projects in the offing</p> <p id="dUQ9dU">The <a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/">Cubs</a> were swept in a pair of preseason exhibition games against the <a href="https://www.southsidesox.com/">White Sox</a> over the last two days mostly on the back of two bad innings. It’s never particularly fun to watch the Cubs struggle, but I’m not going to get too worried about them in practice games. Now, if this persists after Friday, we’ll talk.</p>
<p id="KVoSmC">Ah, Friday — the day Cubs baseball is scheduled to return for real. Yesterday I covered <a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2020/7/20/21330362/saras-diary-day-129-without-baseball-pandemic-baseball-and-grief">my mixed feelings and emotions</a> about pandemic baseball. I’m sure others are feeling similarly conflicted. But from a more practical level as baseball inches ever closer I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what to do with this Diary. It’s been a great place to talk through a historic time, share insights as they relate to baseball and just connect at a time when society feels particularly disconnected. I’ve spent a great deal of time trying to figure out how to continue all three of those goals and have come up with two new BCB features, the first of which I wanted to roll out today.</p>
<p id="up5iSG">Starting in August we’ll be launching the BCB Book Club. Depending on interest and people’s availability we may do one book each month or one every other month. We’ll be starting off with a focus on labor relations in MLB since there are multiple outstanding books on the topic and the Collective Bargaining Agreement will be renegotiated after the 2021 season. We wanted to make this as accessible as possible, so we’ll be prioritizing books that have audio and e-versions. A few of these books are quite substantial, so we may take more time on them. There will be opportunities to participate in the conversation through posts here on BCB and periodic virtual meetings to talk about the key issues and parallels to today’s labor relations.</p>
<p id="XXkDGQ">So, without further ado, the first book will be <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Game-Inside-Secret-Baseballs-Brokers-ebook/dp/B00NERQSJ8/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=the+game+baseball&qid=1595363111&sr=8-1&tag=sbnation-20" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Jon Pessah’s <em>The Game</em></a> which is considered one of the definitive histories of the last labor stoppage in baseball. Future possibilities include <a href="https://www.amazon.com/Lords-Realm-Real-History-Baseball/dp/0345465245/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=lords+of+the+realm&qid=1595363557&sr=8-1&tag=sbnation-20" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">John Heylar’s <em>The Lords of the Realm</em></a><em>,</em> and <a href="https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001ILBE9G/ref=dp-kindle-redirect?_encoding=UTF8&btkr=1&tag=sbnation-20" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">Brad Snyder’s <em>A Well-Paid Slave</em></a><em>. </em>Once we get rolling there will be a process for participants to suggest books and topics, but I wanted to try and get us started with a theme. </p>
<p id="JFvVZI">Let us know in the comments if you’re interested in participating! There is still plenty of time to pick up the book before our first posts and discussions in August.</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2020/7/21/21333125/saras-diary-day-130-without-baseball-three-days-to-go-bcb-bookclubSara Sanchez2020-07-20T15:30:00-05:002020-07-20T15:30:00-05:00Sara’s Diary, Day 129 without baseball: Pandemic baseball and grief
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<img alt="MLB: Exhibition-Chicago White Sox at Chicago Cubs" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/dPelF13ojaFXh4qTlwAejTt3W4c=/0x0:3500x2333/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67083099/usa_today_14548411.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Pandemic baseball returned to Wrigley Field last night with an exhibition game between the Cubs and White Sox | Kamil Krzaczynski-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
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<p>Some thoughts on the conflicting emotions I felt during the Cubs exhibition game against the White Sox</p> <p id="kMbqax">As the days tick closer to the official opening of the <a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/">Cubs</a> season - and the transition of this diary from a <em>Life Without Baseball</em> to a <em>Chronicle of Pandemic Baseball</em> - I find myself torn. In previous seasons I’ve noted that Opening Day is like Christmas to me. Three years ago I even went so far as to <a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2017/4/9/15151570/twas-the-night-before-wrigley-baseball">rewrite <em>The Night Before Christmas</em></a> as a baseball parody. This season still reminds me of Christmas, but mainly it reminds me of the two most painful Christmases I’ve ever experienced.</p>
<p id="kzMZnn">In 1998 my grandfather passed away on December 19. He had been sick for a long time, but he wasn’t actually diagnosed with a chronic lung condition until the month before he died. I was in college trying to finish my exams when my parents abruptly let me know we’d be making an unplanned trip to New Mexico. It didn’t actually dawn on me how sick he was until we got to the hospital. He was on a ventilator for most of the time we were in the hospital with him, but there were a few lucid moments with him before he died.</p>
<p id="FYKmkX">I had never seen someone die before, let alone the man who had fought at the Battle of the Bulge, built his own house, and raised a beautiful family with his wife of almost 50 years. The three hour drive to that home from Albuquerque to the Hondo River Valley was a blur. No one felt like celebrating Christmas as we planned a funeral, and yet, Christmas came and went. There was a rushed shopping trip on the 23rd of December and we exchanged gifts that seemed much more about caring for each other than material items. We stayed up late reminiscing in that bittersweet way families grieve the loss of a loved one.</p>
<p id="18PUiq">That Christmas changed me and I remembered it vividly two years ago when my mother got tremendously sick after complications from a back surgery at the holidays. She spent a particularly harrowing month in the hospital between December and January. My dad and I drove an hour each way to the hospital every day - oftentimes in silence as we tried to come to terms with how sick she was. We each took breaks from her bedside to do some Christmas shopping, and exchanged unwrapped gifts in her hospital room. I gave my mother a Cubs book to read while she recovered. I remember silently praying she would recover and be able to read it as she thanked me for it.</p>
<p id="Y0nntu">I bring up these very personal experiences because there is something unique about the intersections of the holidays and grief. It still represents time to spend with your loved ones and there is comfort in that time even under trying circumstances, but that comfort is not the joy we traditionally associate with the holidays. For many who are alone during the holidays, <a href="https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/what-mentally-strong-people-dont-do/201512/how-deal-grief-during-the-holidays">their grief is intensified</a> during a time that is supposed to bring comfort.</p>
<p id="Nbis4T">One of the things that has struck me since early in the pandemic is that we are a nation in the middle of grieving an unfathomable loss. This isn’t a unique observation, <a href="https://hbr.org/2020/03/that-discomfort-youre-feeling-is-grief">the Harvard Business Review wrote this excellent piece</a> on the concept in March:</p>
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<p id="IRAxKd"><strong>HBR: People are feeling any number of things right now. Is it right to call some of what they’re feeling grief?</strong></p>
<p id="VkKd8B">Kessler: Yes, and we’re feeling a number of different griefs. We feel the world has changed, and it has. We know this is temporary, but it doesn’t feel that way, and we realize things will be different. Just as going to the airport is forever different from how it was before 9/11, things will change and this is the point at which they changed. The loss of normalcy; the fear of economic toll; the loss of connection. This is hitting us and we’re grieving. Collectively. We are not used to this kind of collective grief in the air.</p>
<p id="1HeOzD"><strong>You said we’re feeling more than one kind of grief?</strong></p>
<p id="BdYVan">Yes, we’re also feeling anticipatory grief. Anticipatory grief is that feeling we get about what the future holds when we’re uncertain. Usually it centers on death. We feel it when someone gets a dire diagnosis or when we have the normal thought that we’ll lose a parent someday. Anticipatory grief is also more broadly imagined futures. There is a storm coming. There’s something bad out there. With a virus, this kind of grief is so confusing for people. Our primitive mind knows something bad is happening, but you can’t see it. This breaks our sense of safety. We’re feeling that loss of safety. I don’t think we’ve collectively lost our sense of general safety like this. Individually or as smaller groups, people have felt this. But all together, this is new. We are grieving on a micro and a macro level.</p>
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<p id="QsC48c">The past four months differs from those days I spent in New Mexico or the time I spent in Utah in that it’s ongoing, and that so far (thankfully) my family has been spared a proximate encounter with COVID-19. Experiencing grief right now is also tricky because while some of us are grieving the loss of normalcy, or experiencing the anticipatory grief referenced above, hundreds of thousands of our fellow Americans are grieving the loss or illness of a loved one on top of that experience. What we have in common is a shared understanding that none of us truly knows how to deal with this or what is next.</p>
<p id="J2v2mZ">The juxtaposition of managing grief as baseball tries to return amidst heightened risk reminds me of those Christmases spent with grief, fear and loved ones. It was so much better to be with those loved ones to cope with the loss and pain as opposed to being alone, but it didn’t make the fear or pain go away. </p>
<p id="Afu9C8">As I watched the Cubs play an exhibition game against the <a href="https://www.southsidesox.com/">White Sox</a> last night, I was overwhelmed with conflicting emotions. I watched every minute, and found myself settling into familiar conversations in our game thread and on Twitter as <span>Jason Kipnis</span> started his Wrigley Field Cubs career with a home run and <span>Willson Contreras</span> gunned out a runner at second like it was any other baseball game. I found tremendous joy in my mom’s texts about specific plays throughout the game, even when her favorite player, <span>Javier Báez</span>, made an error. I also found myself experiencing moments of panic as some coaches and umpires pulled their masks down or didn’t wear them at all. The backdrop of empty seats was a constant reminder that pandemic baseball is far from normal.</p>
<p id="C0i5M5">There is no playbook for how we are supposed to feel as baseball returns. There is a lot of justified skepticism that the precautions MLB has taken are not enough. Some people who love the game may be unable to enjoy it in the current circumstances, and others may need that three hour mental break even more in troubling times. There are probably dozens of reactions I’m missing. </p>
<p id="xadhx8">I’m still not sure any sports should be played with COVID-19 cases spiking across the country. However, it appears baseball is going to try, and I’m too in love with the sport to not find joy in a beautiful <span>Kyle Hendricks</span> curve ball.</p>
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https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2020/7/20/21330362/saras-diary-day-129-without-baseball-pandemic-baseball-and-griefSara Sanchez2020-07-18T15:15:00-05:002020-07-18T15:15:00-05:00Sara’s Diary, Day 127 without baseball: Blue Jays denied permission to play in Canada
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<figcaption>A picture of the Rogers Centre during Summer Camp | Photo by Julian Avram/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>MLB’s only non US based team is going to need an alternate plan</p> <p id="D0g6YH">With less than one week until the scheduled start of the 2020 MLB season a serious complication has emerged for the <a href="https://www.bluebirdbanter.com/">Toronto Blue Jays</a>, the only team not based in the Unite States. This afternoon Canadian Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino announced that MLB’s regular season would require repeated border crossings between the US and Canada that would jeopardize the health of Canadian citizens, <a href="https://apnews.com/72e93f0780cad703e4d6bd1d47ed2aef?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=AP_Sports&utm_campaign=SocialFlow">according to the Associated Press</a>:</p>
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<p id="2SW2cU">“Unlike preseason training, regular season games would require repeated cross-border travel of Blue Jays players and staff, as well as opponent teams into and out of Canada. Of particular concern, the Toronto Blue Jays would be required to play in locations where the risk of virus transmission remains high,” Mendicino said.</p>
<p id="tNE8II">“Based on the best-available public health advice, we have concluded the cross-border travel required for MLB regular season play would not adequately protect Canadians’ health and safety. As a result, Canada will not be issuing a National Interest Exemption for the MLB’s regular season at this time.”</p>
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<p id="114LbB">One glance at this map from the <a href="https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html">Johns Hopkins COVID-19 Resource Center</a> is all you need to understand the rationale behind this decision:</p>
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<cite>COVID-19 Resource Center Johns Hopkins</cite>
<figcaption>North American COVID-19 cases as of July, 18</figcaption>
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<p id="ufVMc7">You can read Mendicino’s full statement below:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Here’s the full statement from <a href="https://twitter.com/marcomendicino?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@marcomendicino</a> on why the Jays can’t play in Toronto <a href="https://t.co/KvIwqj1UrZ">pic.twitter.com/KvIwqj1UrZ</a></p>— David Cochrane (@CochraneCBC) <a href="https://twitter.com/CochraneCBC/status/1284567370187649024?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 18, 2020</a>
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<p id="d3bs2R">As you can see from the above statement the key issue is not the Blue Jays’ ability to protect their players at the Rogers Centre in Toronto. That preseason exemption had already been granted prior to the start of Summer Camp, and the Blue Jays have been working out at their home park like every other team for a little over two weeks now. However, it is telling that MLB proceeded with its plans for a shortened season in 2020 prior to obtaining buy-in from the Canadian government on their regular season plans, a buy-in that they have now been denied, leaving the Blue Jays in search of a new home park with less than a week to the start of the regular season.</p>
<p id="uwG6q5">It is worth noting that the Blue Jays got off to a rockier start than some other clubs as they tried to get their players to Toronto. Players were not allowed to enter Canada until they had two negative tests which delayed a “handful” of players and staff arriving <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/positive-test-grounds-blue-jays-results-delay-locks-toronto-staff/">according to Sportsnet Canada</a>:</p>
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<p id="AMaJAg">A handful of <a href="https://www.sportsnet.ca/baseball/mlb/teams/toronto-blue-jays/">Toronto Blue Jays</a> players and staff who had direct contact with the team’s latest player to test positive for COVID-19 remained in Dunedin, Fla., while the rest of the team chartered north over the weekend, according to an industry source.</p>
<p id="8gjR0B">The group held back won’t be able to join training camp at Rogers Centre until each member produces two negative tests under the protocol agreed to with the Canadian government. The team had planned to run a second charter up to Toronto in the coming days.</p>
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<p id="mGU2Wl">Those delays were followed by infielder <span>Travis Shaw</span> expressing dismay at the quarantine protocols the Blue Jays would be expected to follow in order to play in Toronto. Specifically, the team would be expected to adhere to much more stringent quarantine standards than their US counterparts or risk a $750,000 fine. Since the Canadian government requires anyone entering the country to quarantine for 14 days, the effect for the Blue Jays players and staff would be remaining in their hotel (which is connected to the Rogers Centre) at all times during the shortened season:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">We were told two weeks... not all summer... all summer is a bit much <a href="https://t.co/6S7euLbHWA">https://t.co/6S7euLbHWA</a></p>— Travis Shaw (@travis_shaw21) <a href="https://twitter.com/travis_shaw21/status/1281613274807664646?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 10, 2020</a>
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<p id="YlwHtX">Shaw ultimately <a href="https://twitter.com/travis_shaw21/status/1282438977555968000">clarified his comments</a>, but the logistical nightmare of even a highly tested and contained group of people routinely flying into hot spots in the United States and then returning to Canada was clearly too much of a risk for the Canadian government regarding their <a href="https://www.vox.com/2020/1/31/21113178/what-is-coronavirus-symptoms-travel-china-map">coronavirus</a> pandemic response.</p>
<p id="JfFgAI">The Blue Jays are not scheduled to play a game at home until July 29, so MLB has a bit of time to figure out an alternate site for them to play their home games this summer. Their Triple-A affiliate in Buffalo and Spring Training park in Dunedin, Florida are both less than ideal for this particular situation. However, at this moment it appears the backup plan is to relocate the Toronto Blue Jays to Buffalo:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">In recent days Buffalo has emerged as club's backup plan over Dunedin. Club already has some staff there laying groundwork. Would be an 11-day scramble to get it ready. <a href="https://t.co/1P63GjVqPM">https://t.co/1P63GjVqPM</a></p>— Shi Davidi (@ShiDavidi) <a href="https://twitter.com/ShiDavidi/status/1284562928566448129?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 18, 2020</a>
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<p id="5WH24v">According to Jeremy Frank the <a href="https://www.baseball-reference.com/boxes/BUF/BUF191509082.shtml">last MLB game in Buffalo was in September, 1915</a>. This move will make 2020 the first MLB season held entirely on American soil since 1968:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Assuming the Blue Jays cannot play in Toronto for the entire season, 2020 will be the first MLB regular season to solely take place in the United States since 1968.</p>— Jeremy Frank (@MLBRandomStats) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBRandomStats/status/1284570052734451714?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 18, 2020</a>
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<p id="Tm2kBN">MLB has already been scrambling as they try <a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2020/7/13/21322895/saras-diary-day-122-without-baseball-10-days-to-baseball-covid-19-testing-delays-threaten-season">to increase COVID-19 testing capacity</a> to meet the needs of all 30 teams and one team needing to make a last minute move to their Triple-A site will surely not be the last hurdle if baseball really is to be played in 2020. However, seeing America’s pastime limited to American soil due to the failed American pandemic response is simultaneously clearly necessary and one of the more stunning developments I’ve witnessed in the last 127 days.</p>
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https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2020/7/18/21329701/saras-diary-day-127-without-baseball-blue-jays-denied-permission-to-play-in-canadaSara Sanchez2020-07-16T15:00:00-05:002020-07-16T15:00:00-05:00Sara’s Diary, Day 125 without baseball: Kyle Hendricks will be the Opening Day starter
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<img alt="Chicago Cubs Summer Workouts" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/keAkTBw_ZaaJvJ9b4pmUf3QXXLs=/0x59:1151x826/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67068294/1255623310.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Kyle Hendrick adjusts his mask during Summer Camp at Wrigley Field | Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images</figcaption>
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<p>A well-deserved honor for the Professor</p> <p id="uUuP2t">On Tuesday night <a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/">Cubs</a> fans <a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2020/7/15/21326163/saras-diary-day-124-without-baseball-practice-games">got their first look</a> at the Chicago Cubs playing baseball in over 100 days. It was a pitcher’s duel between the two men considered most likely to be named the Cubs Opening Day starter on July 24 against the <a href="https://www.brewcrewball.com/">Milwaukee Brewers</a>: <span>Kyle Hendricks</span> and <span>Yu Darvish</span>.</p>
<p id="McfE9g">Darvish is a phenom. <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/cubs/armed-new-pitch-and-fresh-pregame-superstition-yu-darvish-historic-run-mlb-pitcher-knuckle-curve-mets">He added a knuckle curve</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBastian/status/1166540228330434563">a week after he met</a> <span>Craig Kimbrel</span> last season and he invented an 11th pitch (yes, you read that right, eleven) over the offseason. He calls it the Supreme. I call it nasty:</p>
<div id="BHGe8V">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Yu Darvish, 93mph Supreme with Tail. <a href="https://t.co/tJzgxRSK9l">pic.twitter.com/tJzgxRSK9l</a></p>— Rob Friedman (@PitchingNinja) <a href="https://twitter.com/PitchingNinja/status/1280261987046432770?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 6, 2020</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
</div>
<p id="JXHhes"><span>Darvish</span> looked good on Tuesday night - he threw 60 pitches over 3⅔ innings. At times he looked mystifying as he faced his teammates. But he also looked human with a walk and a wild pitch in the first inning before giving up a no-doubt home run to <span>Willson Contreras</span> in the fourth inning.</p>
<p id="tdrIDF">Hendricks, on the other hand, looked outstanding. He only gave up one hit and threw 70 pitches over 6⅓ innings with manager <span>David Ross</span> electing to have Hendricks pitch a four-out sixth to hit his pitch count. At one point during the broadcast Len and JD commented that Hendricks was on pace for a Maddux against a solid blue team line up:</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/JcN7OJN9D2Aa1fMzWogGU0KNKOg=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/20087854/Blue_Team_Lineup.png">
<cite>Marquee Sports Network</cite>
<figcaption>Blue Team lineup</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="iPywTU">It’s hard to imagine two pitchers more different than Hendricks and Darvish, and choosing between their talents for Opening Day is certainly a nice problem to have. Hendricks relies on four pitches. <a href="http://www.brooksbaseball.net/velo.php?player=543294&b_hand=-1&gFilt=&pFilt=FA%7CSI%7CFC%7CCU%7CSL%7CCS%7CKN%7CCH%7CFS%7CSB&time=year&startDate=03/30/2007&endDate=07/16/2020&s_type=2">According to PitchFX</a> he throws a sinker that maxes out around 87 MPH 41 percent of the time, he mixes that with an 87 MPH fourseam fastball he throws a little over 20 percent of the time and a plus change up that he throws just over 78 MPH. He rounds that out with a curve ball, and known for precise placement and command of his pitches. <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/cubs/cubs-name-kyle-hendricks-opening-day-starter-against-brewers">According to NBC Sports</a> Hendricks’ readiness and resume both factored into Ross’ decision to name him the Opening Day starter:</p>
<blockquote>
<p id="sajeQs">“He was up to 75 pitches the other day,” Ross said Thursday of <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/cubs/how-cubs-pitcher-kyle-hendricks-strengthened-his-case-start-opening-day">Hendricks’ last intrasquad outing</a>. “He’s further along than any of our starters and it just makes sense for the work that he’s put in and his resume as well as he’s the one that’s ready.</p>
<p id="sx9Ek6">“I’ve had that in my mind for a little while but I didn’t want to jump the gun.”</p>
</blockquote>
<p id="YobGTI">This will be Hendricks’ first Opening Day start, but he’s no stranger to big games. During the Cubs <a href="http://www.sbnation.com/world-series">World Series</a> run the Professor demonstrated he had ice water in his veins throwing an absolute masterpiece against the <a href="https://www.truebluela.com/">Dodgers</a> in Game 6 of the NLCS before starting World Series Game 7 — a game many Cubs fans, including myself, believe he was pulled from too early.</p>
<p id="4HbuEb">Hendricks has been consistently underrated as a starter due to his modest pitching arsenal, but anyone who has watched him over the last six seasons knows he more than makes up for velocity with command. None of us were surprised to see The Professor atop the STATS LLC Command+ leaderboard when it was unveiled in <a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516590&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheathletic.com%2F346863%2F2018%2F05%2F10%2Fexclusive-a-big-step-forward-in-measuring-command%2F&referrer=sbnation.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bleedcubbieblue.com%2F2020%2F7%2F16%2F21327427%2Fsaras-diary-day-125-without-baseball-kyle-hendricks-opening-day-starter-cubs" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank">The Athletic in 2018</a>.</p>
<p id="NzDrnP">As Ross named Hendricks his Opening Day starter he reminisced about the narrative surrounding Hendricks’ <a href="https://www.nbcsports.com/chicago/cubs/cubs-name-kyle-hendricks-opening-day-starter-against-brewers">limitations when he joined the Cubs as a catcher in 2015</a>:</p>
<blockquote><p id="Fp3v5Q">I remember when I first got here the narrative was he couldn’t go through the lineup three times, which makes me laugh now.</p></blockquote>
<p id="cqzi68">Now the narrative is that Kyle Hendricks just gets guys out. Here’s to Hendricks getting a lot of Brewers out in a little over a week when the 2020 season begins.</p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2020/7/16/21327427/saras-diary-day-125-without-baseball-kyle-hendricks-opening-day-starter-cubsSara Sanchez2020-07-15T18:15:00-05:002020-07-15T18:15:00-05:00Sara’s Diary, Day 124 without baseball: Practice games
<figure>
<img alt="MLB: Chicago Cubs-Workouts" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/MR2ry43yjfm0jc7b4akKNr4bY1w=/1x0:2242x1494/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67063931/usa_today_14523825.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>In pandemic baseball we celebrate home runs with heel clicks | Patrick Gorski-USA TODAY Sports</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>We got a glimpse of what baseball will look like on Marquee Network this week</p> <p id="4nfWaA">I’m going to preface this entire entry with a caveat. I cannot even imagine how frustrated everyone without Marquee Sports Network is right now. Actually, I take that back, I can imagine it because I remember how frustrated I was before a deal was reached with RCN. I was furious and preemptively disappointed. But that was also in January, a full month before the <a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/">Cubs</a> reported to Spring Training in Arizona. So far the only programming I’ve missed on Marquee Sports Network was the initial launch show, which was delayed by RCN for some unknown reason. Missing the return of baseball would be beyond aggravating for me in normal times. With all of the additional anxiety and stress of four months of the COVID-19 pandemic it must be unbearable.</p>
<p id="Y2AVjI">That said, I was emotionally unprepared for how much I’d missed baseball. As the minutes ticked towards 6 p.m. yesterday I found myself in tears on my couch. I’m not trying to be melodramatic about this, but baseball is such a big part of my summer and in a summer that has been so tremendously abnormal hearing the familiar voices of Len and JD announce the lineups brought me to tears:</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/z14KW5U6CDmQWMA_4a1YWdejQho=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/20085955/Blue_Team_Lineup.png">
<cite>Marquee Sports Network</cite>
<figcaption>Blue Team Lineup July 14</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="wLl8H6">But let’s be real, even with walk-up music and crowd noise piped into Wrigley Field, pandemic baseball is not normal in dozens of different ways. I tried to capture a few of those as I was watching the game. For starters, check out Len, JD and Cubs field reporter Taylor McGregor all in different boxes as they socially distance:</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/wCpr2f_CZRVHqVjdchawJS_eknk=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/20085965/Cubs_announcers_in_soically_distanceed_boxes.png">
<cite>Marquee Sports Network</cite>
<figcaption>Socially distanced announcers</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="HW4WMy">I was pleasantly surprised to see all three umpires for the Cubs scrimmage in masks after we learned that masks are optional for umpires:</p>
<div id="1r0zwv">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">All 3 umpires for the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cubs?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cubs</a> intrasquad game masked up as Kyle Hendricks throws a 9 pitch first inning to retire the blue team. <a href="https://t.co/DDO0oKm4BZ">pic.twitter.com/DDO0oKm4BZ</a></p>— Sara Sanchez (@BCB_Sara) <a href="https://twitter.com/BCB_Sara/status/1283177811705057281?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 14, 2020</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p id="gASikd">The umpires aren’t the only ones masked up, though. Coaches are required to wear masks at all times and I was also pretty impressed with the size of the industrial-sized hand sanitizer bottle they keep nearby:</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/hBFI7nF1T1EXxIpYO1MamnVchEY=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/20085985/coaches_masks_and_hand_sanitizer.png">
<cite>Marquee Sports Network</cite>
<figcaption>Coaches, masks and hand sanitizer, oh my!</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="Xki47z">I’ve been wondering how the Cubs would celebrate home runs now that high fives are prohibited. <span>Willson Contreras</span> hit a no doubt bomb to dead center in the first inning so we learned the answer to that pretty fast. The Cubs celebrate with heel clicks:</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/NddtYliLbT-LnwjIqomEbN-pJtQ=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/20086008/heel_clicks.png">
<cite>Marquee Sports Network</cite>
<figcaption>Pandemic baseball celebrations</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="pHsvv5">As for the game itself, it’s a practice game so I try not to read too much into anything, but <span>Kyle Hendricks</span> was so efficient he threw a four out sixth inning to hit his pitch count. <span>Javier Báez</span> hit an absolute bomb to left field that studio host Cole Wright ran over to retrieve. An aside, it’s sort of fun that the hosts at Marquee get as excited about these home runs as we do:</p>
<div id="Dveigq">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">When <a href="https://twitter.com/javy23baez?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@javy23baez</a> goes big fly and you're the only fan in the stands....<a href="https://twitter.com/Cubs?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@Cubs</a> <a href="https://twitter.com/WatchMarquee?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@WatchMarquee</a> <a href="https://t.co/jHyec385ko">pic.twitter.com/jHyec385ko</a></p>— Cole Wright (@ColeWright) <a href="https://twitter.com/ColeWright/status/1283218182292082688?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2020</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p id="STqv7Y">Incidentally, the umpires are apparently only at these games for five innings and I’ve been getting a kick out of Contreras and <span>Victor Caratini</span> calling the strike zone in the later part of the game:</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/sFz3Rs6lZHbZ3wPz4-frTJsUSw0=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/20086285/Catchers_calling_balls_and_strikes.png">
<cite>Marquee Sports Network</cite>
<figcaption>Catchers calling balls and strikes</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="sqhXfB">I also like seeing a bit of an insight into how <span>David Ross</span> is using these practice games and managing his team. When Craig Kimbrel gave up some hard contact late in the game, Ross moved into position right behind the catcher to get a better view of Kimbrel’s stuff:</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/9QydOxRZUSghRyzH43cX-401OJw=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/20086290/Ross_watching_intently.png">
<cite>Marquee Sports Network</cite>
<figcaption>David Ross keeping an eye on his pitchers</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="67k3Uw">Wednesday’s game brought more fun like this Contreras blast. Yes, he bat flipped against his own pitcher, because he’s Willson:</p>
<div id="0KwWRV">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Hurts so good. <a href="https://t.co/S2RSYJBJYl">pic.twitter.com/S2RSYJBJYl</a></p>— Chicago Cubs (@Cubs) <a href="https://twitter.com/Cubs/status/1283475954363510785?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2020</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p id="PMXHIS">It’s not all bat flips and homers on the North Side of Chicago. Wednesday also brought some new faces to Wrigley Field after reports that six Cubs players didn’t receive their COVID-19 test results in time for today’s practice game:</p>
<div id="7HeD5A">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Robel Garcia, Christopher Morel, Brennen Davis and Miguel Amaya up from South Bend to take part in today's intrasquad game. Helping out as six MLB camp players await COVID-19 test results.</p>— Jordan Bastian (@MLBastian) <a href="https://twitter.com/MLBastian/status/1283439706651398147?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2020</a>
</blockquote>
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<p id="mnSyyl"> Cubs fans have yet to see first baseman <span>Anthony Rizzo</span> in a game at Wrigley Field in 2020. The Cubs captain missed both games due to lower back tightness. He had an MRI that indicated he’s dealing with some rib inflammation:</p>
<div id="4a5Eli">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Rizzo MRI, per Cubs. Confirms some 'rib head inflammation' which has created some spams in the left side of his back.</p>— Jesse Rogers (@JesseRogersESPN) <a href="https://twitter.com/JesseRogersESPN/status/1283439283970375680?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 15, 2020</a>
</blockquote>
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<p id="aFdUKh">But even with the pandemic precautions, the lack of fans, the testing delays and sandlot rules, it’s been beyond wonderful to see this Cubs team play baseball again. It’s made me happy in a way I’d forgotten existed until yesterday. Here’s hoping the deal with Comcast comes through soon so the rest of Chicago can experience that feeling as well.</p>
<p id="jrVv3u"> </p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2020/7/15/21326163/saras-diary-day-124-without-baseball-practice-gamesSara Sanchez2020-07-14T11:30:00-05:002020-07-14T11:30:00-05:00Sara’s Diary, Day 123 without baseball: Cubs baseball returns to TV
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/CO6ByQjkJO2vLyGk4yrZhR-trWc=/151x330:3619x2642/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67055759/1255663689.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Marquee Network on the remodeled press box at Wrigley Field | Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Tonight’s practice game will be on Marquee Sports Network at 6 p.m. CT</p> <p id="iNFV8W">We are nine days away from the start of the 2020 baseball season and one of the questions Andi Cruz Vanecek and I have <a href="https://www.podtrac.com/pts/redirect.mp3/pdst.fm/e/chtbl.com/track/3271E/traffic.megaphone.fm/VMP8208385968.mp3">discussed recently on Cuppa Cubbie Blue</a> was why aren’t the <a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/">Cubs</a> televising their practice games on Marquee Sports Network? After all, it’s a network built around Cubs programming and the fan base is pretty starved for baseball. Plus, the <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">Yankees</a> and other teams with their own network have been televising team practices, so why not the Cubs?</p>
<p id="59bzes">Well, the wait is over. Tonight’s practice game will be on Marquee Sports Network at 6 p.m. CT:</p>
<div id="4EQY9t">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Cubs baseball is back tonight! <a href="https://t.co/S7R088iPJd">pic.twitter.com/S7R088iPJd</a></p>— Marquee Sports Network (@WatchMarquee) <a href="https://twitter.com/WatchMarquee/status/1283043232058941440?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 14, 2020</a>
</blockquote>
<script async="" src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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<p id="f6m2Vs">I’d honestly forgotten how much joy I get just knowing I can look forward to Cubs baseball at the end of the day before seeing that tweet.</p>
<p id="Vm3co9">Admittedly, Marquee Sports Network is still working out a deal with Comcast, so not all Cubs fans in the Chicagoland area will get to see the first live action from Wrigley Field since last September. Whether you can watch the the game or just want to follow the play by play and stories in the comments we’ll be celebrating the return of Cubs baseball the way we celebrate all Cubs games on Bleed Cubbie Blue: with a game thread that will open at 5:30 p.m. CT. </p>
<p id="ABE3sX">Note: This game is NOT likely on MLB.TV — so it’ll probably only be available for cable/satellite subscribers in the Cubs market territory who have access to Marquee.</p>
<p id="rRTWW8">It’s unclear when we’ll get lineup information and the like, so the game thread may look a bit different than normal, but I’ll take it. It will still be a place for us to gather and chat about the real Cubs as they face off at Wrigley Field. </p>
<p id="uXPTif"></p>
https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2020/7/14/21324247/saras-diary-day-123-without-baseball-cubs-baseball-returns-to-tvSara Sanchez2020-07-13T15:00:00-05:002020-07-13T15:00:00-05:00Sara’s Diary, Day 122 without baseball: 10 days to baseball
<figure>
<img alt="" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/RH5VTRUyoo8CuhJJ2wUVhlaxEWs=/0x328:1925x1611/1310x873/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/67052103/1255629238.jpg.0.jpg" />
<figcaption>Kyle Schwarber works out in a mask over the weekend | Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But inconsistencies in COVID-19 testing and procedures may be the Achilles’ heel of a shortened season</p> <p id="LJXkwh">Theoretically we are 10 days away from the first baseball games in 2020, but as much as I’d love to write about pennant races, trade deadlines and pitching match-ups, I have an uneasy feeling about the start of the 2020 baseball season. It isn’t just the absolute surge of cases that is currently ravaging the Sun Belt, although these <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/us/coronavirus-us-cases.html">charts from the New York <em>Times</em></a> showing cases continuing to skyrocket in California, Arizona, Texas and Florida are terrifying:</p>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/7n4R8ISg4mufVND2b2n5xmer3vA=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/20081290/CA_cases_7.13.png">
<cite>NY Times</cite>
<figcaption>California cases as of July, 13</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/LBHNYscCvowetXR6nVD5eJlzook=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/20081295/AZ_cases_7.13.png">
<cite>NY Times</cite>
<figcaption>Arizona cases as of July, 13</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ksRMe-PqyXTBOsMfV6Jf78Zs29w=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/20081298/FL_cases_7.13.png">
<cite>NY Times</cite>
<figcaption>Florida cases as of July, 13</figcaption>
</figure>
<figure class="e-image">
<img alt=" " data-mask-text="false" src="https://cdn.vox-cdn.com/thumbor/ZVaCwu00C3SO8B5vUaGIkO_Qdbg=/400x0/filters:no_upscale()/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/20081297/TX_cases_7.13.png">
<cite>NY Times</cite>
<figcaption>Texas cases as of July, 13</figcaption>
</figure>
<p id="8u45Id">It’s something <span>Kris Bryant</span> said last week that I can’t stop thinking about: “This is the easy part.” </p>
<p id="w2Ei2B">Right now every team is playing in a bit of a bubble. I’ll talk more about the quality of those bubbles in a second, but theoretically once you’ve established a limited number of people, protocol for them to stay safe and testing to ensure that hasn’t changed, those bubbles are about as secure as one could hope to be in the current environment while interacting with other people.</p>
<p id="WDEWmr">The problem is two-fold. First, it seems like not all team bubbles have been created equally. For example, last week the <a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/">Cubs</a> delayed practice for all players because of testing delays, today they had six key Tier-1 individuals, including manager <span>David Ross</span>, <a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2020/7/13/21322747/cubs-manager-david-ross-team-workout">stay home because their tests were delayed</a>. However, practice continued for the rest of the team. That seems like a pretty solid plan to me, and I appreciate the transparency the Cubs have had around these announcements. In fact, I think that transparency is vital to a safe season being possible:</p>
<div id="K8dLzc">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Cubs announce that David Ross and five other Tier 1 individuals are waiting for their results from Saturday’s COVID-19 tests and will not attend workouts this morning “out of an abundance of caution.” <a href="https://t.co/Dj2r6qWWmK">pic.twitter.com/Dj2r6qWWmK</a></p>— Maddie Lee (@maddie_m_lee) <a href="https://twitter.com/maddie_m_lee/status/1282697149042634759?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 13, 2020</a>
</blockquote>
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<p id="HPqwEO">Compare and contrast that transparency with what we heard from the <a href="https://www.vivaelbirdos.com/">Cardinals</a> last week when they cancelled one practice and delayed another:</p>
<div id="CLaPQG">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet">
<p lang="en" dir="ltr">I’m hearing that <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/Cardinals?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#Cardinals</a> players don’t have much more info than we do at this point. Expecting a workout but haven’t heard. <a href="https://t.co/OkbZfb9MVF">https://t.co/OkbZfb9MVF</a></p>— Mark Saxon (@markasaxon) <a href="https://twitter.com/markasaxon/status/1280592273315696642?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 7, 2020</a>
</blockquote>
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<p id="ibifJQ">To be clear, this isn’t a Cubs vs. Cardinals thing — but the different approaches matter because the reason for the delay is important. What is the percentage of tests that cancels rather than delays a practice? Why was that decision made? I do want to give the Cardinals props here for exercising caution and not putting people together without testing data. That is a far cry from the <a href="https://www.halosheaven.com/">Angels</a> who still just absolutely stunned me with this whole “optional practice” decision as <a href="https://www.latimes.com/sports/angels/story/2020-07-06/angels-among-mlb-teams-delaying-workouts-coronavirus-testing-snafus">the Los Angeles <em>Times</em> reported last week</a>:</p>
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<p id="0r3Ds0">The Angels pushed Monday’s practice from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. and then switched it to an optional workout for 12 to 15 players after sample collectors did not show up to Angel Stadium or Blair Field — their alternate training site in Long Beach — on Sunday.</p>
<p id="Az4WF2">The Angels administered their own saliva tests Sunday and shipped them to Major League Baseball’s testing lab in Salt Lake City. They conducted Sunday’s workouts as scheduled, but Monday’s workouts were delayed to give medical personnel a wider window to administer tests.</p>
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<p id="bqChGD">Which brings me to my second point, because in 10 days when these team bubbles start interacting with other team bubbles they are only as safe as the weakest link on the field. That means if the Angels are holding optional practice without test results, every team that interacts with the Angels might as well have done the same thing. It also makes individual behavior and skepticism of the virus a huge risk for any other player they interact with, <a href="https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2020/7/8/21316649/joe-west-makes-another-really-bad-call">so when Joe West doesn’t take the coronavirus seriously</a> and umpires four different teams in a week, all four of those rosters assume West’s level of risk.</p>
<p id="zvHXwA">This is a massive collective action problem, because if everyone would just agree on the most stringent rules and transparency it would be better for the entire sport, but that level of compliance seems unlikely within the structure MLB set up. That means the <a href="https://www.crawfishboxes.com/">Astros</a> and <a href="https://www.federalbaseball.com/">Nationals</a> are cancelling practice while the Angels and <a href="https://www.pinstripealley.com/">Yankees</a> are testing themselves. The second those teams play each other, the system is weakened to the lower risk threshold some teams adopted. </p>
<p id="9hexG0">For what it’s worth, MLB has set standards that are minimum requirements, as<a href="https://go.redirectingat.com?id=66960X1516590&xs=1&url=https%3A%2F%2Ftheathletic.com%2F1925083%2F2020%2F07%2F13%2Fd-c-l-a-protocols-keep-nationals-and-dodgers-off-the-field-despite-negative-tests%2F&referrer=sbnation.com&sref=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.bleedcubbieblue.com%2F2020%2F7%2F13%2F21322895%2Fsaras-diary-day-122-without-baseball-10-days-to-baseball-covid-19-testing-delays-threaten-season" rel="sponsored nofollow noopener" target="_blank"> The Athletic reported below</a>:</p>
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<p id="kudl6m"><strong>• </strong>The individual must test negative for the virus via an expedited test, and self-quarantine while awaiting the results of that test.</p>
<p id="tvaQNU"><strong>• </strong>The individual must be completely asymptomatic.</p>
<p id="laTadC"><strong>• </strong>The individual must undergo more frequent temperature checks and enhanced symptom monitoring under the direction of the club’s medical staff for at least ten days following the potential exposure.</p>
<p id="nUK8An"><strong>• </strong>The individual must wear a surgical mask at all times, including while outside of Club facilities, except while on the field.</p>
<p id="lwC2tn"><strong>• </strong>The individual must undergo a saliva test on a daily basis for seven days following the potential exposure (clubs are provided with saliva tests.</p>
<p id="CGBEu9"><strong>• </strong>The individual must immediately self-isolate under the direction of the team physician if he or she develops any symptoms consistent with COVID-19.</p>
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<p id="rbkwNv">Ideally, the only deviation from those standards would be players and staff following more stringent standards from their particular state or locality. To their credit players seem keenly aware that this entire structure depends on everyone taking the strongest precautions, as <a href="https://www.npr.org/sections/coronavirus-live-updates/2020/07/10/889735793/nearly-every-major-league-baseball-team-has-had-a-coronavirus-test-come-back-pos">this NPR interview</a> with the <a href="https://www.lookoutlanding.com/">Mariners’</a> <span>Braden Bishop</span> shows:</p>
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<p id="Cxnkoz">Seattle Mariners outfielder Braden Bishop echoed that sentiment in an interview with Goldman, saying that team members are trying to police each other’s behavior.</p>
<p id="CzYRFz">“I think the biggest problem is you could put in the greatest protocols ever, but if you don’t have full compliance by every single guy and every single employee, it puts everyone at risk,” Bishop said. “You don’t want one of those serious cases [of COVID-19] to be part of our group.”</p>
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<p id="n4h6oK">The Cubs Yu Darvish put it even more simply:</p>
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<p lang="en" dir="ltr">Yu Darvish was "ready to go home" if the Cubs didn’t get it right at Wrigley Field: <a href="https://t.co/w9Aoc66SZA">https://t.co/w9Aoc66SZA</a></p>— Patrick Mooney (@PJ_Mooney) <a href="https://twitter.com/PJ_Mooney/status/1282482167499706370?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">July 13, 2020</a>
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<p id="QWTh1z">However, as I look outside my window on the type of day built for baseball in Wrigleyville, I cannot help but see dozens of individuals with clearly different thresholds for risk in the current environment. Some are wearing masks, even walking alone with no one around, some are not, some are riding bikes with masks on, many are not, and some are entering gyms and restaurants, an action I haven’t even considered in four months. </p>
<p id="Ea2I5w">At the end of the day MLB is filled with players and staff with their own personal assessments of risk. If baseball is going to be played safely, all of those individuals are going to have to agree to follow the most stringent rules regardless of their individual preference for the next 90 days. In other words, baseball players, coaches and essential staff are basically going to have to accomplish something no group of Americans has seemed willing to do so far during the pandemic.</p>
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https://www.bleedcubbieblue.com/2020/7/13/21322895/saras-diary-day-122-without-baseball-10-days-to-baseball-covid-19-testing-delays-threaten-seasonSara Sanchez