I looked at my calendar book this morning. I saw that I would have been driving to Boston next week for a Braves-Red Sox game that would fulfill my mandate of seeing a game at Fenway Park. Instead, I actually watched the New York Yankees’ two YES-televised intra squad games on Monday and Tuesday.
I abhor Spring training games. This is reaching a new low for me. When I played in practice games, there wasn’t a real feel to them. Consequently, I never really excelled in any except for a pickup game in Donaldson Park in Highland Park on a Saturday morning when the elitist Dairy Queen team, composed of a lot of South Siders who kept razzing the lowly Police Department players. That was a the only time in my Midget League history that I cleared the left-center snow fence with a line shot to propel us to victory. Take that, Robert Mandel!!
Anyway, the Yankees games were played under the lights on two hot and humid July nights, with a few Yankees employees in the stands (GM Brian Cashman and recently retired C.C. Sabathia were appropriately socially distanced and on their cell phones) and very little ambient noise. The games were as expected—the batters were outclassed by the pitchers. New pitching ace Gerrit Cole threw 5 very effective innings and former 1st round pick Clark Schmidt shut down the batters he faced.
The good news was that nobody got hurt. Considering that Masahiro Tanaka took a 112 mph liner in his head from the bat of Giancarlo Stanton on Saturday. He landed in concussion protocol, which is kind of scary because OF Clint Frazier spent the majority of his 2019 season on the IL after hitting his head against a wall. Tanaka joined DJ LeMahieu and Luis Cessa as unavailable, the latter two on the 10 day COVID list. And it has just been disclosed that closer Aroldis Chapman has tested positive for COVID-19. Typical New York Yankees—you need a scorecard to keep track of the injuries.
There are a number of players who do not like the set up which MLB and the MLBPA agreed to implement. To make it work, lapses in execution are expected but can have significant consequences for the players and their teams. Testing may not be enough and yet it may be one of the things which does the season in.
Look at the MLS. Their tournament is falling apart, as entire teams are infected with the coronavirus and have withdrawn. Imagine that scenario with baseball.
Thus, I patiently wait for Cole to lead the Yankees in the team’s opener on July 23 in Washington and Max Scherzer. A marquee matchup.
A couple of years ago, we sat in a luxury box at the front of the stands down the left field line as the Nationals, led by Steven Strasburg, faced off against the Pittsburgh Pirates, whose pitcher was Gerrit Cole. Both pitchers were dominant that night. I knew that both were phenoms—Strasburg had come back from surgery on his elbow and Cole seemingly underachieved for the Pirates during his tenure with the team.
Instead, a trade to Houston got Cole going. Now he is the ace of the Yankees staff, one which is expected to keep the opposition down while the Bombers potent lineup, if healthy, batters the pitching of their rivals. It is certainly something to look forward to.
I read that the YES Network and SNY are formulating their plans to televise the 60 game schedule. Announcers will not travel with the teams. The Yankees will have their announcers either in person at the the Stadium, at the YES studios in Stamford, CT, or calling games from their residences. The Mets will have the announcers at Citi Field for home and away games. SNY producers will add some crowd noise to the broadcasts. My bigger questions are these: why doesn’t Ken Singleton real.y retire this season and how will the base ace of a crowd impact Paul O’Neill?
College football is the biggest news of the week. Division III Carnegie-Mellon University, a member of the University Athletic Association, where plane rides are common to play in Chicago and St.Louis, has put off all fall sports. The Centennial Conference, home to Franklin and Marshall, Johns Hopkins plus a host of schools in eastern Pennsylvania and Maryland, also courageously opted to not play in the fall. I have seen that Amherst and Williams Colleges are also on board with this.
Next came the Ivy League. On Wednesday, the league decided that there will be no fall sports in 2020. This was not unexpected. What has happened since then is, in part, a result of the fallout from the Ivies’ move.
First, the Big Ten said it would only play a conference schedule this fall—if at all. The Atlantic Coast Conference pushed back its decision-making on fall sports to August 1. Then the PAC-12 echoed the Big Ten by indicating they would play only a conference schedule, holding back the start of the projected games a couple of weeks so that UCLA and USC would have a chance to practice and play. The SEC and Big 12 will be like the ACC and make a decision at the end of July.
Plenty of teams are infected. The rate of transmission of the disease is growing and taxing the hospitals and health care personnel in many states. Unfortunately, the staggering amount of money generated from the games and TV is still the driving force—for now.
Big non-conference games have been canceled. Notre Dame likely will not be playing Southern Cal for the first time since at the end of World War II. And the Irish will have to negotiate with the ACC, who they are members in every sport but football, to formulate a larger schedule of ACC opponents and maybe some Independents like BYU or UConn to complete their 2020 schedule.
Numerous luminaries in the college football ranks have mentioned spring football. But not very enthusiastically. It may be a better fit for the Ivies, the Patriot League and D-III schools where football revenue isn’t counted upon to keep the athletic budget afloat. What might happen more frequently is what Stanford did this week—eliminate a number of sports to save money. Eighteen D-I programs have cut down the number of intercollegiate teams they support.
The COVID situation among colleges is certainly fluid right now—and that is not a pun that is intended. I still think about 1918 and the Spanish Flu pandemic and how it decimated college football. To avoid the dreaded Spring games and to not jeopardize the timing with the NFL draft, there is a mindset which wants to play this fall, whatever the outcome may be. Even if it means little or no fans in the stadiums. I hope that the AD’s at the schools which opt for this path won’t regret their decisions if they have to make a hasty retreat from playing in the late Fall.
Steve Politi, the Star-Ledger’s astute sports columnist, made some cogent points in his Saturday column. It is clearly apparent to him that college football must think harder (and faster) about not playing in 2020. He said that if just ONE Power 5 head coach was to say that it isn’t right to play right now given the numbers of this insidious virus, the other head coaches should and would follow the lead and fearful athletic directors would not have to be the ones to reach the conclusion alone.
For that matter, Politi asked the questions which I have been harping on. Why is okay for a football player to sweat and expose himself to COVID-19, be tested, quarantined and have to deal with life and death problems when campus learning is all but virtual? The answer is a simple one. The actions of a few acting bravely right now can be morally correct.
My question is a simpler one. What will it take to get the Power 5 to see the reason of the Ivy League and Centennial Conference? If you have the answer, please send it along to the AD and college President of your choice.
Moving on to the NBA, the teams are sequestered in the bubble at Disney World. Pictures of Chris Paul engaged in a competitive game of cornhole with his Thunder teammates or articles about the Dallas Mavericks having so much fun in Florida are pure propaganda, especially when so many are falling ill around the state. Make no mistake about this—the NBA is running a risky experiment which could easily backfire.
It tells you how desperate the NBA news cycle is—there was an article on ESPN.com this week about the 6 barbers chosen to stay in the bubble. Articles about barbers? I like my guy in Millburn, but I don’t write profile him in my blog.
I read an article on ESPN.com about the NHL and its two city playoff system. While there are plenty of measures designed to make the best possible scenario, there are as many unanswered questions which could throttle the entire plan. Keeping rambunctious hockey players confined in Toronto and Edmonton and threatening the teams and players with lost draft choices and hefty fines for violations of the protocol is not feasible.
For instance, if the hotel pool is open, they can use it, adhering to social distancing inside and out of the pool, plus disinfect the chairs before and after. Right. Sure. Modified food buffets? Ha.
The fact that the agreement between the NHL and NHLPA is that jointly they can postpone or cancel games if they would “jeopardize the integrity of the competition.” What does that mean? Who will ultimately decide that based upon what criteria? And remember, this is happening in Canada, not the US, so different law and procedure will be applicable.
While the NHL has its own vision of a bubble, for this plan to succeed, it requires near perfection. Hockey is a rough sport, made rougher under these new and daunting circumstances. It would be ironic that the NHL, situated in Canada, pulls off the “miracle on ice” while down in the States, the procrastinating and bumbling continues.
Of course, there is the NFL. Patrick Mahomes II received a humongous contract extension, which had Chiefs Head Coach Andy Reid literally dancing a jig. More drama ensued around the Redskins and a name change—which now seems destined to happen, even if owner Daniel Snyder is displeased about it.
This is the NFL—the “No Fun League” as PTI’s Michael Wilbpn mockingly calls it. Training camp is scheduled to open up shortly, but there has been no word on whether it will start timely. Just like the League has not varied from expecting to complete a full season.
This is a mega business and there can be little to prevent it from conducting business. The NFL Draft went off virtually. Meetings and training are conducted within safety guidelines.
Yet the NFLPA wants to do away with all pre-season games in 2020, something which the owners don’t want to do (how do you spell lost gate receipts?). There will be money problems with reduced revenues. Which will lead to acrimony similar to that which enveloped the MLB-MLBPA negotiations.
Just like with college football, we don’t know what the coronavirus landscape will look like. In July, it is trending downward, which does not bode well for September and beyond.
Like other professional sports, there will be testing. More testing. And some more after that. Beloved humanitarian and defensive stalwart, J.J. Watt of the Houston Texans, is against the NFL’s plan to mandate face visors for its players.
The lead doctor for the NFL likens the protocol established to be a model for all sports, at all levels. Typical NFL bullishness. Many players do not share the League’s enthusiasm regarding their safety within the pandemic.
Moreover, there are no set guidelines for fans to attend games in retrofitted stadiums, subject to local and state regulations. I thought about helping my daughter move out of her New Orleans apartment before the end of August. My family and primary care physician put a resounding end to that stupid idea.
New Orleans is one of the cities which has had problems containing the virus. Plus the Saints play indoors, where the virus thrives. The number of new cases keeps surging and the NFL holds the course and even entertains fans going to games when every other sport is nixing the thought.
I have ranted too much on this. You get the picture. I should be happy that the New Jersey Devils selected Lindy Ruff as their head man. Ruff has a record of winning wherever he coaches. His selection, along with removing the interim GM tag for Tom Fitzgerald, are both good moves.
Duke chose Kara Lawson as the new Head Women’s Basketball Coach. Excellent player, analyst and person.
The Palace at Auburn Hills has been imploded. All of the Detroit teams presently play downtown, near each other. I wish it was that way for all of the cities. It is a schlep to get to Yankee Stadium or Citi Field.
The Chicago Blackhawks and Atlanta Braves both have said they will not change their nicknames, citing the acknowledgment of Native American history and culture in support of their beliefs. While the face of Blackhawk is an iconic part of the Chicago uniform, they could easily become the BlackHawks and use a fighting bird as their symbolic mascot. The Braves are fools. And they look worse than Daniel Snyder in the court of public approval.
Look at all of them—CFB, MLB, NHL, NBA, NFL. The Devils, Duke, the Detroit Pistons, the Chicago Blackhawks and Atlanta Braves, too. Playing games in an attempt to play games, For the love of…money.
Talking about head games, my wife and I only have 90 more episodes of Curb Your Enthusiasm ahead of us…
