Benjamin Grimm

1971 is really the year he got robbed. Seaver even named his cat Ferguson Jenkins because of it.

I still care. I really want to be able to watch baseball. Mets baseball, not Korean baseball. It's looking more likely (for the moment, anyway) that Manfred is going to unilaterally declare a 50-game season. It would be a totally lame-ass season, but I'd rather see that than nothing.

No counterproposal, but apparently talks will continue. This is from Sports Illustrated, quoting Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic: According to Rosenthal, MLB said it would not send a counter to the MLBPA's proposal. Instead, the league reportedly has begun to discuss plans with owners on playing a shorter season without fans. In addition, MLB is reportedly making itself available to discuss additional ideas with the union, particularly on resuming the season without fans. Sounds like they're considering the commissioner's unilateral option, which the union probably disputes.

ESPN News Services wrote: Major League Baseball has rejected the players' offer for a 114-game regular season with no additional salary cuts and told the union it did not plan to make a counterproposal, sources confirmed to ESPN.

There certainly was a decreased interest on my part, and I never came all the way back. 1995 was the last post-season that didn't involve the Mets where I watched any of the games. I remember watching the Braves-Indians World Series and realizing that I just didn't care anymore and was watching out of habit. So yeah, if 2020 is canceled people will lose interest. Some will come all the way back, some will come partially back, like I did, and some won't come back at all.

I agree that I would prefer a season without snipers. I still hope they play. A fifty-game season would be pretty weak, but if they can get closer to 80 that would be satisfactory.

Some are saying (and I'm not sure if this would hold up) that the March 26 agreement gives the commissioner the ability to unilaterally declare a season of any length, as long as it adheres to the rest of the agreement from that day. (Meaning pro-rated salaries with no sliding scale or other reductions.) If true, if the negotiations break down, he can declare the 50-game season. I'd rather see 50 games than zero games, but 50 games makes for a poor excuse for a season. It would certainly be a tainted championship for whoever wins it. I'd rather see a 70-game season with a playoff field of 16 teams. The extra round(s) of playoffs should at least somewhat offset the cost of the extra 20 games.

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-2020-season-update-where-things-stand-as-mlbpa-owners-take-step-toward-a-deal/https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlb-2020-season-update-where-things-stand-as-mlbpa-owners-take-step-toward-a-deal/ https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlbpa-on-board-with-leagues-plan-for-regional-schedule-in-2020-season-per-report/https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/mlbpa-on-board-with-leagues-plan-for-regional-schedule-in-2020-season-per-report/ The article says... After some heated discussions last month, it appears the two sides are getting closer to a deal. However, I really don't see anything in the article that supports that statement. I think that the contention is that since the owners agreed to pay the full pro-rated amount for a 50-game season, and the players want the same for a 114-game season, the obvious solution is to meet in the middle. The mid-point between 50 games and 114 is 82, which is the original number that the owners proposed, with reductions. Meeting in the middle sounds much easier said than done.

Jeff Passan, ESPN wrote: Unable to yet reach a return-to-play agreement, Major League Baseball has discussed playing a shorter schedule in which it would pay members of the MLB Players Association their full prorated salaries, sources familiar with the situation told ESPN. Though MLB does not intend to propose this to the players, the possibility of implementing a schedule of around 50 games that would start in July has been considered by the league as a last resort in the event the parties can't come to a deal, sources said.

...then there will be a second wave. I know. All I'm saying is that cases are currently in decline. Whether or not that lasts depends on how badly we screw things up going forward. I can certainly understand not being optimistic.

I saw that too. I'm a bit skeptical. I'll be more likely to believe it once it's confirmed by a few additional sources. But it's certainly encouraging news if true.

The first wave is receding. It's way too early to spike the ball, but the numbers are in decline. Not in every area, but in most of the areas that had been hardest hit.

The danger of playing regular-season games through the end of October is, as has often been stated, that if there's a second wave, it could wipe out the postseason. The owners prefer to get the World Series completed by October 31 to mitigate this risk. The players are asking for regular season through October. The proposed expanded playoffs would then extend through the end of November, more or less. I wonder if any consideration has been made to putting the playoff teams in a quarantine bubble for these November games, which can all be hosted at a neutral site, perhaps in Hawaii or somewhere. For half of the fourteen teams, that quarantine would only last about a week, as they'll be eliminated in the first round. Only two teams would be bubbled for the full month. I can understand why players wouldn't want to be quarantined for months at a time, but maybe agreeing to a quarantine bubble for November post-season games would alleviate some of the owners' fears.

https://www.tradingcarddb.com/Images/Cards/Baseball/72/72-203Fr.jpg>

You can expect to see the same for June.

That's a good point. The schedule is complicated. I can imagine the schedule makers on standby, wondering if they're going to have to come up with an 82-game schedule or a 114-game schedule or something in between. At least, for this year one complication will be removed since there won't be teams playing a series on one coast followed by a series on the opposite coast. Time zone differences won't be a factor if teams play all their games in their own time zone or the one adjacent to their home time zone.

I think they're saying they'll lose money every game unless the players agree to a second reduction in salary.

SCHAEFER METS PLAYERS OF THE MONTH, MAY 2020 http://leaptoad.com/mets/cards/Nobody1978.jpg> http://leaptoad.com/mets/cards/Nobody1971.jpg> http://leaptoad.com/mets/cards/Nobody1976.jpg> http://leaptoad.com/mets/cards/Nobody1973.jpg> MAY 2020 Player of the Month: NOBODY Pitcher of the Month: NOBODY Reliever of the Month: NOBODY Bench Player of the Month: NOBODY

The owners' position, true or not, is that they lose $640,000 on every game that's played without fans in the seats. The players' proposal, to add another 32 games to the season, would then mean that each team would lose an additional $20,480,000. So yeah, it's hard to see this as progress. Maybe the middle ground somehow involves guaranteeing the deferral, even if the post-season doesn't get canceled. Owners will make more money on expanded playoffs in 2021. There will most likely be some fans in the seats in at least some of the venues before 2020 is done. Whether it will be enough to make a substantial difference in revenue is unknown.

For whatever it's worth. I'm curious to know where this "sense of optimism" is coming from. I do think they'll find a way. There's too much at risk not to. Even if it's too late for a July 4 opener and they have to open around July 15 instead. Jon Heyman wrote: Though there's no evidence of progress in MLB/players talks yet, there's a sense of a bit more optimism, for whatever reason. Could just be because both sides know they absolutely can't let money kill the season. Would be devastating for the sport, which should be reason enough.

That was such a stupid idea, but since it's still remembered 21 years later, I guess it was successful, in a way. Nice to hear Bob Murphy again. I had forgotten how he pronounced the days of the week... Mundy, Tuesdy, Wednesdy.

Has anyone explained why the Mets operate at "a major loss"? It's not still the Madoff thing. And it's not the Bobby Bonilla thing.

Is he willing to wear a mask?

Do the Mets own the Binghamton franchise?

My sense is that the Mets' most threatened affiliate is Kingsport. https://1igh9a4a8a743z7yjj3tnc68-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-content/uploads/hunterwrightstadiump_r.jpg> http://www.littleballparks.com/Stadium/2011/Kingsport/Images/Kingsport_11009_DxOweb.jpg> http://www.littleballparks.com/Stadium/2011/Kingsport/Images/Kingsport_11002_DxOweb.jpg> http://www.littleballparks.com/Stadium/2011/Kingsport/Images/Kingsport_11003_DxOweb.jpg> Minor League baseball in Kingsport, Tennessee goes all the way back to 1921, though there was a gap from 1926 to 1937.