MLB Team affected by Covid, getting in the whole season

[Cap'n Piranha]

 

The truly alarming fact is that the Cardinals have been all but completely locked down since July 30 and are STILL getting positive tests from players and staff that have presumably tested negative at least once since that date.

https://www.cbssports.com/mlb/news/how-should-mlb-handle-cardinals-covid-19-outbreak-three-options-league-has-with-st-louis-still-sidelined/

 

Huh.  It's almost like playing baseball games presents no greater environment for transmission than not playing baseball games.

[SkyBlueWaters]

I read yesterday that MLB is considering going the "bubble" route for the playoffs. IF they make it to the playoffs.

 

They should have done it from the start. St. Louis has played 5 games. They are about two weeks behind. That's a lotta doubleheaders. 

 

The Cards will need the spirit of an old Cubbie, Ernie "Let's play two!" Banks, to get close to 60 games. What happens if, come the end of the season, they are closer to 50? MLB just uses winning percentage?

 

What a mess. 

[Nine of twelve]

 

I read yesterday that MLB is considering going the "bubble" route for the playoffs. IF they make it to the playoffs.

 

They should have done it from the start. St. Louis has played 5 games. They are about two weeks behind. That's a lotta doubleheaders. 

 

The Cards will need the spirit of an old Cubbie, Ernie "Let's play two!" Banks, to get close to 60 games. What happens if, come the end of the season, they are closer to 50? MLB just uses winning percentage?

 

What a mess. 

Regarding how many games are played and who makes the postseason, who cares? I have been watching the Twins play because I enjoy watching good baseball players play games. And while I like the Twins to win it just doesn't matter when it comes to the standings because this season is just one big asterisk anyway. The games are nothing more than exhibition games.

[jud6312]

 

Huh.  It's almost like playing baseball games presents no greater environment for transmission than not playing baseball games.

Or it could be that the incubation period is up to 14 days, which is just about how long it's been since their first positive test.

[VATwinsFan]

My apologies if someone has brought this up before, but has anyone heard if MLB has instituted a minimum number of games played requirement to be eligible for the playoffs?

 

They way it is going the Cardinals won't come close to playing 60 games.  What if they finish say 25-15 and another team is 35-25?  Based on wins/losses the two teams are tied, but the Cards clearly have a higher winning %.

 

Who goes to the playoffs?

[twinbythebay]

 

My apologies if someone has brought this up before, but has anyone heard if MLB has instituted a minimum number of games played requirement to be eligible for the playoffs?

 

They way it is going the Cardinals won't come close to playing 60 games.  What if they finish say 25-15 and another team is 35-25?  Based on wins/losses the two teams are tied, but the Cards clearly have a higher winning %.

 

Who goes to the playoffs?

I believe the MLB has already said that they won't force every team to get all 60 games in, and the determining factor for standings will be winning %. I don't think they've said anything about a minimum number of games, but I'd imagine they'll have STL play enough doubleheaders to get to at least 50 games (barring further outbreak issues, of course).

[Hosken Bombo Disco]

I read yesterday that MLB is considering going the "bubble" route for the playoffs. IF they make it to the playoffs.

 

They should have done it from the start. St. Louis has played 5 games. They are about two weeks behind. That's a lotta doubleheaders. 

 

The Cards will need the spirit of an old Cubbie, Ernie "Let's play two!" Banks, to get close to 60 games. What happens if, come the end of the season, they are closer to 50? MLB just uses winning percentage?

 

What a mess.

 

The bubble idea has been effective so far for the NBA and NHL

 

Probably every MLB team should start tightening their bubbles a few weeks before the postseason starts. I think each team has its own compliance officer now, and the league even has undercover people watching too. A virus outbreak right before the postseason should probably disqualify a team (punitively and also practically, as that team would be holding everyone else up).

[Nine of twelve]

 

My apologies if someone has brought this up before, but has anyone heard if MLB has instituted a minimum number of games played requirement to be eligible for the playoffs?

 

They way it is going the Cardinals won't come close to playing 60 games.  What if they finish say 25-15 and another team is 35-25?  Based on wins/losses the two teams are tied, but the Cards clearly have a higher winning %.

 

Who goes to the playoffs?

If those are the records both teams would go.

[Rosterman]

Like all gatherings that spark transmission, always wonder what kinda of conditions the carriers end up. Do the majority show no symptoms. How many get sick that makes you absolutely miserable. Did any require hospitalization. Especially in certain age groups, like players on a baseball team or sailors on an aircraft carrier (keeping in min d that there are older people involved in each arena that you wish to protect). 

 

As colleges, for example, open up...do you shut down a class that has a case for two weeks, or two days.

 

As with baseball, the inconsistent testing, or the need to wait for results, keeps pushing closure out and out and out. I imagine beginning tests are the quick group test that you hear right awy someone has it. Then you have to do the deep nose test which takes a little longer. And then a followup on any/all exposed to that person, which takes longer still.,

[Squirrel]

 

Are you saying that while the Cardinals have not been playing games due to Covid infections they've still been hanging out as a group?  Based on what happened to Sano and Astudillo, that seems unlikely.  Furthermore, given that it's been more than 14 days since the Twins played a Cardinals team that had individuals with Covid (since the Cardinals stopped playing immediately after their series against the Twins), but have not had a single positive test, it would seem playing a team that has people with asymptomatic Covid is perhaps not nearly as fraught with danger as some may have believed.

 

Therefore, my initial assertion, that playing baseball games seems to not be much of an additional risk for transmission, stands.

 

 

MOD NOTE: (to everyone, not just Cap'n Piranha)

 

We are not experts here, so, please ... refrain from making assumptions/drawing conclusions as to how serious or not it is to play baseball with Covid. We don't know enough to draw conclusions, so, in the meant time, is better to be safe than sorry. Further, we do not want to be a voice promoting what is/is not safe for the general public, either. Wrong information and assumptions do not help with anyone's well being.

 

And, again ... while this discussion is somewhat related to baseball, it is straying into the general discussion topic, so please stop or take it to the Sports Bar thread. And, again, non-expert conclusions will not be tolerated ... because none of us knows what's what and likely won't until all is said and done and more research and data accumulates.

 

And before you reply to this mod note, don't. You may PM me instead.

 

So let's leave this thread to current updates only, and discussions of the season and/or disruptions to the season, and how these will play out to the end.

 

Thanks.

 

 

 

 

[SkyBlueWaters]

 

 

My apologies if someone has brought this up before, but has anyone heard if MLB has instituted a minimum number of games played requirement to be eligible for the playoffs?

 

They way it is going the Cardinals won't come close to playing 60 games.  What if they finish say 25-15 and another team is 35-25?  Based on wins/losses the two teams are tied, but the Cards clearly have a higher winning %.

 

Who goes to the playoffs?

 

As 9of12 astutely points out, with those records, both teams would go. (I fumbled with the multi-quote thing, but couldn't get it to work? I clearly need a FAQ page for this platform.)

 

So let's re-cast the question, as the Cardinals are in the NL and as of today only six NL teams have winning records. StL is 5-5, Milw is 10-10, and SDP is 12-12.

 

For the sake of argument, pretend the Phillies get hot and blow on by these three, so that seven teams have better records.

 

What if, vying for the 8th spot, St. Louis ends at 26-27, Milwaukee at 28-29, and San Diego at 29-30? The Padres would have the best winning percentage, by a minuscule margin.

 

Switching back to the pragmatic, my guess is that MLB would bust a gut trying to get everyone to 60 games--or maybe just the same number, if under 60. But let's pretend 2020's penchant for the catastrophic has continued--we needn't speculate on derechos, firenados, or New Madrid fault earthquakes and Lake Michigan tsunamais. 

 

Yes, yes, I know. That would be messy. But let's pretend the current administration is cleaning it up just fine.

 

The important question is this:  Does anyone know how MLB would handle teams that close at the end of the season? 

 

*  *  *

Sorry, twinbythebay, I just now noticed that you saw something about winning percentage being the determining factor for playoff qualification.

 

Where did you find that? The closest I could find was this quote from ESPN in July:

 

"Tiebreaker games will be eliminated, with ties broken by head-to-head record, followed by better record within a team's division and record in the last 20 games within the division. If there is still a tie, the standard would be last 21 games within a division, then 22, etc.

 

"Teams could finish the regular season with differing numbers of games played; regular-season postponements will be made up at Manfred's discretion."

 

The tiebreaker stuff only seemed to address ties between two teams in a division. Otherwise, the note on "differing numbers of games" would lead you to believe they'd use winning %.

 

[bighat]

I think someone edited my original title LOL.

 

For whoever that smarty-pants was, take a look at STL as "Exhibit B"!

[nicksaviking]

 

I think someone edited my original title LOL.

 

For whoever that smarty-pants was, take a look at STL as "Exhibit B"!

 

It was another moderator, but since this thread had gone beyond the scope of just the Marlins, either a title change or closing the thread all together were probably the only courses of action.

 

And so everyone is clear, this thread is still to discuss impacts Covid has on individual teams and the MLB season, it's not to debate or pontificate about quarantines and pandemics.