JotCast | FanGraphs Opening Day 2020 Chat - Part I

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Dan Szymborski

8:05

At least, that's my opinion

Like the whole baseball SHOULDN'T be played, even if fewer players get sick and there are no fans

8:06

becuase of some moral preening about how some aspect of life that people enjoy being going is an outrage evne if there's no specific danger.

MLB's plan hasn't been perfect and can be improved, but I have serious doubts that any more players will get COVID than would have otherwise.

And a LOT would have without baseball. These are 20-40 year-old athletes, many rich. They'd be at beaches and bars and so on

8:07

I'm not going to pick on any writer in paricularly, but that's how I feel

Anonymous

8:07

how many umps opted out?

Dan Szymborski

8:07

10 or so?

Anonymous

8:07

BRO this strike zone

homealone

8:07

to back up that point, just look at how many NBA players were partying and tested positive between the time the league shut down and the bubble started

Dan Szymborski

8:07

Baseball had that superspreader birthday party and that underground baseball club league

Tony Wolfe

8:08

I don't necessarily think anyone individually is more at risk than they might have been otherwise, I just worry about how fast it could spread once one guy does have it

Andy

8:08

I think there's some value to the society to have baseball back, even under weird shortened-season rules. Maybe they should have started the season with Marlins vs. Royals. Then Matty V could ask "is it ok for us to play baseball" and ARod could answer "Yes, but this isn't baseball"

Dan Szymborski

8:09

That's not to say MLB shouldn't have rules to follow. They should! And I think their plan is reasonable, if not perfect.

Tony Wolfe

8:09

And sending them all over the country skeeves me out

chumpy

8:09

I think this is enough pitches to say that Scherzer is officially washed.

Dan Szymborski

8:09

He's had a lot of sweat even for the weather

8:10

Wire Fan

8:10

It is good to see the layoff hasn't affected Angel Hernandez's bad umpiring skills

Oddball Herrera

8:10

Agreed - I am not sure if many writers aren't good at expressing that a choice must be made from many imperfect options, or if the public doesn't want to read that content, but discourse suffers for it either way

Dan Szymborski

8:11

Now, I think anyone who wants to opt-out ought to, with no slights targeted at their character. Allowing people to opt-out is what makes allowing people to opt-in an ethical possibility

Guest

8:11

Now that baseball is back, who feels healed?!?

Dan Szymborski

8:11

Not healed, but I feel a bit better!

homealone

8:11

Scherzer is washed? with 8 strikeouts in the fourth?

Dan Szymborski

8:11

I was under the impression it was sarcasm

Dodger Fan

8:11

I felt healed before the Kershaw news

alex rodriguez

8:11

*laughing harder at my own joke than the person i'm talking to*

Dan Szymborski

8:11

Hey, I'm in that boat a lot

8:12

Normally when I post the neural network things that I think I find way funnier than anyone else does

kevinthecomic

8:12

Skinny Voit hasn't been able to catch up to the fastball yet

Dodger Fan

8:12

So A-Rod and I finally have something in common

Tony Wolfe

8:12

Isn't Chris Sale the all-time K/9 leader? Or did I not see an innings qualifier

Dan Szymborski

8:13

Given the spread of COVID-19, I'm not sure we "earned" the season

Dave

8:13

Sports are the reward for a functioning society, or if billionaires really want to make more money

Dan Szymborski

8:13

I don't buy that line at all.

Sporst are the product of people who voluntarily want to produce sporting events meeting with peopel who voluntarily want to play in those sporting events.

And most societies have had some form of sport, whether everything's run smoothly or not

Wire Fan

8:14

What i find odd is media questioning baseball's plan and logistics yet seemingly having no issue with college and pro football... Which is going to be an absolute nightmare.

Dan Szymborski

8:14

Football was always kind of screwed

Tony Wolfe

8:14

I just don't think those sports have put forth much of a plan *to* criticize

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