2020 could finally be the season the Reds break through to the playoffs side...

yeah I could make a really good case for the Reds being the Central favorites....

lets start to do our official preseason predictions

NL-
East- Nationals
Central- Reds
West- Dodgers
Wild Cards Cardinals/Braves

AL-
East- Yankees
Central- Twins
West- Astros
Wild Cards- Rays/White Sox

NL- Dodgers over Reds
AL- Astros over Yankees
WS- Dodgers over Astros

(07-17-2020 09:34 PM)stever20 Wrote:  lets start to do our official preseason predictions

NL-
East- Nationals
Central- Reds
West- Dodgers
Wild Cards Cardinals/Braves

AL-
East- Yankees
Central- Twins
West- Astros
Wild Cards- Rays/White Sox

NL- Dodgers over Reds
AL- Astros over Yankees
WS- Dodgers over Astros

I can't really make a case against any of these picks with the exception of the Dodgers winning the WS. They've been snakebit since 1988.

Toronto Blue Jays will have to play all their games this season in the USA.

https://apnews.com/72e93f0780cad703e4d6b..._medium=AP

Quote:TORONTO (AP) — The Blue Jays have been denied approval by the Canadian government to play in Toronto amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino announced in a statement Saturday the federal government had denied the request, confirming what an official familiar with the matter had told The Associated Press earlier.

Quote:The Blue Jays were informed via a phone call. The team’s alternate site for home games is its training facility in Dunedin, Florida, one of the states hardest-hit by the virus. Players have said they preferred to play in Toronto.

(07-18-2020 02:50 PM)Wedge Wrote:  Toronto Blue Jays will have to play all their games this season in the USA.

https://apnews.com/72e93f0780cad703e4d6b..._medium=AP

Quote:TORONTO (AP) — The Blue Jays have been denied approval by the Canadian government to play in Toronto amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino announced in a statement Saturday the federal government had denied the request, confirming what an official familiar with the matter had told The Associated Press earlier.

Quote:The Blue Jays were informed via a phone call. The team’s alternate site for home games is its training facility in Dunedin, Florida, one of the states hardest-hit by the virus. Players have said they preferred to play in Toronto.

That is the most asinine decision/logic but why should I be surprised coming from the Canadian government?

Quote:The Blue Jays will be the lone MLB team not to be playing in their usual home stadium during the 60-game season, which starts next week.

The club said on Saturday afternoon it was in the process of finalizing its alternate home ballpark. Before the federal government's decision the Blue Jays said their spring-training facility in Dunedin, Fla., was their most likely venue for games if they couldn't play in Toronto.

However, COVID-19 has hit Florida hard in recent weeks, with some calling the state the new epicentre of the virus.

The Buffalo News reported last week that the Blue Jays have reached out to the owners of their triple-A team in Buffalo, N.Y., to discuss the possible use of Sahlen Field.

The Blue Jays open their season July 24 at Tampa Bay. The home opener is July 29 against Washington.

Mendicino said the government remains open to discussion for playoff games at Rogers Centre if the risk of virus transmission diminishes.

Not wanted: play somewhere other than your home country!

We have travel bans that bar people from other countries, so we're not in a position to complain when another country puts Americans on their ban list.

The Blue Jays were expecting this and they'll figure it out. Sounds like they would have to spend a lot of money in a hurry to upgrade the ballpark in Buffalo, but playing there would mean a lot less travel for the team during this mini-season than playing home games in Florida.

(07-18-2020 06:57 PM)Wedge Wrote:  We have travel bans that bar people from other countries, so we're not in a position to complain when another country puts Americans on their ban list.

The Blue Jays were expecting this and they'll figure it out. Sounds like they would have to spend a lot of money in a hurry to upgrade the ballpark in Buffalo, but playing there would mean a lot less travel for the team during this mini-season than playing home games in Florida.

No complaint from me. Just pointing out that Canada feels it's too dangerous to play in Toronto but apparently not dangerous enough for the team personnel to play in the U.S. MLB will have stringent safety protocols in place so it's not like hoards of spring breakers invading the stadium with no masks and no social distancing. Heck, fans will either be banned from attendance or severly limited based on guidelines from MLB and requirements from state and local authorities. BTW, we aren't banning anyone from Canada from entry to our country. It's only a handful of nations.

I agree that Buffalo makes sense from a geographic/travel perspective. I would also add that Buffalo would likely have a built-in fan base to generate excitement due to the AAA affiliate there.

Canadian government made their decision because of constant cross-border travel. That poses a significantly higher risk to the public than if there was a bubble.

man, watching the White Sox tonight on ESPN- they are going to be real scary. their lineup is long and scary.

Pinch me. I imagine the ratings will be high due to sports-starved folks like me that are tired of COVID, COVID, COVID 24/7.

(07-20-2020 08:18 PM)UCGrad1992 Wrote:  Pinch me. I imagine the ratings will be high due to sports-starved folks like me that are tired of COVID, COVID, COVID 24/7.

shoot, I just watched preseason game with the Nats/O's. 1 more tuneup and then it's opening night!

Looks like the Blue Jays' first choice for home games is Pittsburgh. Second choice might be Baltimore, and Buffalo is the backup in case they can't play at any MLB park.

https://apnews.com/c5290ea34219442bfc85e45d52603396

Quote:The Toronto Blue Jays are talking to the Pittsburgh Pirates about sharing their major league ballpark this season after Canada’s government barred them from playing in their home stadium amid the coronavirus pandemic.

Pirates President Travis Williams confirmed the talks and sounded ready to welcome the Blue Jays.

Quote:Blue Jays general manager Ross Atkins said earlier Monday that his team has more than five contingency plans and was in talks with other teams. He declined to name them.

“We are focused on getting into a major league facility,” Atkins said.

did see here in DC there has been at least some talk about the Jays/Nats playing the 2 games supposed to be at Toronto at Nats Park next Wed/Thu.

(07-20-2020 08:38 PM)stever20 Wrote:  did see here in DC there has been at least some talk about the Jays/Nats playing the 2 games supposed to be at Toronto at Nats Park next Wed/Thu.

The Pirates are playing a home game that Wednesday and are off on Thursday. Probably if the Jays are in Pittsburgh those two games would be in DC. I suppose the alternative would be a doubleheader in Pittsburgh on Thursday, which the Nats wouldn't want because they play in Miami on Friday.

so Betts does the deal with the Dodgers. Brookes is thrilled I'm sure- missing him and Swoosh- hope they're ok doing well....

Pennsylvania's state government says no to the Blue Jays: https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/2951...pittsburgh

Might have to look at Baltimore. Someone on Twitter made the clever suggestion that if the Jays are based in Baltimore, then for days when the Jays and Orioles are both supposed to play "home" games, the Jays could play in DC or Philly.

If that falls through then the Jays might be down to either playing in Buffalo or playing all their 2020 games at their opponents' ballpark, and the resistance to Buffalo seems strong. Jays' players don't want to be at a minor league park, and the Jays' owners probably don't want to plunk down several hundred thousand dollars for upgrades on Buffalo's ballpark just to use it for 30 games.

I just can't pick the Dodgers to win it all. Probably going to end up being an outlier with the way things are going with respect to COVID and a shortened schedule. According to ESPN experts...

Quote:From among our columnists, writers, researchers and editors, we polled 32 of ESPN's leading baseball experts to see what they expect, asking them about who's going to win their respective divisions as well as who's going to win their leagues and ultimately the World Series.

AL East Yankees
AL Central Twins
AL West Astros
AL WC Rays/Yankees/Astros
AL Champs Yankees

NL East Braves
NL Central Reds
NL West Dodgers [only unanimous pick]
NL WC Nationals/Mets/Diamondbacks
NL Champs Yankees

WS Champs Dodgers

Survey...says!

I can't believe I'm saying this.. but...

It's opening day!!!

Rough times for the diehard traditionalists... first it was the DH in the NL, now it's more than half of MLB making the playoffs...

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/2952...ources-say

Quote:The Major League Baseball Players Association has agreed to a plan to expand the playoffs to 16 teams for the 2020 season, sources told ESPN's Marly Rivera.

A playoff expansion still needs the final approval of MLB owners, sources said.

All second-place teams in the six divisions will qualify for the playoffs, sources said. Then the seventh and eighth teams in both leagues will be chosen by best record among other teams.