The concern with Noah Syndergaard having Tommy John surgery isn’t just his being gone for the 2020 season and a significant portion of the 2021 season. The larger problem from a Mets perspective is this team has not had the best history with Tommy John surgeries and rehabilitation.
Jeremy Hefner
The Mets don’t have to look any further than their pitching coach Jeremy Hefner. Back in 2013, he was putting together a promising campaign when it was discovered he had a torn UCL. During his rehab from Tommy John, things were not going well, and it was discovered he would need to undergo a second surgery. He would only pitch one season in the minors after that before retiring.
Matt Harvey
Hefner was rehabbing at the same time as Matt Harvey. When it was discovered Hefner needed the second surgery, the Mets had eased the throttle off of Harvey who was pushing to pitch in 2014. In 2015, despite agreements on his innings limit, the Mets reneged and pushed him to pitch, and Harvey would throw more innings than anyone in the history of baseball after their Tommy John surgery.
In 2016, he was just not good with everyone trying to figure out what was wrong with him. It took a while to discover he had Thoracic Outlet Syndrome. Despite noticeable muscle atrophy, the Mets pitched him in 2017 leading to a stress reaction. Really, that was all but it for him as a Met and possibly his career. The big unknown is how the Mets handling of him affected his shoulder and/or aggravated or caused the TOS.
Bobby Parnell
Harvey would not be the only Mets pitcher to return in 2015 from Tommy John. The other notable pitcher to return was Bobby Parnell. After discovering a torn UCL the day after the 2014 Opening Day, Parnell underwent the surgery. A year later, a Mets team hoping to stay in the pennant race activated him well before the end of the 18 month rehabilitation period. Parnell didn’t have his fastball, and his command was shot. By the middle of August, he had pitched to a 6.38 ERA before being put on the DL with arm fatigue. He’d only pitch 5.1 Major League innings after this season.
Zack Wheeler
While Parnell was someone whose injury was discovered a day into the 2014 season, Zack Wheeler‘s torn UCL was discovered on the eve of the 2015 season. Wheeler had surgery, and he was slated to return in the middle of the 2016 season to help the Mets return to the postseason. During his rehab, he’d have issues with his stitches, and he would suffer a flexor strain when he was finally able to step on a mound again.
He wasn’t able to step onto a Major League mound again until April 2017, and he would have to be shut down that season due to a stress reaction in his right arm. Really, Wheeler wasn’t right until the 2018 season, which was three years after the first surgery.
Steven Matz
A Mets pitcher having this level of difficulty in their Tommy John rehab is not anything new. In fact, that was exactly the case with Steven Matz when he was in the minor leagues. After being drafted in 2009, it was discovered he had a torn UCL, and he needed to have Tommy John surgery.
Matz really struggled with the rehabilitation, and there was a significant amount of scar tissue. At one point, they were concerned he was going to need a second Tommy John surgery. The advice was to just pitch through it. Matz would do just that finally making his professional debut in 2012. His Tommy John issues would not re-emerge until 2017 when he needed ulnar nerve transposition surgery.
Jacob deGrom
When Matz underwent the surgery, he joined reliever Erik Goeddel and ace Jacob deGrom in having the surgery. With respect to Goeddel, he had Tommy John when he was in high school well before he was a member of the Mets organization. However, with respect to deGrom, he had his surgery and rehab as a member of the Mets organization.
With deGrom, he had seemingly appeared to be the one Mets pitcher who had a normal Tommy John surgery and rehabilitation. Yes, there were difficult times when he told Frank Viola he wanted to quit, but that was part of the normally grueling rehabilitation process and return. Ultimately, deGrom would become a Rookie of the Year winner, and he would introduce himself to the world with an incredible All-Star Game appearance and a postseason for the ages.
As noted with Harvey and Wheeler, Mets pitchers were dropping like flies in 2016. In addition to Harvey and Wheeler, Matz went down with a massive bone spur. It was then discovered during a pennant race, deGrom needed the ulnar transposition surgery. As we have seen, the surgery went well, and after a pedestrian 2018 season (by his standards), he has returned to be the best pitcher in baseball.
Keep in mind, the Mets checkered Tommy John history isn’t just recent. Jason Isringhausen would have the first of his three Tommy John surgeries with the Mets. Looking back at Generation K, he, Paul Wilson, and Bill Pulsipher would all have arm issues leading to them never pitching in the same rotation.
Position Players
The Mets haven’t had Tommy John issues with pitchers only. T.J. Rivera underwent the surgery in 2017, and he attempted to return too soon struggling in 22 at-bats. The Mets would release him, and he would play in the Atlantic Leagues for the Long Island Ducks before landing a minor league deal with the Philadephia Phillies. We will see if he can return.
Last year, we saw the Mets botch the handling of Travis d’Arnaud. Even with the team playing well with a tandem of Wilson Ramos and Tomas Nido, the team rushed d’Arnaud back to the majors before one full year of rehabilitation. He would have one of the worst games you would ever see a catcher have leading to the Mets rage cutting him.
He would first land with the Dodgers and then the Rays. Notably, he didn’t start really playing well until July, which was roughly 15 months after the surgery, which is much closer to the recommended 18 months.
This is not an extensive history, but it is a good snapshot of the struggles the Mets have had dealing with Tommy John surgeries. Perhaps, it is of no coinidence much of this has coincided with the Wilpon taking over majority control of the Mets, and as Pedro Martinez and others have noted, Jeff Wilpon’s interference with medical decision making has been a real issue.
Seeing the Tommy John problems the Mets have had, we get a better sense of why Seth Lugo was so unwilling to go through the process, and we see some of the dangers which may very well face Syndergaard as he attempts to return from the surgery before hitting free agency.
Due to COVID19, ESPN is planning to replace their Opening Day programming by re-airing the Home Run Derby from the past five seasons. With them being run in reverse, Mets fans get to see Pete Alonso winning the 2019 Home Run Derby in the 6:00 P.M rebroadcast, and they get the end the day watching Todd Frazier, then of the Cincinnati Reds, winning the 2015 Home Run Derby.
While this the Home Run Derby we all know and love (at least some of us), watching players like Yoenis Cespedes launch homers into the Citi Field stands under a bracket format is not in congruence with the original concept. In fact, the original Home Run Derby was quite different.
Under the original format, sluggers would face off against each other in a nine inning game. The game was very much akin to a baseball game with nine innings and three outs per inning. Under the construct of the game, anything not hit for a homer was an out, and if a batter did not swing at a strike, it was an out.
Re-watching those games/episodes, you’ll notice they were played at an empty Wrigley Field. No, not the Wrigley Field in Chicago, but the old one in Los Angeles. The venue was selected for a myriad of reasons including it being supposedly neutral to right and left-handed hitters.
In this series, we saw some of the greatest sluggers of all-time face off against once another. Perhaps, it should come as little surprise Hank Aaron had the best record in the show’s history. The only other two hitters with a winning record were Mickey Mantle and Willie Mays, two Hall of Famers who are also members of the 500 home run club.
Conceptually, pulling off this version of the Home Run Derby could be accomplished with the outbreak of COVID19. As we know a pitcher stands 60’6″ away from the batter. The two batters can stay in their own dugouts, and they only come out after the other batter has cleared the playing surface.
In lieu of a catcher or umpire, we can just let balls go to the backstop, and we can let technology determine if it was a strike or ball. If nothing else, it would be a good test of the technology MLB wants to eventually introduce to the Major Leagues.
With the announcer up in the broadcast booth, there would be social distancing of much more than six feet between everyone. At least in theory, this makes the set-up of a Home Run Derby possible, at least conceptually. In reality, that may not be realistic, at least not yet.
Frankly, there is too much inter-personal contact necessary to set up the event. Someone is going to have to set up cameras, microphones, and handle the baseballs. There are many more things which would need to be done to allow this to happen, which, given the current state, would make this event impractical.
That’s at least right now. Hopefully, there will be a point where we will be able to have expanded testing efforts, which could permit individuals and players who have tested negative to have this event in an empty ballpark. Potentially, baseball could do this during the time period between people getting cleared on a widescale basis and everyone being able to return to work/baseball.
At this moment, it’s just an idea, but it may be a worthwhile idea to pursue. After all, the Home Run Derby is one of the more popular events of not just the All-Star festivities, but the entire season. If possible, it would give us a live sporting event until games can return.
In true Mets fashion, it was discovered Mets ace Noah Syndergaard has a torn UCL, and he is going to need Tommy John surgery. With that, the Mets chances of winning the 2020 World Series, if the season is ever going to be played, just took a massive hit.
New York Mets starter Noah Syndergaard has a torn ulnar collateral ligament in his right elbow and is expected to undergo Tommy John surgery in the near future, sources tell ESPN. The procedure will keep him out until at earliest April 2021 and likely into the summer months.
— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) March 24, 2020
For all the discussion people want to have about Syndergaard not fulfilling his potential as an ace, Syndergaard remained a very good starting pitcher. In 2019, Syndergaard was 18th in FIP, and he had the second best hard-hit rate in the majors. Over the past two seasons, Syndergaard ranked eighth in FIP, and he had the best hard hit rate in the majors.
Overall, while some of his stats did not bear out that way, partially due to what has been an atrocious Mets defense, Syndergaard has pitched like one of the best pitchers in all of baseball. He’d be the ace on almost any other team. Part of the problem Syndergaard has with respect to how he is perceived is he is in the same rotation as Jacob deGrom, and every pitcher in baseball looks worse than they actually are next to him.
Looking at the Mets, their plan to compete for the division was rolling out a great top three of deGrom, Syndergaard, and Marcus Stroman. Now, they are going to have one of the better 1-2 punches in the majors, but not the best, and certainly, no longer the best 1-2-3 combination.
Worse yet, this thrusts Michael Wacha into that starting rotation. Wacha has been shut down multiple times in his career due to shoulder issues. That includes last year. Over the past two years, Wacha was simply not good. He had a 4.76 ERA with a 1.563 WHIP. In fact, he has had an ERA above 4.00 and a WHIP above 1.350 in three out of the last four years.
This isn’t like 2015 when the Mets had Steven Matz and Syndergaard waiting in the wings. No, the rotation really couldn’t withstand an injury to one of their top three starters like this. This serves as a crucial blow to their chances of competing.
Of course, things didn’t have to be this way. The Mets could’ve taken the money being given to Rick Porcello, owner of the worst ERA in the AL last year, Wacha, Jake Marisnick, and Dellin Betances, and they could’ve just given it to Zack Wheeler. That also would’ve given them a little money to spare.
With Wheeler, who is a discount at $118 million, especially with money deferred, the Mets still could’ve had a great 1-2 combination, and even with Syndergaard going down, their 1-2-3 punch would have likely remained the best in the majors. Mostly, it would’ve allowed the Mets to better sustain this injury.
Remember, the Mets aren’t just built on pitching. No, they are built on elite starting pitching. The best staff in the majors. That took a giant step back when the Mets let Wheeler walk, and now, it’s frankly no longer the case with Syndergaard done for 2020. In the end, Brodie Van Wagenen lost sight of this, and now he lost his team’s biggest strength.
Now, the Mets are without Syndergaard, and their chances took a MAJOR hit. Now, their hopes lie with Jeremy Hefner having a profound impact on the Mets rotation, which includes, but is not limited to having Porcello and Wacha turn the clock back 5+ years and having Matz reach his full potential.
The question next becomes what happens if the next pitcher goes down. Unless Corey Oswalt or Stephen Gonsalves are ready to contribute, this all could become a disaster rather quickly. The ultimate point here is the Mets chances of winning the World Series went from legitimately possible to having a real outside shot. That’s just how much losing Syndergaard hurts the team.
At least from a Mets fans perspective, this is the worst thing happening in the world right now. Of course, that really isn’t true. There are far more pressing concerns at the moment.
On that front, one of the things Mets fans were clinging onto was the prospect of the return of baseball at some point during 2020. When that happened, the Mets had that type of rotation which could have taken them their first World Series title since 1986. Now, there may not even be that to look forward to at at time when we are just sitting around waiting for things to improve.
On a day like today, when it is reported Syndergaard won’t pitch at all in 2020, it does not seem like things are going to be any better anytime soon.
Due to COVID19, the Summer Olympics in Tokyo have been postponed until 2021. The who, what, where, why, and how still need to be figured out, abut this was ultimately a decision which needed to be made for the safety of the athletes and the world population.
The postponement of these games may seem premature, but in the end, it may be necessary because no one can be quite sure who will and who will not still be affected by this disease. With that in mind, the IOC is going to take a month to review plans over the next month to reschedule these games.
When we have a quadrennial event being postponed, we really have to wonder what is next.
The sport likely most in danger is hockey. With arenas and ice rinks being closed, there is no avenue for players to get out there and skate. With the warmer weather, there really isn’t an avenue for players to create rinks in their backyards. Couple that with players not having access to gyms or other athletic training facilities, there is just no way for players to stay in hockey shape.
Remember that at this time, there is no way for the ice surfaces to be maintained because those workers are not there. Also, as astutely noted by Abbey Mastracco of nj.com, players may have an issue with playing on the ice in July. With the heat outside, it is going to be difficult to maintain those ice surfaces, and that is before you consider those surfaces have not been maintained for months.
With each passing day that players can’t work out and there is no maintenance of the ice across 31 NHL arenas, we should be slowly coming to the realization there may be no Stanley Cup awarded this season. Of course, the NHL could instead opt to postpone the season indefinitely and revisit the remainder of the season and/or the Stanley Cup playoffs after the summer.
Looking at the situation, the NHL could realize playing through July or August isn’t ideal even in the best of circumstances. Under the current circumstances, there are players who need to get into shape as arenas are getting ice surfaces into shape. Fact is, everyone is going to need time to regroup.
Ultimately, the question for the league and the players may be whether it is better to start in September and have some form of a playoff and to delay the start of the 2020-2021 season and/or truncate it, or whether it is better to just face the reality, cancel the rest of the season, and start anew in October.
This is far from an easy decision, especially when the next expansion draft is going to occur in June 2021. The NHL needs to decide free agency, service time, and qualifications for that draft. Mostly, they need to figure out a way to handle the 2019-2020 season in a manner that best protects its players and its fans. Once they do that, everything else will flow from there.
Ultimately, everyone wants to see the 2020 Stanley Cup awarded even if no one knows if it can realistically be done.
During Spring Training, there was what seemed to be a contrived race for the fifth starter spot in the rotation between Steven Matz and Michael Wacha. That was even with the case of Matz being the better of the two, and really being a better pitcher than Rick Porcello over the past few seasons.
As we were headed towards the end of Spring Training, we really had no indication of who was in the lead for the spot, and we even heard the Mets were toying with the idea of mixing and matching Matz and Wacha as the fifth starter using them based upon the match-ups.
Of course now, it is a moot point as no one quite knows when or if we are going to play baseball again. When that happens, there is going to be an abbreviated return to Spring Training before we get back to games. Typically speaking, that would be fine as players, especially pitchers, were ramping up to begin the season.
However, teams have shut down their Spring Training facilities to their players and sent them home. Players live in different areas of the country, and places where they would typically go to work out have been shut down as well to help prevent the further spread of COVID19. In the end, this means we have no idea how in shape players will be.
That’s not an issue of laziness or them not being serious about their craft. Rather, it is a practical reality based upon the reality of the situation. It is difficult to ask people to be prepared for the season when they can’t work out at a facility or work with an instructor. To a certain extent, you know they are all doing something, but it may not be sufficient.
For pitchers, that is going to be especially dangerous. As has been noted, there is a fear the ramp up, cool down, and abbreviated re-ramp up can lead to pitcher injuries. This is going to demand teams be judicious in how they use pitchers and allow them to use the earlier part of the season as an extended Spring Training.
Fortunately, the Mets are actually well-built to do that with their having six starting pitchers.
With their having six starting pitchers, they can institute a plan similar to that they implemented at times during the 2015 season. There was push-back from some of the starters, namely Matt Harvey, but ultimately using pitchers like Jon Niese in the rotation and later Logan Verrett, it did help keeps arms fresh. That was a key to the Mets winning the 2015 pennant.
That’s exactly what the Mets need to do here. They need to use a six man rotation to help keep these pitchers fresh and to help them get through the season. They can do it strategically by taking into account the off days. At times, they can mix in Robert Gsellman here and there given his presence as the long man in the bullpen, and possibly, they can use a Stephen Gonsalves or Corey Oswalt for the occasional spot start or even as an “opener” for starts made by the other pitchers in the rotation.
In the end, this is still a Mets team built on pitching, and they need to keep their pitchers fresh and healthy to succeed in 2020. That is going to require them to utilize a six man rotation at times, so in the end, it means that Porcello, Matz, and Wacha will all win a spot in the rotation.
From there, the Mets can judge based upon who is pitching best in the regular season, and they can adapt to injuries in the even they unfortunately come.
With the COVID19 outbreak, we have lost out on many sporting events. Right now, the worst of it is the loss of the NCAA Tournament. The NCAA Tournament is one of the biggest sporting events of the year with everyone filling out their brackets, entering pools, and trying to find ways to watch the games played on the Thursday and Friday afternoons.
For different fan bases, this means the loss of the opportunity of seeing your team and/or alma mater make a run. This year, things were presumably wide open enough for teams to make a run they had not previously made, had not made in a long time, and for some, may never make again.
For example, Dayton was projected to be a possible one seed, and they had last made the Final Four in 1967, which was well before the current field of 64 (or 68). This experience wasn’t just limited to mid-major schools. Baylor, a team from the Big 12, has not been to the Final Four since 1950. They too were projected to be a Final Four team.
Gonzaga could have returned to the Final Four and maybe this time won the championship. Maybe UCLA basketball could have been rejuvenated with a Cinderella run under Mick Cronin. The possibilities were endless for many teams.
That include Seton Hall.
Seton Hall was having its best season since P.J. Carlesimo left the school for the NBA in 1994. Since that time, Seton Hall had gone from perennial tournament team with a Hall of Fame caliber coach to a team with just seven tournament appearances over the subsequent 25 years. Over that time frame, they have only been the Final Four once, and they had never been above a six seed in the tournament.
That was all about to change. Seton Hall was projected to be a three seed with their getting a favorable draw, at least in terms of travel. They would have played the first two rounds in Albany, and with some luck, they would have played the regional final in MSG.
This was a team with Myles Powell, who was the team’s first First Team All-American since Walter Dukes in 1953, and the third Pirate to ever achieve that honor. He was also the Big East Player of the Year making him the first Pirate to accomplish that since Terry Dehere in 1993. He also could have been the first ever Pirate to be the Naismith Men’s College Basketball Player of the Year.
Between Powell, and other players like Quincy McKnight, Sandro Mamukelashvili, Romaro Gill, Myles Cale, and others plus Kevin Willard having his best season as a coach, Seton Hall fans are wondering what if?
On that note, the New York Post in conjunction with What If Sports simulated the NCAA Tournament, and the Seton Hall Pirates were National Champions.
To a certain extent, this just shows how special a team this was. After all, this was a team with one of the best players in the country and the second most quad one wins in the nation. Seton Hall winning a simulated tournament is something to celebrate.
But, in the end, this is bittersweet because we didn’t get to see it or celebrate it. To a certain extent, this is once again John Clougherty with a horrendous foul call on Rumeal Robinson helping give Michigan the National Title. Put another way, Seton Hall fans were once again cheated of experiencing and enjoying seeing the Pirates win a the NCAA National Championship.
Irrespective of that, this should be enough for Seton Hall to raise the banner in Walsh Gymnasium they couldn’t raise in 1989. After all, Seton Hall won the National Championship in this simulation. Let us all enjoy this to the extent we can.
Onward Setonia, finally, we are bound for victory.
Even with the KBO playing practice games, it’s too early to know when or even if MLB is going to return in 2020. In the event baseball does return, it appears we’re going to get a limited season, and if that happens, baseball needs to make some changes.
The biggest reason for the changes is the pitching. The pitchers were ramping it up for the start of the season. Now, they’re effectively shut down and will have to ramp it back up when baseball can return. This is just asking for injuries.
After what will be an abbreviated second Spring Training, pitchers are very likely not going to be able to go full tilt to start the season. Not even the Jacob deGroms and Max Scherzers of the world. This means, MLB teams will be hitting their bullpens early and often.
Roster Expansion
Even during the best of times, teams feel like they never have enough arms in the pen. In 2020, that’ll definitely feel like the case. That goes double when you consider the new three batter minimum and the absolute cap of 13 pitchers. If you are going to keep those rules in place, and push some relievers early at the outset, you run the risk of them getting injured as well.
Honestly, baseball cannot have a situation where every team effectively becomes the Tampa Bay Rays. You can’t have 30 teams with just two starters going at least five with the rest of the team mixing and matching to figure out how to get through the other three games. It’s very likely back-end starters and relievers will not be up to the task, and that is before you consider the presence of an extra inning game which could decimate an entire bullpen.
With that in mind, at a minimum, baseball needs to immediately go to expanded rosters. Under the 2020 rules, that is only 28 players in September. If all three were pitchers, that might be enough. It might not. Perhaps to start the year, it can be bumped up to at least 30 or maybe 35 and then tier it down as the season progresses. By doing that, you are ensuring less wear and tear on arms which may lead to fewer pitcher injuries.
Taxi Squad
If baseball wants to stick with 25 or 28 man rosters, they need to find ways to make it work in light of pitcher workloads. Maybe, instead of expanding rosters, MLB could limit teams to just 25 players for one game while creating a taxi squad of three to four players who can be activated or deactivated at any time. Maybe more than that.
Again, there is going to be a strain on pitching, starters and relievers alike. The goal here is to keep pitchers healthy as baseball does not want there to be ramifications for the 2020 season spilling into 2021 and 2022. Overall, baseball wants its best players on the field.
To prevent abuses, there could be a rule where there must be five pitchers designated as starters who must always be active, and there can be provisions put in place to designate a pitcher a starter (akin to the two-way player rule). If need be, there can also be provisions on how long a reliever must be “active” once removed from the taxi squad.
The institution of a taxi squad could have an added benefit. Right now, MLB and the MLBPA are trying to figure out issues related to compensation and service time. By instituting a taxi squad, there will be an avenue to give some extra players more service time and compensation. That could go a long ways towards positively resolving those issues before baseball is ready to return.
Doubleheaders
Now, baseball has said they want to play a full 162 game slate. At some point, that may not be possible. When the red line is for when teams cannot play 162 games is up for debate, both publicly and as part of the MLB/MLBPA discussions.
In any event, it is clear baseball will want to play as many games as possible, and that may require doubleheaders to be played. There are other reasons to play doubleheaders for teams as well.
First and foremost, it may behoove teams to stay in one place for longer as airline and rail travel gets sorted out after this coronavirus outbreak. Obviously, there are going to be many logistical issues there. Perhaps by having doubleheaders, you eliminate some of those logistical issues.
The bigger point, as baseball may be concerned, is the possibility of more revenue. Doubleheaders means more commercial time. If you can do a day/night multiple admission, that means two gates. Of course, that assumes fans can go to games at all, and being honest, that may be too many people in a ballpark in one day. Still, if it’s possible, you know baseball will find that revenue stream.
Really, baseball wants to play as many games as possible, and in the end, that may just require doubleheaders. What can be done in terms of admission and the like is still up for debate. To that end, the need for doubleheaders, or even shoehorning in as many games as possible over a few calendar months, only serves to highlight the need for expanded rosters and taxi squads to help prevent pitcher injuries.
Altered Postseason Format
It is going to be difficult to justify playing games into late November or early December. That may only be possible with Northeast teams playing at neutral sites in Miami or San Diego. Assuming fans can attend games, it is going to be difficult to tell Mets fans they need to go to San Diego to watch their team try to win their first World Series since 1986.
If you’re baseball, that isn’t going to work, and they are going to need to figure something else out.
One thing they could do is a greatly expanded postseason. If anything, this could be a beta test of the new postseason format Rob Manfred wanted to try anyway. They could have fewer regular season games while selling their TV partners of a greatly expanded postseason. That could help them overcome some of the financial issues they may face.
They could also condense the postseason somehow, but honestly, no one anywhere is going to go for that.
In the end, more postseason games and fewer regular season games may be the trade-off baseball, the players, and TV partners may wind up agreeing to in an effort to generate ratings and increased revenues. We may also see some series, like the NLDS, played in one park due to travel restrictions and the like. Who knows?
Overall
The who knows part of this is the driving force. No one knows when or if games can be played. No one knows what if anything players are able to do to stay in game shape. No one knows if fans can attend games or the restrictions on travel when games can return.
The key for baseball getting through this COVID19 crisis is to be flexible and responsive to the challenges which have arisen and may still arise. Honestly, that is not something which has ever been baseball’s strength, especially not under Rob Manfred.
In the end, we can only hope games will be played and that we get to see as many games as we can as soon as they can possibly be played.
South Korea is where we soon hope to be as a country. They have widespread testing, and as a result, they’ve been able to return to normalcy much quicker. They’re even at the point where baseball is soon to return.
Yesterday, the KBO, the Korean Baseball Organization, returned to play with practice games. With these intrasquad games, we can finally see some real baseball being played. Fortunately, some of these games are being streamed on YouTube:
If that pitcher for the Doosan Bears looks familiar, it should. That’s former Mets pitcher Chris Flexen. He would have a scoreless appearance.
Seeing actual baseball and seeing a familiar face pitch is a needed reminder there’s still hope we can all get back to normal. We may not know when, but it can happen, and hopefully, that day will come soon.
Until then, we get to see Flexen. For parts of three seasons, that’s something which would’ve made many Mets fans cringe. Now, seeing Flexen on the mound is hope, and it is something to be enjoyed at least until we get to see Jacob deGrom back on the mound to begin the 2020 season.
With no sports available to be broadcast, NBC Sports Washington is taking a novel approach. Instead of replaying a classic game, they’re going to play simulated games for the Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards.
Monumental Sports Network and NBC Sports Washington will present one-hour video game simulations of previously scheduled @WashWizards (NBA) and @Capitals (NHL) games beginning this weekend.#ALLCAPS https://t.co/CFJuOVtUOv
— Caps Gaming (@capsgaming) March 20, 2020
These video game simulations are using EA Sports games. So, instead of seeing actual games, we’re seeing machines play games. It’s like e-Sports meets Real Steel.
It’s certainly worth trying for a sports starved country.
For Mets fans, what would be better? Watching Johan Santana‘s no-hitter for the umpteenth time, or seeing a video game simulation of Pete Alonso hitting home runs and having crazy home run celebrations?
This Pete Alonso bat flip from @MLBTheShow is a thing of beauty ?
(via @Ben_Yoel) pic.twitter.com/n5aYE1daTA
— SNY (@SNYtv) March 22, 2019
Perhaps you can find a way for MLB to work with teams and RSN’s to broadcast the games simultaneously. If they could do that, could you imagine how much fun Gary, Keith, and Ron would have broadcasting these games?
Listening to Keith’s bemusement of this while he’s sitting home on Skype (or some other device) while Hadji is running around would be reason enough to watch.
As for baseball, they could have some fun with it keeping records and standings. We can get Harold Reynolds and other MLB Network personalities trying to break it down, or simply having a breakdown about how computers have once again ruined the game.
If done well, this could be fun and give baseball fans something to watch until we get games. If done poorly, well, it’s still better than nothing.
In any event, NBC Sports Washington is taking the first crack at this. Hopefully, it is a success, and it brings us closer to having something to watch to bridge the gap.
The first week of homeschooling our children while working from home is complete. Believe it or not, the worst part of this is all over because the adjustment periods are always the toughest. So, take a deep breath, and find time tonight to have a drink and celebrate.
After that, we should all strategize for week two to make it all go smoother starting Monday.
Now, if you are anything like my home, or the homes of friends I have seen through FaceTime, or the countless pictures on social media, your kitchen or dining room table was the battle station. That is where the laptops and school stuff was during the week.
If that is the case, lean into it and accept it. Take time this weekend, and find ways to organize your work and your kids school stuff so it is easily accessible and can be straightened out at the end of the school or work day. At least in terms of the kids, the best way might just be putting everything back into their school bags and putting it where they normally put it when there is actually a school bus. Maybe, you have some extra kitchen storage or counter space you can use.
Space allocation aside, there is also the time management issue. The general construct of the schedule my family devised has worked well, but only as a general construct. There are work calls or emails which have already superseded the schedule, but you have to do what you have to do.
One way we adapted to all of this was realizing the earlier our child can start schoolwork, the better. To put in in perspective, our school district has been sending out the class assignments at roughly 7:00 A.M. To allow us to be better available for our work demands, we started our son on his school work almost as soon as it was released.
This gave us the chance to focus more on his school work at a time when no one from work was really looking to contact us. That’s the good part. The downside is he’s been done with his work before lunch leaving us to figure out what to do with him for the rest of the day while we struggle to work and manage a two year old.
Really, you can only go so far with read a book or play with your brother. However, that is a better problem to have than paying half-attention to work and half-attention to your child’s school work. At least, that is how we see it.
In week two, that is just another adaption we are going to have to make. Given how many kinks we have already worked out, that seems like an easier hill to climb. We’ll see.
In any event, we have all survived the first week, and we will survive the next. We will continue getting better at this until this is no longer necessary. When that time comes is anyone’s best guess. Until then, remember that even though we are all doing this apart, we are all in this together.