Being on Twitter is a double-edged sword. On one hand it's the lone thing keeping me connected to "the world" in this current period where I can't physically connect with other people. On the other hand Twitter has never been anything more than a hellsite where it feels like the world is constantly burning to the ground and the near constant exposure to it (or more than usual in recent times) probably isn't the best thing ever.
Now onto more specific topics and my takes.
The USPS being in danger has me very worried
I know that we all have had and probably still have issues with the USPS, but for me there's an immense comfort in still having it around and serving its role as the American institution this country needs a lot more than it thinks it does.
I'm not too comfortable bringing my own politics into this blog but fuck it, this is important and it's better to stand for something than sit on the fence. I do have (to put it mildly) less-than-positive views on privatizing things I feel the public sector should be doing and those views definitely apply to what could potentially happen to the mail service if it's privatized. If it's anything like what's going on with healthcare and eduction, things will go bad real quick for a lot of people because these things pretty much never work out for ordinary consumers.
Not sure exactly what'll happen here but I just really hope the USPS doesn't go kaput for everyone's sake. I might only use it for this hobby right now but not everyone has that luxury. There are a lot of jobs and livelihoods at stake across all walks of life.
So yeah with what I'd consider to be the most important issue I'll get to today out of the way, I'll admit that I haven't had a ton of time to ruminate on baseball or sports. Of course the fact that there's nothing going on isn't helping. Not to shame anyone who still does think about sports, I'm happy for those who can cope by using sports in whatever way they can, but for me right now I'm more worried about people in my life (and even those who aren't in it) being in danger.
That said every now and then there are some sports topics that come up and in baseball world it's basically been all of the ideas being tossed around to bring baseball back at some point this season. I have takes on them.
These are merely ideas, don't think MLB is seriously going to enact any of these
I've noticed a lot of people treating these ideas like the Arizona-only games or the AZL/GCL realignment games or playing games in countries that have flattened the curve to be like actual measures MLB are setting in stone but as of now they are just ideas. The optics on all of these ideas lean towards being very bad in a world where we're currently without a vaccine for COVID-19.
Like my prediction for if North American baseball does try to come back prematurely in May or June is that they try to get a game in, but before long a player (and likely several key personnel around the teams/broadcast crews) tests positive and the season is suspended indefinitely again, possibly even longer than if they had just waited it out a bit longer do to the now increased likelihood of exposure. My take is, don't risk it and more importantly don't make it worse.
And I get that there a lot of factors at play putting everyone in an uncomfortable situation where they need to have a resolution to the seasons that are/were about to be underway. There's a lot of money at stake, much of it tied to those huge multi-million dollar broadcast deals, and a lot of sports leagues and teams can't really afford to wait until a vaccine is readily available. A massive expansion of testing is a start, possibly one that might be enough to get the ball rolling, but even that seems far away given how we're seeing how that's turning out in general in real time.
Only MLB has the luxury of seriously discussing a 2020 season
The reason fans can still speculate on MLB's return (and to a lesser extent NFL) is because MLB has had the luxury of having zero major league baseball players test positive for COVID-19 so far. There have been a few confirmed cases of minor league baseball players testing positive, but none of the big leaguers have gotten it (that we know of anyway).
I bring up this point because a little after the NHL followed NBA's lead and temporarily suspended the season, there were talks that the season would eventually go on as normal within a matter of weeks. However those talks immediately vanished when multiple hockey players, personnel and venue staff started testing positive for COVID-19, not coincidentally that's around the time that shit got crazy in America too. The same will happen to baseball if even one member of the MLB ranks gets the virus. And that very much is inevitable because the amount of people it requires to make a baseball game happen (even if you shrunk it down to the tiniest crew ever) is still just enough that an outbreak can occur.
Cut your losses, focus more on preserving 2021 and 2022
I haven't completely given up on sports coming back in 2020, but at this point I'm more resigned to the fact that the number two priority for the sports leagues (after player/personnel/staff safety being number one of course) is making sure the 2021 season is not jeopardized for sake of some vain attempt to salvage the 2020 season.
Like if MLB is going to run a shortened 2020 season or if the NBA/NHL are going to try to jam in the 2019-20 playoffs, they should do all of these things in a way that doesn't have a major affect in 2021/2020-21. As a fan I would much rather forgo a season in 2020 if it means that 2021 can remain a normal season that's absolutely untouched.
There's already discourse surrounding the optics of a shortened 2020 season, imagine having two of those seasons in a row with 2021 also falling victim to it just because they tried cramming some shit in. I doubt anyone's gonna think that's okay.
Of course whether or not 2021 remains in tact is also very much up in the air since it won't be until sometime in fall 2021 that we realistically get a legitimate vaccine or at least an answer for COVID-19 (and I assume that most of the public will not have immediate access to it due to combination of short supply or just because most Americans likely won't be able to afford it anyway). For the time being we have to entertain the possibility that 2020 is lost beyond all measure and 2021 is the real year where a shortened season gets taken more seriously as a measure that can be taken. Then at that point get even more serious about keeping 2022 in tact.
Really at the end of the day we are in uncharted territory. We're going through a pandemic mankind hasn't faced in a while and the third "once in a generation financial collapse" in my lifetime (I was there for the Dot-com crash and the Housing Crisis too ya know), anything goes beyond this point because the metaphorical light at the end of the tunnel once this is over is going to be a whole new world altered by COVID-19. What that world entails in the scope of sports remains to be seen.
Initially I'd hoped that people take this as a wake-up call that the safety nets in America (and across the world) need to be reinforced and improved to better the lives of all people but after these past few weeks my enthusiasm is vanishing. We're already getting to a point where people are basically admitting that they're okay with "acceptable losses" among their fellow Americans that they see as expendable so long as their own lives aren't inconvenienced. It's pretty disheartening.
Although in turn this whole thing has only made me a lot more sure of my own beliefs (politically or socially or what have you) and what I'm going to be voting for going forward.
Not sure if I sound super preachy today, that wasn't my intention. But then again I'm not used to having this kind of tone on this blog.
As always thanks for stopping by and I hope that all of you and your loved ones practice safe distancing and stay healthy during this madness.
Take care.
Interesting thoughts here. I totally agree with your statement about "acceptable losses." SMH.
ReplyDeleteThere are some days where I get up and I'm excited to try to figure when we'll beat this thing. I start pulling up numbers and looking at graphs... I start thinking about how they're going to squeeze an MLB season in... but most days I'm more under the mind of, "I have no control. All I can do is abide by the CDC's suggestions and hope the greater good will prevail sooner than later." Sigh.
The optics of a return seem difficult given how America doesn't have a uniform strategy to "flatten the curve" as a lot of places aren't taking it as seriously as they should.
DeleteOf course, our thoughts and prayers go out to those suffering from Covid-19, the deceased and their families. We do not want to be in their shoes or cause others to be in their shoes. But as we've seen in the past few days, there are those unwilling to abide by the shutdown orders and want their states reopened now. They'll very likely be singing a different tune should they or their loved ones get infected. Great post!
ReplyDeleteThe worst part is that they're just a small group that doesn't (and shouldn't) matter but they're being amplified because it's a lot easier to provide press coverage to people doing stuff rather than not doing stuff.
DeleteRight on on pretty much all counts. This is a major crisis and treating it as anything less than that is very dangerous.
ReplyDeleteAgreed.
DeleteI try not to watch the news too often because it's just depressing and alarming (somewhat by design). I don't wish ill health on anyone, but ultimately this may lead to the lesson that compassion and selflessness wins out over arrogance and ignorance.
ReplyDeleteI hope so, but I do not share your optimism.
DeleteI appreciate your thoughts. Well written and thoughtful. Thanks!
ReplyDeleteWelcome.
DeleteTwitter wasn't a great place to be before the pandemic, and it's even more hellish now. I really hope the Post Office can survive during all this even though it looks like all the awful higher-ups are doing their best to kill it & corporatize it.
ReplyDeleteThe previous congress mandate saying they needed to pre-fund their employee benefits before this makes it feel like the powers at be who want it to go down are going to jump at the opportunity. I hope I'm wrong though.
DeleteI'm not active on Twitter... other than to share my blog posts and send messages to people every now and then. I've never used it for news or information, other than to check something out if someone has shared it with me.
ReplyDeleteI've been lucky enough to stay connected with my colleagues on a fairly regular basis through Zoom meetings. But it's obviously not the same. Actual human contact is very limited and missed. But I guess that's what music and television is for. Every time I call my dad, he has the television on and music playing on his phone. Last year, he told me it keeps him company. I can totally relate to that now.
As for the postal service... I really, really, really hope it survives. You too Kenny! Keep your head up buddy.
Be wary with your private and personal information on Zoom.
DeleteOh dang. Now I'm all paranoid. Definitely didn't share passwords or any personal info... but we definitely had some lunchroom table talk that aren't always politically correct.
DeleteI meant more like the standard type of personal consumer data that all social media sites and such look to sell to third parties for.
DeleteGreat post. I'm with you on the USPS, I can't believe that "letting it fail" seems to be an option that the current administration is openly advocating. Its such an essential service.
ReplyDeleteI've come to appreciate that a lot more for the past couple of weeks here in Japan. Japan Post has had to drastically reduce its international mail service and cut off a few countries completely, which has already impacted me (not in a severe way or anything, but that feeling of a key institution not functioning really makes you feel a bit nervous).
Your comment reminds me about how Japan also voted to privatize the Japan Post back in 2005, although scandals and various other issues have kept that from being fully realized (thank fuck) so far. The post offices (both in Japan and the USA) do so much and they deserve better.
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