Shi Davidi reported on twitter that they will be traveling to Toronto from Dunedin on Wednesday.   I will be opposing this with all I can muster- if the feds have decided to let them come in, it will be the latest in a long line of mistakes in handling COVID-19.  This time, it's the people of Toronto who will pay and that makes it very personal.

They should be able to isolate just fine, especially if it's only during spring break. For now.

Maybe that gives them enough time to prep Buffalo for the irregular season?

You got all the top prospects in Toronto and no mean to see them.
That kinda sucks.

The Toronto Sun is reporting that the Jays will play in Toronto and the 58 players and all staff are preparing to fly up here in a few days. Guess the government is very weak on rules. Sigh. Lets hope they keep the players locked up at Rogers Centre and also all the visiting players too. With the hotel in theory it shouldn't be hard. However, these are rich people who often feel very entitled to everything in life so being locked up with a big city right there might be too much to expect. Sigh.

The phrase "bread and circuses" comes to mind.

The part that I don't like is that some states like Texas will allows butts in the seats.
Boston and NY will probably be smarter than that and there's nobody at the Rays and Orioles home games in normal times, so we're probably fine. Still sucks if some delinquent teams have more revenues to spend in the winter because of that.

The Jays are actually in relatively good shape in that there is an actual hotel in the stadium so players don't ever have to leave and can quarantine without leaving the stadium. I do think the season should just be cancelled with how poorly things were/are handled in the US though.

It wouldn’t surprise me if the Trump government put pressure on ours to make this happen. Trump could well be worried about the optics of American players being locked out of Canada. Who knows. Sets a precedence for other leagues as well. Hope we find a way to corral all the young “freedom” loving monied players.

It's your last point that is most worrying to me - many of these players have been living/staying in Florida & Arizona. In addition to the high infection rates, they are in a different world in terms of societal attitudes and overall trust of "officials". I just don't believe that all players will quarantine all the time while in Canada and I don't believe MLB or teams will be invested enough to prevent it. It's possible to turn the 'Dome & hotel into a secure facility - a nice prison basically - but what happens if someone "escapes"? Would MLB really suspend Gerrit Cole if he got caught sneaking out for sushi?

For the moment, it's only the Jays, so no Gerrit Cole.

Could a famous baseball player wander through Toronto and not get seen by anyone?
Hopefully the families don't travel and the players don't have time to wander around.
There's not going to be a lot of off-days.

The NHL is a bigger problem.

I don't have confidence/trust in league officials - It would not surprise me if guys who develops symptoms of covid-19 suddenly appear on the injured list instead of full disclosure and the resulting consequences - I believe it will be finish the season at all cost mentality (owners and their family safely ensconced at home) and the sports media will look the other way at least until after the season is over.

Trades in 2020 can only include players on the 60man rosters. So that cuts alot of the possible return for Giles, and makes it seem like we will hold onto him all year. Which makes the inevitable Giles non trade even worse then the Donaldson trade debacle of 2017, which could quite possibly be the worst trade of 2010s in baseball. How does Ross Atkins still have a job?

I feel like I should preface all comments with "if the season actually happens and finishes", but since the Jays' playoff chances are hugely increased by the short season, Giles might as well stick around. Somehow blaming ATkins for not anticipating a pandemic and teh atrocious American response to it is a bit much. Last season, Giles was injured right before the trade deadline. Turned out to be OK, but you aren't getting a return for Giles if he's injured, and now for a 60 game season? Of course not. Heavens forbid a team be slightly better this year than maybe slightly better in 4 years.

The Jays had no chance of competing in 2018, 19 or even 20 before the 20 Corona shortened season. Holding onto Ken Giles in any of those seasons made no sense. It is the exact same thing that happened with Josh Donaldson, the team had no chance of competing in 17 or 18, they held onto him too long and got a 27 year old AAA pitcher. You would think this FO would have learned their lesson from the Donaldson debacle and trade star players when your team has no chance of competing?

"The Jays had no chance of competing in 2018, 19 or even 20 before the 20 Corona shortened season. Holding onto Ken Giles in any of those seasons made no sense."

The Jays clearly wanted to trade Giles last season but he was hurt around the deadline so they couldn't. They traded for Giles in 2018 and his value wasn't particularly high so wanted him to rebuild value and he did. With Donaldson, the Jays had a particular time they should have traded him and would still have received a very good return (off-season 2018) so there is some legitimate criticism there even if they were also very unlucky (Donaldson got hot in 2017 only after deadline and had worst season of career and was constantly hurt in 2018). With Giles, the criticism simply doesn't make sense.

Report from last year said that Giles was practically traded at the 2019 deadline to the Yankees for 3 prospects. The deal fell apart because the Yankees balked at the last moment, which didn't leave Atkins enough time to circle back to other teams. The fact that Giles was also injured at the time was an issue. When the Jays traded for Giles, he was coming off a down half season. The Jays helped rebuild his value but unfortunately he got hurt at the wrong time. I wouldn't put this in the same category as Donaldson, who the Jays held on to for too long due to optics and a pipe dream (the 2nd Wild Card) rather than baseball reasons. I'd put Giles in the same category as Stroman; coming off a down 2018 and using 2019 to rebuild value. It worked with Stroman, and while it worked performance-wise with Giles, it failed in trade execution.

At this point, I think it's more likely the Jays bring Giles back in 2021 than it is that he's traded. I don't think owners have any intention of spending money this winter, which probably helps the Jays in terms of getting him back on a reasonable deal for the team.

I said the Jays should make trading Giles a priority of the offseason - You can't blame the FO for Giles injury last July but they definitely should have traded him before spring training as I mentioned holding on to assets with diminishing value is very risky because things happen - poor season,injuries and pandemics etc. - The Red Sox moved Betts which is looking very smart right now.

He would have  been gone this winter had any team offered anything of value.
The trade value isn't there. Health issues. Mental issues.
If he's any good, the Jays should resign him.

Still, we shouldn't presume anything about the trade deadline.
Any competing team would have put some would be trade chip on their list, no?
The Orioles have only put 44 players on their 60 list. The Red Sox, 47.

I've seen several posts mentioning the hotel at the Rogers Centre. I've stayed there. It is now called the Toronto Marriott City Centre Hotel.

As I see things... there will be 30 home games and the team will need to have 30 to 60 Blue Jays players/staff living there (some may have places in TO - there are condo's all over the place next to the RC). In addition, 30 visiting teams and staff, etc., will need to be bedded down for a day to three depending on how many games they'll be playing.

However, the hotel is big. IF - the hotel agrees to bed these walking test tubes for Covid-19, many from cities back in the States which are swimming in C-19 infections, I seriously doubt the Marriott will want to risk scaring away their normal business, or at least what is left of it. The MLB guys staying there would be a nice addition to their usual residents - BUT - not at the cost of their usual frequent users.

In addition, I feel there is one 800 pound gorilla sized complication in the C-19 universe that complicates every decision we humans have to make. I'm 74 and I've NEVER seen a flu/cold/virus like C-19 that did not reduce significantly in the hot summer weather. This fu*king little mass spreader is CLEARLY a beast who's an order of magnitude more infectious than anything I've ever seen. There is a chance that this MLB season will start, begin to unravel and be called off.

Anyway, even if I only get to see one televised game before the season sinks I'll be happy. Beggars can't be choosers.

Stay safe, self distance, try not an kill too may old b*ggers like me. Unless of course they've got a few bob and you're in line to inherit! I'm old but I still understand the power of greed! That's why I don't let my nephews and nieces get within a mile of me!

I can't imagine a Canadian spending time at a Toronto hotel right now.
There is no international travel. 
The whole hotel should be available.

The virus does terrible in hot humid weather.
Why is it spreading down south? They're all piling up in air conditioned bars and rooms.

Scottt, air conditioning is an excellent answer! However, air conditioners have filters (I don't know if they can stop Covid-19 - I doubt they are fine enough to do so) - SO - I strongly suspect you are correct to some serious degree! Bravo!

"The virus does terrible in hot humid weather." - WHAAAAT? Current world top daily cases include the US (concentrated in the hottest places especially right now), Brazil, India, Russia (it's hot and humid like much of Canada this time of year), Bangladesh, Mexico, Saudi Arabia, etc. The virus is spreading in a lot of these places where air conditioning is not widespread or available. I don't doubt AC'd indoor gathering spots are bad, but there's not much evidence it would be substantially better if it was simply hotter and more humid in those locations.  There are very few cold places during northern hemisphere summer, but I wouldn't count on heat and humidity helping much at all. And the daily heat and humidity is lethally hot in some of these countries during heatwaves, so indoor gatherings with AC is required.

Most of the transmission is caused by being in close proximity to others, fairly immediate and airborne. Filters for air flow are way too late to do any good if someone nearby is coughing/breathing it on you. It's why choirs, churches, gyms, and bars are so good at spreading it around. Since they are going to let infected people into the country to play sports, they should be forcibly isolating them. Call it being held prisoner if you want, but lots of countries have done this for short periods for regular citizens, let alone a for-profit entertainment enterprise. If this goes wrong and an outbreak spreads from pro sports into currently uninfected areas, heads should literally roll for those who made the decision.

Agreed 100% AWeb. If an outbreak in Toronto happens and it is traced to the Jays/other MLB teams then a lot of people should be in very, very deep trouble over it beyond those who get COVID. The AC issue is due to it blowing the COVID around in the air, thus making it travel all over the room before it has a chance to die off. It would rarely reach the filters. India has very little AC as they don't have enough electricity to handle it when it gets to 50 C in the summer (I have a friend/co-worker who is from there).

Basically now we have to hope the Jays and other teams and players will all be super-careful as none want to let their teams down by being put on the COVID list. Lets hope these 20 & 30 something athletes aren't too stupid and are reminded of their team over and over again. I find most athletes will take insane risks for themselves, but if it hurts the team then the pressure is skyrocketed to not do it.

Saudi Arabia is not humid.
In many of these places, it's the lack of social distancing that is causing the spread.
Like public transportation in India is famously bad. People routinely dying from trampling bad.
There is no shutdown in Brazil.
We should expect the propagation to spike up here in the fall.
High humidity acts like wearing a mask. It limits the spread from one infected individual.
That's why flu season ends in the spring.
In some countries, like say France, the distance is only 1m right now.

Just look at the Kingston nail salon outbreak. Indoors.
It's mostly bars that are fueling the spread in Texas.

I'm a lot more concerned about people from Toronto hitting the cottages than a few baseball players hanging around an hotel in Toronto. I doubt the baseball players will go shopping.

It didn't work so well in Dunedin/Clearwater.

I don't see how filters could protect me from someone sitting right next to me.
What air conditioner do is remove humidity from the air.
So, inside, I'd want the full 2 meter.

Consider that there has been no outbreaks associated with the huge protests we've had over the last month.

Thanks for the information on covid19's activity at home and all over the world. The ways of living and the repercussions of those ways. I am happy to stay home, relax and hopefully stay safe. I hope all of you are doing ok.

Since we are having a season I like Nate Pearson's "All gas, no brakes".

I fully expect health issues to happen in baseball. Some players have declared in writing that they will not play this year. Good for them.

MLB rightfully installed mesh to protect fans after a very small number of people got seriously injured. Now they’re planning to cart players from location to location with the high likelihood that some local infections will occur leading to some serious illness or death.

Reminds me of people who freak out about terrorists then tail gate you on the DVP.

Canada has been cleared as a safe destination to travel to and from Europe starting tomorrow.
I believe, most of that traffic will be through Toronto.
Air Canada just canceled 30 domestic routes.

Phillippe Aumont has 'retired to become a farmer'.
That's both a great headline and a cool thing to be able to do, especially at his age.  Being a first rounder likely helped.  I'm guessing we see a lot of minor leaguers retiring over the next few days with rosters set.  I'd be retiring right now if I were a journeyman AAAA type. 

He really gave his all to return given that he now has a little girl, but there's nowhere for him to play now.

It seems like Toronto will share the NHL hub with Edmonton.
No need to worry about the Jays.

Some transactions. Luciano, H Perez, B Drury and J Davis to the 10 day injury list. Breyvic Valera claimed off waivers from SD.

Jays official announcment...
ROSTER MOVES: We've claimed INF Breyvic Valera off waivers from the Padres.

Additionally, we've added OF Josh Palacios, UTIL Patrick Kivlehan and RHP Bryan Baker to our Club Player Pool.

Thansk bpoz for other transactions which probably affect these.

For some reason, it seems players who test positive will just be put on the IL without explanations.

In the case of Drury, I'm hoping it's a season ending thing.

Torkelson signed for $1,000 above slot. $8.4 mil

Kjerstad signed at $2.3 mil under slot.

Max Meyer $521,200 below slot.

A Lacy and A Martin still to sign.

The virus could dictate the line up.

Scottt prefers Drury on the bench I presume. But if healthy he could get the most playing time.

Are there 8 other players to fill out the line up that may be deemed under whelming ? Yes, I know there are but I want to be respectful.

Sorry this sounds cruel and insulting. That 9 man line up is still made up of players that believe in their dream.

OF McKinney, F Wall and J Palacious.

IF Velara, Kivlehan, Burns and Tejada.

C and DH Adams/Kirk.

Hopefully the announcers stay healthy. The above line up would be a challenge to them.

Breyvic is back! Shades of November 2010 when the A’s took Edwin on waivers but then he signed back a month later.

Just a quick update...

Covid-19 has changed. Apparently there has been four mutations. The most recent started in Europe, and has spread stateside, what's most concerning and is (allegedly) the reason for the BIG US spike is that it infects the upper respiratory system more than the older version and is therefore more contagious. However, it is not more deadly.

The main mutation is in the spike part of the virus and that is the part that most of the vaccines are targeting - SO - they are worried that the vaccines MAY not work.

The medical pro's are scrambling. IF - this means the vaccines need to be reworked - we may be back to square one.

Capital F.U.C.K!

Baseball? I remember it well, my father used to attend games before humans had to wear plastic pods over our heads to stay alive. Those ere the good old days! At least on-line checkers is still legal!

The vaccine might ends up being a combo of multiple strains.
It's going to take a while. Nothing has really changed.
Back in March, the talk was 12 to 18 months.

The more people are infected the more the virus has a chance to mutate.
Currently the US has over 25% of all active cases.
They've also taken over all the doses of the only effective remedy: Remdesivir.
I wonder how much that cost to the average US resident. 

Arizona just reported more cases in one day than the European Union. The entire European Union. But at least it's not as many as Florida.

American patients will be billed a little over $3100 for 6 doses of remdesivir. These are great times to be exiled in a red state...

Canada's peak for cases was just shy of 2000 in one day (via government site) based on date of illness onset. The US has has 20k per day first on March 30th and every day since June 16th. IE: the worst Canada has done the US has been over (per person in population using the generous to the US 10 times estimate as Canada is now 37 million and the US 328 million) most days since the end of March and non-stop since mid-June. Ugh. May 22nd was the last time Europe cracked 20k in a day, but have been just under it quite often since then. Europe cracked 40k once on April 4th (just). The US had 54k new cases on July 1st.

Scary figures for the USA - even more so when put into context (Europe is bigger than the USA in population). US figure via the CDC, Europe from Statica, Canada via canada.ca - figures are a bit different depending on source but the spreads are so big a clear picture is there. Europe and Canada have work to do still, but the US has pretty much lost the war it seems as you even have COVID parties in Alabama I read - kids having a party where they all pay into a pot and the first to test positive gets the pot. Ugh.

A little above this in the thread ThreeTScott said: "It's going to take a while. Nothing has really changed."

He is 100% correct and 100% wrong - and within 14 days of the end of this July 4th weekend we will know if I'm correct in my observations.

IF -

1) This massive increase is because of a new explosively infectious strain of Covid-19 then he will be 100% correct that this is going to take a while. Indeed, that will be a ludicrous understatement.

2) However, as can be seen already, this new mutation appears to be unleashing an order of magnitude more infections. His comment that, "Nothing has really changed." will end up being right up there with, "The Titanic is unsinkable." ThreeT will be more or less 100% wrong.

Everything will be changing!

After America has spent a long weekend - in an orgy of unprotected self congratulatory sex, er... sorry... unprotected mingling - within 14 days the cases will be off the charts and outside any possibility of containment.

Our hubris will have been exposed and a few Blue Jays winging their way back to TO will be remembered as nothing more than an historical footnote about the one MLB team that escaped Hell before the doors were shut!

Perhaps, just perhaps, I'm underestimating the situation. But, I fear not... sigh!

Yeah mylegacy - the USA is a crap show (and that is probably a nice way to put it). Canada needs to keep that border as closed as possible - I suspect the Jays won't be playing regular season games here but will need to move to Buffalo - no way on earth I want 9 other teams coming and going over and over again for the rest of summer. The NHL might be the luckiest/smartest league by playing all its games up here (Edmonton/Toronto).

Maybe the Jays having 'spring training' here will get lucky and if MLB gets canceled the players will choose to stay here, thus leading to the Jays being the healthiest team going into 2021. At least Vlad can stay as he is a Canadian citizen.

I expect to see Mike Green and his posse greet the Jays with picket signs at Rogers Centre.

What does Quarantine mean? For Covid-19, it just means staying in a location where you cannot be in contact with other people. Initially, they used army bases for that. I don't see why they can't use the RC and the adjoining hotel. They have to follow strict rules, that's all. When I was positive, I wasn't allowed to leave the house and relatives dropped lots of cooked food at my door. Most hotels in Toronto are empty. The NHL guys will be in an other area. 

One thing that bothered me when I was positive was families walking their dog on the manicured hospital grounds or elderly taking walks by the testing centers. In both case people were walking right by me in parking lots. Completely  insane, but it doesn't seem like anything  bad happened.

The biggest issue is not with the players, but with the players' families.
I don't expect the WAGs to stay cooked up in an hotel for 3 months.

The other aspect is ensuring the players are isolated from one another so any positive case doesn't affect the entire team. That's a bit complicated and that only need to happen once they start playing and traveling. The key is that you can't have the catchers together or the outfielders together or the pitchers together.

Fun times.

Kaitlyn McGrath's latest in The Athletic details the logistics of summer camp training in Toronto.

- Anyone coming from Dunedin must take two Covid tests and an antibody test. They are only permitted to travel with two negatives.
- Flight to Toronto will be a private charter through a private extension at Pearson.
- Team travels from Pearson to SkyDome on private buses that satisfy PHAC's cleaning and distancing guidelines.
- Upon arrival, players and personnel are not permitted to leave the premises. Toronto-based staff who interact with the traveling party will also quarantine.
(There are other details, but that's the major stuff.)

Doesn't yet cover how it will work with visiting teams, but I'd assume something similar. The key is to start with everyone negative, and not let an outside agent in to muddy the waters. I'm not sure if it's possible, but we'll see.

We're not quite at the visiting teams level.
I suppose they'll wait until the very end to give approval in case there are some cases at the RC.
The Blue Jays needs to keep the reserves away from the regulars, so maybe the minors will end up in Buffalo or it could be the other way around.

Once in Canada, the other teams would have to do as told or be kicked out.
I'd expect no family and they'll disinfect the hotel rooms fully afterwards.

Martin signs. No details on how much but doesn't really matter. I assume he'll be added to the taxi squad.

They have to follow strict rules, that's all. When I was positive, I wasn't allowed to leave the house and relatives dropped lots of cooked food at my door.

Therein is the challenge. You like the vast majority of Canadians acted smartly and responsibly. (And well done by the way! Hope you’re fully recovered).

There seem to be a large tranche of Americans- especially ball player aged ones- who aren’t there yet. I think we’d need a lot of good luck- or significant MLB penalties- to be able to “lock them” into hotels.

New Zealand had strict quarantine rules but still had positive cases in the community because some were let out of quarantine early for compassionate reasons.

Australia now has a new outbreak due in part to returning travelers not following the quarantine protocol.

Hawaii has deported many visitors for not following quarantine.

Quarantine is hard, mentally, especially when you are young and itchy to have fun.

Absolutely true, Gerry.

Quarantine is hard, mentally, especially when you are young and itchy to have fun.

And for pro athletes, add to that lots of money and lots of people, ahem, eager to share your company. The idea of pro athletes staying in their bubble seems laughable.

"The idea of pro athletes staying in their bubble seems laughable."

Oh please. It's not like they've been brought up to believe they're invincible or anything.

This will be a bit of a dogs breakfast won't it? I can live with 'spring training' but regular season I just don't see working as you would have teams travelling here and our team going down there to COVID central regularly. Buffalo is right there waiting. Use it Blue Jays. The grass field would be better for the players health anyways.

If the Jays really want to use the dome, maybe have the minor leaguers at the dome instead. Locked in so the kids are kept healthy while the ML'ers travel all over the states.

" the ML'ers travel all over the states."

That alone is a scary thought.

Covid-19 and the Business Insider (BI).

I was reading a post there about people who have had C19, no longer test positive, but are having serious symptoms over 100 days after they were infected.

They interviewed 17 of them! If BI can find 17 one wonders how many there are from among the 2,860,000 Americans who have been infected.

On July 3rd 2020 57,209 new Americans entered the queue in the Covid-19 Magical Mystery Tour! Sigh...

The sooner a vaccine is found the better, but sadly we probably won't have one until the 2021 season gets going. And if it is found by an American company you can bet the fee for it will be insanely high. Meanwhile South America is seeing high rates and filled hospitals. The US is #1 in deaths but it appears some other nations are determined to catch up. Of course, the US has more dead than the next two combined and almost more than the next 3 combined (140k for Brazil/UK/Italy vs 130k for the US alone). Cases are similar with 2.8 million US vs 1.5 mil Brazil, 661k Russia, 627k India. Canada for cases is between Columbia and Qatar.

the US has more dead than the next two combined

Which is why Trump is pushing for less testing. Less testing means fewer cases means fewer deaths. He's just trying to save lives is all. Why can't the radical left see this?

Back to baseball - poor Tanaka got hit in the head by a line drive from Stanton. You can see it here. Ouch. Why on earth would they not use screens and/or pitchers helmets in the early part of summer training? He cradled his head for 5 minutes on the ground before gingerly walking off the field with help.

While I want the Yankees to lose this isn't the way. (cue Mandalorian music)

David Price joined Ian Desmond, Ryan Zimmerman, Joe Ross and Mike Leake on the sidelines this year.  Who's next?

Mike Trout is seriously debating it as he has a child on the way due in August and he doesn't want to miss it. Wonder how many guys are in his boat - wanting to be with family but not wanting to miss baseball either. I suspect a lot of guys near their end will end this year and others who are in their prime but with long term deals will also skip, or drop out after a month.

For pitchers like Price, I wonder if the year off will actually do his arm good health wise. Might be a hidden benefit for mid-career pitchers.

A good check would be to see how the year off affected NHL'ers after 2004/05. For the over 40 crowd... Mark Messier, Igor Larionov, Adam Oates career ended, Chris Chelios went on for 5 more years. Guys who were 40 were Dave Andreychuk (1 more year), Ron Francis (done), Steve Thomas (done), James Patrick (done), and Al MacInnis (done). So a total of 2 out of 9 players 40+ played again after the year plus off. Other big names in their late 30's were... Brett Hull was 39 and only got 5 more games, Steve Yzerman got one more year (38 at the time), Scott Stevens was done, Mario Lemieux got one more season. I think we get the idea. Most near the end did not get a bonus out of that time off, it just ended their careers.

It will be interesting to see how this affects everyone in baseball - which players have a killer 2020? Who grows in 2021 and who drops?

Let me preface this by saying that I really don't care where the Jays play, other than I would much rather they not be forced back to Dunedin. I would rather visiting teams not cross the border.

However, I am not sure why there is so much certainty that players would go out on the town in Toronto. It would be a federal Quarantine Act violation, a suspendable MLB violation and a health risk. How many more disincentives do there need to be to have confidence that the league can enforce this?

The Premier League restart has not shown significant non-compliance in an environment with still-significant spread. Positive tests have been isolated and coaches/players caught out at the pharmacy, etc. have been suspended.

And don't underestimate the importance of testing every 48 hours. If the whole world could be tested every 48 hours, we would be in an infinitely better place. Not sure why we think that an escaped ballplayer with 30 negative tests in the past 60 days poses more of a public health risk on a patio than a never-tested grocery store cashier.

Testing every other day + quarantine enforcement + no fans deals with 99% of the risk. Banning spitting, high fives, etc. are more for optics than a significant safety effect. Premier League players were warned not to celebrate goals or argue with officials. They have not refrained. But the testing and isolation regime has meant it hasn't mattered.

The hub city or biodome model is safer, surely, but this doesn't have to collapse in failure.

Reese McGuire case resolved. Charges reduced to disorderly conduct. He pleaded guilty. Fined $450 plus $50 prosecution charges.

Sounds a lot like what I went through.

When I started to feel sick Public Health wanted me to come in for a test.
I told them I was too sick to drive.
They said I should keep isolating from my wife who had tested positive 3 days earlier.
I didn't see the point.
They told my wife to isolate for one week because she had symptoms a week before her test.
(They only tested travelers back then.)
But unless I came in for a test, I would have to isolate at least 14 days after my wife had recovered.
My wife insisted to test positive before she went back to work, so her 7 days became 16 days.
I went for a test once I felt a bit better, about a week later and since I work from home a second test was not necessary for me.

Yeah, they were making the rules as they went.

Is it time to bring up the name of Hockey Hall of Famer Joe Hall ? As much as I would like to sit back and watch a baseball/hockey/basketball game I would not want to do so at the expense of anybody's life, which I cannot see not happening ... I realize that there are no "Guaranties" in life, save for the owners'apparent belief in the surety of their own right to a healthy bottom line (if only they lived in the same bubble as say the people of the Third World or Brazil or Puerto Rico) ... but never-the-less I'd still like to be around to see the outcome.
So, if we're voting, my vote is as they used to say in Brooklyn; "Wait til next year"
I still don't believe that the Vancouver Whitecaps are flying into Florida ...
Has anybody read anything on the 'Spanish' flu of 1919 and how it impacted baseball and in particular the mindset of the "Black Sox" ? Their season probably started within weeks of Joe Hall's life ending.

You and your wife had a very hard time scottt. Really wonderful that you and she are well now. You must be following everything about the virus. I read that some people are getting infected a 2nd time.

That was facebook so I don't know how true that is.

Wayyyyyy off topic but I clicked on the 'Hot Topics' on the left and for some reason an old thread was at the top. Before closing the tab I noticed our old friend Richard S.S. had posted towards the bottom and I don't know if it was already known but it appears Richard passed away due to ALS just over a year ago.

https://www.csgfh.ca/obituary/Richard-Spackman

Thanks JB21. I did not know. A very passionate Bauxite.

I was sick long enough that I feel I must be loaded with antibodies.
I know some people who had to go back in isolation because they tested positive a second time, but it's pretty obvious that the were just shedding dead virus.

I'm struggling to get my weight down and I'm concerned that I've lost some pulmonary capacity.
Could be worse.

I missed this and I am very sorry to hear it.

Richard S.S. and I might not have agreed at times, but I can't think of a single person more committed to the Blue Jays; Richard's passion always transported me. Thank you, Richard, for bringing out the best in us.

Dang that is sad. I didn't know Richard SS passed away. I remember him mentioning the ALS at one point, but didn't know it was that far along. Many passionate discussions here with him over the years. Sorry to hear he is gone. Checked his profile and his last post was March 30 2019, just shy of a month before he passed away. To see his profile here click here.

From his 2nd to last post "My ALS only allows me use of my left arm and I’m a natural righty. My left arm use is decreasing so I might not be writing here much more."

Thanks for bringing us closure JB.

I like to think that Da Box was one of Richard's favourite places.
It's too bad he won't get to see the youngsters.

Looking at the full draft; not a single John in there.
Lots  of first names that look like last names.
Starting with Austin, but among the  Burl, Jordan, Slade, Clayton, Carson, Cade, Cole, Brady, Mitchell etc he doesn't stand out at all.

Lots of sobering news here today. I hope all who have had COVID make a full recovery over time, it does seem to be a nasty virus for some people.

I feel like I could have done more to make this place a little happier for Richard. Rotten news. Rotten disease.

I noticed that Richard S. S. hadn't posted in a while and feared for the worst. Adios Richard -- we're all less without you.

I enjoyed Richard S.S.'s contributions on here and am sorry to hear of his passing. ALS is a terrible disease.

From Jeff Passan this morning:

After a positive coronavirus test among Toronto Blue Jays players, a number remained behind in Florida while the rest of the team traveled to Toronto for training camp, sources tell ESPN. The players will remain in Florida for a few days before they are cleared to go to Canada.

Also, many teams have been waiting over 48 hours for test results. Some are cancelling workouts. The testing regime seems to be a mess right now.

Update from Shi Davidi:

As Jeff Passan reported, BlueJays had another positive test with group in Dunedin. Players and staff who had direct contact with that player weren't on Sunday charter to Toronto. They'll charter north once they produce two negative tests, as per protocol agreed to with Can govt.

From a 2-day old post at BBTF, a list of players that have tested positive:

Freddie Freeman, Atlanta
Miguel Sano, Minnesota
Charlie Blackmon, Colorado
Hector Neris, Philadelphia
Salvador Perez, Kansas City
Mike Kingery, Philadelphia
Tommy Pham, San Diego
Will Smith, Atlanta
Williams Astudillo, Minnesota
Touki Toussaint, Atlanta
Tommy Hunter, Philadelphia
Ryan Castellani, Colorado
Genesis Cabrera, St. Louis
Darwinzon Hernandez, Boston
Ranger Suarez, Philadelphia
Josh Taylor, Boston
Pete Kozma, Atlanta
Luis Madero, San Francisco
Aaron Nola, Philadelphia
D J LeMahieu, Yankees
Luis Cessa, Yankees
Adam Haseley, Philadelphia
Cristian Bethancourt, Philadelphia

Can't say I'm surprised. Testing is as complicated as the person in charge chooses it to be.

When I went for testing, I counted about 75 people who were testing fewer than 50 per hour.
It was like walking the gauntlet.

I don't know if they can hire people to administer the tests.
Some states are swamped right now.

Also, there's the matter of getting the results.
Normally, test results are given to a doctor, not to the patient directly.
Then the doctor "interprets the test results" for the patient.
As doctors can be due a substantial fee for the service and patient confidentiality is required, unless the rules are relaxed--not something baseball controls--it might take some time to get the results.

The 2020 schedule has been released.

I didn't expect it to be unbalanced.

7 games against TB on the road, 3 at home.
7 games against Boston on the road, 3 at home.
3 games against the Yankees on the road, 7 at home.
3 games against Baltimore on the road, 7 at home.

The series against the NL teams are more even, but not the actual # of games.
4 against Washington
6 against the Phillies
4 against the Marlins
3 against the Braves
3 against the Mets.

The only weak team in the NL east is Miami.
They play Tampa 6 times because rivalry. Yeah, right.
Blue Jays 4 times.
Baltimore 4 times.
New York 3 times.
Boston 3 times.

I guess the Rays are the big winner here, mostly because they *had* to make the Mets and the Yankees face each other 6 times.

So how does this year work?

• 5 road games (Rays/Nats)
• 5 home games (Nats/Phillies)
• Off day (August 3rd, Civic Holiday)
• 6 road games (Atlanta/Boston)
• Off Day (August 10)
• 5 home games plus off day (Marlins/Day Off/Rays)
• 6 road games plus off day (O's/Day Off/Rays)
• 7 home games (Red Sox/O's)
• 6 road games (Marlins/Red Sox)
• 6 home games plus off day (Yankees/Day Off/Mets)
• Day Off (Sept 14)
• 6 road games (Yankees/Phillies)
• 7 home games (Yankees/O's)

So 60 games, always 2 teams for each road trip or homestand. No fewer than 5 games, or more than 7 on any homestand or road trip. September 27th is the final regular season game, hopefully that 4 game set vs the Yankees means something (nice to have it so late) followed by 3 vs the O's (Yankees play Miami that weekend). Not bad. Good chance for some excitement there at the end. 10 of the final 19 are against the Yankees who are the favorite for the division title which ups the odds of the Jays being in good shape heading into that final set (due to fewer games vs the Yankees before that) and gives the Jays the ability to control their fate at that point too.

But Tampa has the best schedule by far and the Jays will start against Tampa in the House of Horror.
Really need to win one there before they head back.

There will be a few series where the away game is a night game.
In fact, this year only the Sunday games are in the afternoon.

There is the odd afternoon game on days other than Sunday - Saturday July 25th @Tampa 3:10, Tuesday July 28th @Washington 4:05 (play in Toronto next day), Monday August 24th @ Tampa 3:10, Monday August 31st vs Baltimore 2:07. Seems mostly to match up with travel days across the border.

There is one TBD time - Sunday September 20th @Philly (1 or 3 most likely as all other Sundays appear to be those times).

JB, thank you for passing along the news about Richard.

My deepest sympathies to his families and friends. He was a very positive contributor and made this forum better.

I was wondering about Richard too. I wish he was still here and still posting. I am sad. This place does have a sense of community -- long may it continue -- and he was a valuable contributor to that.

Saturday is fine, although never a travel day.
The 28th is  a late afternoon game.

August 24th is a weird 3:10 start following a Sunday 1:10 start.
It's the by-product of those 4 game series which exist so that the division rivals have 3 series rather than 4 between themselves.

Likewise, the Monday August 31 2:07 starts follows a Sunday 3:07 start.

One of the mind boggling thing is that the comments are disabled on almost every article on MLBTR because obviously Covid-19 is too political to discuss online.

It's amazing how, in the implementation, the US has become so much like mainline China.

My family and I are safe so far from the virus. Are there guidelines and/or suggestions in case we get infected. I know about our obligation for self isolation. What about shopping for milk and bread. Do I just sneak out and buy this stuff? I will check if Sobeys for example is still open 24 hr/day. I could go at 2 am wearing a mask to lower the risk of passing on the infection.

Thanks. Hope everyone is safe and coping well enough.

bpoz, I'm not sure if they have this service where you live, but we've been using Superstore's curbside pickup for a couple of years now; you order on their website, set a time and date for pickup, and they bring your groceries out to your car. Minimal contact compared to walking through the store.

Walmart has a similar service, as well.

Thanks Parker.

In past seasons the 2 big unknowns to me were injury issues and poor performance.

There have to be 5 or 6 unknowns regarding the 2020 season.

1) Fast/slow start.

2) Available roster due to covid19.

That is 2 new unknowns.

The schedule is going to be hard when they're not playing Miami and Baltimore.
Realistically, they just need to be around .500 when not playing those teams and of course win against those 2 teams. That's 14 easy games and 46 hard games.

Joe West: “I don’t believe in my heart that all these deaths have been from the coronavirus."

He's not opting out of the 2020 season, even though he can do so with full pay. https://t.co/SQl3tM16zh via @HardballTalk

— Craig Calcaterra (@craigcalcaterra) July 7, 2020

Didn't expect an umpire to have good judgment, did you?

Best comment from the Joe West article:
I didn’t realize how much of an ignorant narcissist this guy is, judging from those COVID comments. I guess that explains where his son Kanye got that character trait from at least.
I think the "violent response" (at least what I've seen, on, e.g. Ars Technica, which, IMHO, has a very good comment section) is from known or new shit-posters, either trying to stir up trouble, or doing their "just asking questions" routine. When they bring up HCL for the 25th time, because the doctors need to pray to Baal BEFORE taking the pill and to Hera AFTER, and that's why it clearly didn't work in this study, it gets a little tiring..

On Facebook, in my social circle, the strongest "it's a hoax / global conspiracy / mind control / etc" BS is coming from a Canadian contingent of 8-10 people... I've given up trying to bring even a bit of sense to that group..

COVID is a sad mess stateside where one person made it all about politics, and due to his position now it is all political while record numbers are catching it, and now record numbers dying from it in Arizona (and soon Florida and Texas and other places I'm sure). Joe West being an idiot on the subject isn't a shock as he should've retired years ago - here is a video clip of his 'skills' and a good example of his 'strike zone' if one wants to call it that. An analysis showed West was the worst ball/strike caller in MLB in 2018 averaging 21 messed up calls a game over an 11 year period. Ugh. The good news is the number of bad calls is going down, from 16% in 2008 to 9.21% in 2018 (the report doesn't have 2019 included) and it has been a steady drop.

I read somewhere, maybe on here, that Joe West is trying to surpass Bill Klem as the umpire with the most games officiated and needs something like 65 games to do so. I always thought he and Angel Hernandez had it in for the Jays, but the truth is more likely that they're both just bad umpires and have made poor calls against every team.

I assume we are not going to get much news about ST2 from the FO and coaches. Just positive statements that progress is being made. We probably will not be told who is positive covid19.

No ST2 games. Instead a few intra squad games I think.

By opening day or a bit before we will know the 30/33 man squad travelling to TB. Any significant player missing is probably recovering from covid19 or injured. That significant player may be on the IL for days or weeks. I imagine it will be weeks missing when added to the IL during the season. This means everyone except raw prospects like Groshans will be used. So lots of opportunity for K Smith, J Panik, F Wall, J Palacios and a few others that have reached AA/AAA.

Every team is in this boat.

Yeah, the 65-game thing is mentioned right in the article linked to by vw_fan17. The article itself has a link to a Yankees 4-3 loss game recap where the author does all but accuse Joe West of handing the game to the Blue Jays on a silver platter. Yankees fans at large sure don't seem to think much of West. Probably no team's fans do.

He consistently ranks at or near the bottom in strike zone calling, but even worse, his prima donna attitude and antagonistic behavior towards players makes it seem as if he's trying to do the opposite of what's laid out in "General Instructions to Umpires" in the official rules.

He's basically the poster boy for everything that's wrong with unionization. It's not bad enough that he gets to keep his job; his incompetence is protected to the point where he's about to surpass the record for most game appearances. It's unreal.

I think there's a power tripping aspect to making outrageous calls against the home team.

The Blue Jays are refusing to answer questions about how many players on the team tested positive.  It's not a good way to build trust between the club and the community.

Thank you, Richard, for bringing out the best in us.
well said Parker, and I concur with your sentiments.  And thank you JB for posting the sad news.  I remember Richard talking about his health challenges.   You are missed here on the Box, Richard.

I think they have a press conference today. Is that from there or before?

It's from a couple of sources in the print media, scottt.  Here's an online description of the situation.  There are rumours that as many as 12 Blue Jays were left behind, but it's quite possible that not all tested positive. 

Normally, the reporters are embedded with the Blue Jays players and staff.
Right now, they don't have access to the facility. It's probably frustrating for them.

There are several teams that have not released much information.
I think the Angels/Dodgers have a list of players who haven't reported yet.

It seems the players who are listed as positive have agreed to have their names released.
Some want to talk about their experience.
Others, possibly non-Americans, would rather not be singled out.

The Blue Jays are not even confirming numbers.

Montoyo  was supposed to give a press conference today and media access to the stadium was last scheduled for tomorrow.

As far as I know, there's nobody in Buffalo and Dunedin remains the backup location.

Austin Martin signs for just over $7 million which is somewhere between #3 and #4 slot which seems fair.

That's about as much as they could give him without punting other rounds--which they did not.

Here's some numbers. As per Montoyo, there are 46 Blue Jays in Toronto and 12 still in the US who are awaiting clearances. Some of those might just have been in contact with people who tested positive.

Also, if you were worried that some people would be able to watch the Blue Jays from their hotel window, rest assured, all views will be blocked.

So Frasso also signed for 100K below slot, which mean they give all to the last dollar to Martin.

Everything seems to have worked out pretty well.

And apparently they would only need to keep Pearson down for 1 week to get another year of control.

Great to see the Jays didn't cheap out on the draft. Spending all they were allowed to. $7,000,825 bonus via MLB.com’s Jim Callis. It'll be nice to see if he is one of the best #5 overall picks ever someday. Top 2 are in the 50's WAR (Dwight Gooden & Mark Teixeira), 4 more in the 40's (Ryan Braun, Dale Murphy, J.D. Drew, Buster Posey) then the best Jays #5 pick Vernon Wells at 28, less than a point ahead of Jack McDowell.

So will Martin be the best #5 pick for the Jays, beating out Vernon Wells and getting to 30 WAR someday? Or will he be more like the Jays other 5th pick - Matt Williams, who had 0.4 WAR lifetime in just 10 games. Only time will tell.

As a fan it is frustrating that the Jays aren't sharing who is still waiting in the US and who tested positive, but as a person I think it is totally understandable that some players may not want their personal health status shared. Not that there should be any stigma associated with testing positive or having been near someone that did (although a few people in wider society that have tested positive after the insta-karma of down playing C19, refusing masks and fighting against sane restrictions might be an exception).

I sure would like to see Pearson in the rotation after week one. There look to be 6 off days in the shortened season, so i don't think they'll do a 6-man rotation. How are they proposing to build up arm strength of starters?

There are no restrictions on the 30 roster, so Montoyo said that they'll be bullpen heavy.
I wouldn't be shocked to see Font open for a lefty, if Kay or Borucki gets a start.
However, we got Ryu, Anderson, Roark and Shoemaker pretty much set and maybe Thorton next.

Will Guerrero be rested through a 60 game season?
Only if he looks like he needs to be, but he'll probably DH a bunch.

What is the status of Zep? I think he can join the Jays if needed because he has a minor league contract with them. If he gets released or decides to leave somehow, the contract is finished and he cannot join another team. I think, this but would like clarification.

The more pitching depth the better I suppose.

I'm not sure. Didn't he get released when they announced their 60 roster?

Not a lot of opportunities this year.

Also, rained out games could become important.
If the Jays can play at the RC, they might have 1 game or 2 moved there instead of having an extra trip.

If this season gets off the ground I would expect to see more doubleheaders than usual. If teams have played 1 game of a three game series and the the third game looks like it might be rained out, then probably they will play two on the second day, especially if it's between two different divisions.

The Blue Jays sent their 2021 schedule to my Inbox.  I do find it disconcerting that playing next year even is a questionable proposition and dependent on so many factors outside the control of the Blue Jays and of Canadians.  It's fair enough though to give people some hope (which there is); I find it much more ennobling than the efforts to play a season in 2020 in impossible circumstances and setting a poor example for the rest of us. 

BLOODY 'ELL!

Covid-19 is proving immune to the summer heat. Still a surprise to me, and many others.

NOW - A new BOMB SHELL is EXPLODING about Covid-19:

"Experts at the University College London (UCL) were the latest to describe that Covid-19 could cause neurological complications including stroke, nerve damage, and potentially fatal brain inflammation -- even if the patients didn't show severe respiratory symptoms associated with the disease.

The study, published in the journal Brain, examined 43 patients treated at University College London Hospitals for either confirmed or suspected coronavirus, from April to May. They varied in age from 16 to 85, and showed a range of mild to severe symptoms.

Among these patients, researchers found 10 cases of "temporary brain dysfunction" and delirium; 12 cases of brain inflammation; eight cases of strokes; and eight cases of nerve damage.

Most of the patients who showed brain inflammation were diagnosed with a specific, rare and sometimes deadly condition known as Acute disseminated encephalomyelitis (ADEM). Before the pandemic, the research team in London would see about one ADEM patient per month. During the study period, the number rose to at least one a week."

Only 43 patients and at least 25%(ish) had some form of brain impairment! S.H.I.T!!

Man, I hope I don't get Covid-19! Even without it my brain is only two or three brain cells away from getting a failing grade.

To paraphrase the famous Chinese quote: "We ARE living in interesting times."

just read those quotes, mylegacy, to a pharmacist that i have been known to sleep 6' apart from in the same bed. her response...

"it sounds like.....warfare"

just a note....we are happily married, but when we go to sleep, we prefer the edges of the bed.

AY, you got me all curious - is that 6' from top of the mattress to the bottom, or 6" from one side to the other. My fertile imagination is having a field day imagining....

Heh - my wife always cuddled right up to me. I'd wake up in the morning almost falling off the bed. Now my 5 year old comes into the bed and does the same (except normally by sleeping horizontally thus feet in my back).

Martin has been added to the 60 man roster.

Actually, the real name of the 26 roster is "the active list".
The real name of the 40 roster is "the reserve list."
And the real name of the 60 list thing is "the player pool."

Not all players on the reserve list have to be on the player pool, however, once play begin, any player added to the player pool--via trade, waiver claim, free agent signing, whatever--will have to be added to the reserve list and only players on a team's player pool can be traded.