On Jeff Passan's Report of Arizona Opener Details

                Reference: https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/29004498/mlb-union-focused-plan-allow-season-start-early-arizona                

Sort of elaborating on my post from yesterday based on what Passan dropped last night. And yes, I know Major League Baseball said this isn’t what they’re officially going with, but what else do we have to write about?

The isolation measures that it looks like they’ll be taking are really jarring to read when they look like some semblance of a plan. It is an enormous, enormous ask to have players isolate without any contact with really anyone. Enormous enough for someone who likes baseball to the point of writing a damn blog about it to say that seems a little too cruel. We can harp on the "they're making millions to play a game" wagon all we want, but playing doubleheaders in an Arizona May just seems like a fresh hell to me. Especially with only the hotel channel to greet you coming back.

Interesting that it is just Arizona as well. It makes sense, I don’t want anything to do with group gatherings in Florida right now, and I’ll stop beating the dead horse about that right now.

Now, into the specifics:

1. Implementing an electronic strike zone to allow the plate umpire to maintain sufficient distance from the catcher and batter

            *Sigh* It was likely bound to happen at some point, but I guess I’m enough of a purist that I think balls and strikes should be called by a human being. I can’t really elaborate too much on this since I have no idea what it will look like, but I think it would be a slight advantage for us since a lot of our pitchers are more straight heaters than the breaking ball types.

2.       No mound visits from the catcher or pitching coach

Yeah, there’s no way Coop’s agreeing to this.

3.       Seven-inning doubleheaders, which with an earlier-than-expected start date could allow baseball to come closer to a full 162-game season

This is the one that’s probably the most interesting/concerning to me. First off, even though it’s the same for everyone, I don’t like the thought of the White Sox having 22% fewer at-bats per game. This lineup was made to score runs and anything that limits that hurts us. I also just don’t think our pitching’s there yet for a setting which basically takes away the “give up a few runs early but battle back” aspect of some starts. That’s the only practical insight I’ll give for the Sox since we’re talking about something that’s not official yet.

League-wide, this would be brutal for pitchers and catchers. It is going to be 110 degrees for whoever takes the mound in the first game, and I don’t think anyone should throw more than 5 innings if it’s going to be that hot with fewer games in between starts (assuming a five man rotation stays). There’s just no amount of hydration for that sort of weather, and rebounding for the night game will be especially difficult.

4.       Regular use of on-field microphones by players, as an added bonus for TV viewers

 “Just want to say hi to my wife and kids, it’s fun getting to play but I miss you. Honey I… wait, we have a Plumbers 911 fan call after the pitch… Hi, Todd from Chicago, you’re on li-… Out of Miller Lite at Declan’s? Wow, that seems… Oh boy, Jason, can they say that word on live TV?... Well nice talking to you, Ted, glad you’re enjoying the night game, brought to you by…”

5.       Players sitting in the empty stands 6 feet apart -- the recommended social-distancing space -- instead of in a dugout

Those seats are going to be the inside of an oven at Camelback.

And yes, this is the rule that will force Coop into retirement.