Festina Lente

Posted on by

Making haste slowly, with setbacks likely.

The Braves’ Freddie Freeman tested positive for COVID-19.

Ten days ago “some number” of Dodger players and/or staff tested positive as well.

The 2020 All-Star Game has been canceled and the 2022 game has been awarded to the Dodgers to make up for it.

From NBC Sports:

…the most shocking part of MLB’s startup of summer training camps this week: Only 1.2 percent of the first 3,185 intake tests of players and other personnel produced positive results — a clear victory for league-wide discipline and apparent respect for safe practices.

On the other hand, those results didn’t include all of the intake testing done during the week. They also didn’t include the positive tests of players and staff that teams already were aware of — including at least 12 from the Phillies more than two weeks ago.

And a cautionary detail of Freeman’s case is that he reportedly tested negative during intake testing — before getting hit “like a ton of bricks” by the virus Thursday, according to his wife’s Instagram post.

59 thoughts on “Festina Lente”

  4. Puig has apparently tested positive for COVID-19, and his contract with the Barves has fallen through.

  5. On MLBTV, all today’s intrasquad games are free of charge. I’m looking at the Gnats right now, but there’s no narration, and the camera work is not up to regular season standards.

  8. Chico got to pinch-run, but he’s not yet managed a plate appearance. He made a brilliant over-the-shoulder catch, though, and doubled a runner off first.

  10. All this week’s practice games are available on the Dodgers’ Twitter feed.

  13. Redbirds fireballer Jordan Hicks, who has Type 1 diabetes, has opted out of the season.

  16. Edwin Ríos has just taken Kershaw deep for his third dinger of the summer camp.

  25. When you watch them, take a look at the new batter’s eye in CF. It’s partially responsible for Muncy’s bad finger. Side-by-side comparison photos last year to this can be seen here.

  26. Has anybody been watching the games on Facebook? Joc is off to a good start. Now has 2 home runs with the last one against Wood. Seager has been squaring up consistently.

  31. Dodgers’ 6:40 PM (PDT) intrasquad game tomorrow will be streamed on the Dodgers’ Twitter (@Dodgers) and Facebook with commentary from Alanna Rizzo and Nomar Garciaparra. It’s expected to last three innings.

  34. From The Athletic:

    In deciding to stay home, Price and the others forfeited millions. Betts would have to forfeit millions, plus the freedom to choose his next employer. If a player who is not considered high risk chooses to opt out, he does not accrue service time for the 2020 season, according to MLB and MLBPA officials. So pending free agents like Betts, Astros outfielder George Springer and Phillies catcher J.T. Realmuto must play in order to get paid, both for the present and the future. The same logic applies to every player still in the arbitration system. They can opt out, if they want their push to the market put on hold.

    The March agreement between MLB and the MLBPA guaranteed that players would receive a year of service time if the 2020 season is canceled. So if the season derails in the next few weeks, players like Betts, Springer and Realmuto become free agents. But what if the season chugs forward and players like Betts, Springer, Realmuto or any other arbitration-eligible player decide the risks outweigh the reward? That player would have to re-enter the arbitration system for 2021, according to union officials.

    By the way, that paper? Magazine? Whatever it is, it’s been running special subscription offers for weeks. Today it’s half-price for a year.