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2020 MLB Season Thread -- Rays v. Dodgers -- Small Payroll v. Large Payroll

The downside on them is their schedule is brutal. @TB, @WAS, WAS, PHI, @ATL is a brutal first 13 games.

Now that I look at their schedule a bit closer, I'd probably take the under on 27.5. They only get 14 games against teams under .500 and then 6 more against the Phils who finished right there and are also improved this year.

On another note, the Orioles schedule is just brutal. After the first week (which includes their only four games against Miami), they get Tampa (3), Yankees (3), @Nationals (3), @Phillies (3), Nationals (3). Later in the season, they play 11 straight against New York (alternating between the Mets and Yankees) then get the Braves and Tampa after that for an 18 game stretch. I'm honestly surprised they get an over/under of 20.5.

This would true under any scenario that has them as a major league team this year.
 
I feel like a bombshell is coming, in regards to the season today or tomorrow.

My sources aren't that strong right now, but I have started getting the vibe that bad news is coming.
 
MASN is not broadcasting any of the Orioles or Nationals exhibition games. That is strange, considering the two teams own the network. I would think the teams would want maximum exposure for the fans who can't go to games.
 
This would true under any scenario that has them as a major league team this year.

In a normal season they'd at least get a couple of stretches where they'd get some of the crappier AL Central teams which would at least be a short breather. Trading in the NL Central for the NL East for divisional play will also cost them a few wins.
 
I feel like a bombshell is coming, in regards to the season today or tomorrow.

My sources aren't that strong right now, but I have started getting the vibe that bad news is coming.

Care to explain? Are you typically in the know for MLB scoop?
 
Blue Jays have been denied permission to play in Toronto. Most likely Buffalo now.
 
Blue Jays have been denied permission to play in Toronto. Most likely Buffalo now.

There or Dunedin. Pros to Buffalo are proximity to the home market (not that it really matters) and playing in an area with a low COVID rate, while cons are it's not a major league facility - it won't have the same training equipment or clubhouse as a major league stadium and that lighting isn't up to MLB standards.

Dunedin would check all the boxes if Florida wasn't having a COVID outbreak. Pinellas County hasn't been one of the extreme danger zones though.

If I were Toronto, I'd probably expect to be in Buffalo for the first month at a minimum, and if things in Florida get better, then maybe move down there for September (when it also won't be as bitching hot).
 
September is still bitching hot in Pinellas County.
 
If Florida had their act together, the state could be the center of the US sports world right now.
 
As a Yankees fan, I kinda prefer that they're in Buffalo over Dunedin. It's a much shorter flight (the Yankees go to Buffalo from Baltimore and Boston and return to NYC after each trip) and with the park downtown in Buffalo, there's plenty of high-quality places to stay that are less than 5 minutes away (there's a Marriott that's a quarter mile away, a Hyatt and Westin less than a mile away). For Dunedin, teams would probably be staying in St. Pete (probably at the same hotel they stay at when playing the Rays; the union only allows certain hotels and I doubt they're going to be looking to approve new ones this late in the game) - that's still an extra 35 minutes (if there's no traffic on 275) on a bus each way.
 
Largest newspaper in Toronto is reporting the Jays will play in Buffalo.

The Buffalo stadium is really crappy. A lot of the talk now is they are looking for a major league stadium, either one that is no longer in use (Rangers stadium, Turner, or RFK) or to piggyback with someone that doesn't have many scheduling conflicts (Pittsburgh). Although it's also possible that this is a negotiating tactic to get the city of Buffalo to pay for the upgrades to the stadium.
 
The Buffalo stadium is really crappy. A lot of the talk now is they are looking for a major league stadium, either one that is no longer in use (Rangers stadium, Turner, or RFK) or to piggyback with someone that doesn't have many scheduling conflicts (Pittsburgh). Although it's also possible that this is a negotiating tactic to get the city of Buffalo to pay for the upgrades to the stadium.

Can't be worse than the old War Memorial Stadium where they filmed The Natural.
 
I saw that Turner is viable because it’s been almost completely converted to football now. And I think Globe life has already gone through some serious changes too?
 
I saw that Turner is viable because it’s been almost completely converted to football now. And I think Globe life has already gone through some serious changes too?

Both Turner and Globe have been transformed for football, so I doubt they could transform them back to baseball in basically a week. Plus, Globe Life has two things that don't make it really attractive - Dallas is a long way from any other teams in the east; and the bitching hot factor of a Texas summer.

Pittsburgh has seven dates that would conflict - Toronto is hosting Washington on one date in July, then both Blue Jays-Yankees series that the Jays host conflict with Pittsburgh. The Toronto-Washington matchup could be overcome with just playing at noon (the Jays go on the road the next day, so an easy getaway day); Baltimore is away for both series that overlap, so that could be a temporary fill-in as well for those dates.
 
Jays also reportedly considering Charlotte. Modern stadium, good airport.

BB-T-BallPark-Charlotte-043.jpg
 
RFK last hosted mlb baseball for the 2007 season. RFK was home to DC United Soccer through 2017.

It was designed as a convertible stadium with movable seating. It shouldn't be too hard to convert back to baseball configuration. It was operational three seasons ago.
 
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