Cubs: Ryne Sandberg is new to this ‘baseball being put on hold’ thing

The Chicago Cubs and Hall of Famer Ryne Sandberg is lost. This is foreign because he’s had Opening Day marked since he was 18 years old. Now, no baseball?

The Chicago Cubs’ Ryne Sandberg is perplexed. See, he’s not used to Opening Day not being there. But in fact, it is. And they don’t know when it’s going to back–if ever. If ever? Yikes. It catches him from time to time. That there’s no baseball.

The Cubs were to play the Milwaukee Brewers on March 26. Alas, there wasn’t a game to be had. The Chicago White Sox were to play the Kansas City Royals, which was canceled, as well. It’s a strange world we live in with the coronavirus.

The NBA and the NHL had their seasons suspended indefinitely. MLB is working on it–but no timetable has been set.

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“This has been very strange on the baseball side of things,” Sandberg said. “Leaving spring training when we did with still about 10 or 12 days left . . . you [saw] the players getting into shape and then five weeks into it, to see that come to a halt and then have everybody basically leave and go home with nothing on the calendar to restart or Opening Day, I mean, it’s really unreal.” h/t Madeline Kenney, Chicago Sun-Times

It’s quite unreal if you think about it. COVID-19, or coronavirus, has self-quarantined us. No major sports. No MLB, NBA or NHL, among others. And MLB? At this point, there’s no clear picture of what they’ll do. A ‘short-season’ is what I’m thinking. And I don’t know how that would happen.

“I think the only option is an abbreviated season at this point. And the problem right now with management, the baseball teams, the players, everybody involved, I don’t think anybody knows when that season will start. . . . So, the 162 games, I don’t see how they would do that with the weather at the tail end of the season right now.

In March, MLB and the Major League Player Association (MLBPA) to agree on a few things. First, the 2020 MLB draft will be held on July 20 and will be reduced from 40 to five rounds. Secondly, player salaries will be pro-rated based on the length of the season. Roster moves were frozen on March 27 until the season begins (Dang it, Javier Baez.) Also, the players will receive the full-service time, even if canceled. 

So there you have it. MLB has made plans regarding the season. But what if they don’t have a season? You have to think about that. The Cubs Anthony Rizzo doesn’t think it would be prudent to play ‘winter’ ball. And you know what? He’s dead on. Rizzo knows that dragging the season through December and to start February 12 would ruin two seasons–not just one.