Writers Bloc
Discussing the Marlins situation with an infectious disease specialist
July 27 2020
Sports
MLB must adapt to save season as COVID-19 cases keep rising – Sportsnet.ca
TORONTO – The easiest thing in the world is to dump on Major League Baseball for the Miami Marlins’ COVID-19 outbreak, and to be fair, the plan leaves the sport quite open to criticism.
Send 30 teams travelling around the United States as the coronavirus spreads relentlessly, while different levels of government there enact contradictory containment policies, as wide swaths of the population can’t even agree to wear a damn mask?
Like, really? Sound like a good idea?
Epidemiologists had long predicted that this venture was doomed to fail, and if the Marlins’ outbreak and corresponding cancellations resulting from it Monday weren’t enough to collapse the season, there was at least enough impact to get the entire campaign teetering.
“MLB is cooked,” texted Dr. Andrew Morris, medical director of the Antimicrobial Stewardship Program at Sinai Health System/University Health Network and an infectious diseases professor at the University of Toronto.
“MLB got sloppy and ignored the better advice of public health experts who told them this was a bad idea,” read another message from Dr. Nathan Stall, an epidemiologist and a geriatrics and internal medicine specialist at Toronto’s Mount Sinai Hospital.
Fair, which is why executing a May plan amid July realities always had a longshot feel to it, even with an impressively comprehensive protocol and every-other-day testing. The six weeks owners spent trying to extract financial givebacks from players would surely have been better spent re-examining the teams-in-their-own-city structure and considering alternatives as conditions shifted.
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Still, getting lost in a stream of I told-you-sos at this very moment is counter-productive with the season on the brink, and far more necessary at this point is trying to rescue the situation before everything falls over. Without being trite, a weekend of baseball offered a reminder of how important it is to have escapes in our lives, particularly in difficult times, and that it’s worth fighting for small semblances of normalcy amid the wait for a vaccine or an anti-viral.
Given that COVID-19 continues to rout the Team Hoax and heads-in-the-sand set in the United States, the Americans simply haven’t done the necessary work to run the MLB schedule as planned. The return of baseball in Asia and soccer in Europe came only after the coronavirus was contained, with the return of sports part of strategic re-opening.
The States looked to be headed in that direction back in May and early June, when the current scheme was hatched, but then Florida did Florida, several other regions became hot-spots, too, and here we are.
To that end, that’s why the bubbles in the NHL and NBA have always been the more sensible model, but remember that when MLB first floated a similar plan, players nixed it almost immediately.
Now, though? Maybe a reset is needed before the season comes crashing down.
“I honestly think MLB needs to put aside its pride, hit the pause button, deal with this outbreak for two weeks and take that time to set up proper bubbles, ideally in settings with low community prevalence of COVID-19,” said Dr. Stall. “It would be insanity to push ahead.”
Dr. Morris is thinking along the same lines, suggesting MLB officials immediately take the following steps: First, call an urgent meeting and consider bubble approaches like the NHL or NBA; Second, engage the players union to signify that’s it’s already a crisis; Third, enhance isolation among players during the time between games, rather than only at the games themselves; and Fourth, begin a public campaign to promote masks and social distancing as a way to contribute to containment efforts in the U.S.
“It’s only going to amplify,” he added. “I know they aren’t stopping, but they will be forced to. Travel is just starting.”
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To this point, baseball is moving forward, business as usual, with the regular slate of games continuing uninterrupted save for contests featuring the Marlins and Baltimore Orioles, and Philadelphia Phillies and New York Yankees being postponed while MLB conducts more COVID-19 testing.
In a release, MLB said it is coordinating with the union, and that members of the Marlins travelling party that were in Philadelphia over the weekend are self-quarantining as they await results.
The Toronto Blue Jays are scheduled to play the Phillies in Philadelphia on Friday and were set to host the Miami Marlins on Aug. 11 in their temporary home opener in Buffalo. Veteran starter Tanner Roark went to work Monday at Nationals Park for the first of four against defending World Series champion Washington trying to keep things business as usual amid the circumstances.
“I feel pretty confident, I guess, strong. Not nervous,” he said. “You can’t do anything about it if you get it and if you’re feeling symptoms, you have to step up and tell somebody before it spreads throughout the entire clubhouse. That’s the main thing. Even if you feel the slightest thing, you have to speak up and say something to not jeopardize an entire clubhouse and shut down games.”
Manager Charlie Montoyo dispatched his coaches to remind players of the need for vigilance in light of the Marlins outbreak — they didn’t hold a team meeting to conform with COVID-19 protocols — and repeated how “the moment we left Canada, there was concern.”
Roark, in his matter-of-fact manner, described the virus as a fact of life, saying all players could do was be careful and keep their fingers crossed that they don’t become infected. He added that both owners and players had signed up for a season within these confines.
Asked if in hindsight baseball should have taken a different approach to travel, he replied: “I don’t know. Where would we have that bubble at?”
“If you think about the places that have domes, Arizona was a hot-bed for a while before we left for summer camp, Florida is still a hot-bed, Texas was turning into more and more cases,” Roark continued. “There’s just so much that has to go into materializing a great solution to play together in a bubble. It’s hard to fathom that with baseball.”
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Rookie teammate Santiago Espinal’s experience over the past couple of weeks is emblematic of the dichotomy of the times. He debuted Saturday and Sunday he stole his first career base in extra innings, scoring the go-ahead run in what finished as a 6-5, 10 inning loss to Tampa Bay.
“This first week has probably been the best week of my life,” he said. “This is my dream and came it true.”
At the same time, he made the decision during summer camp in Toronto to limit himself to the hotel and ballpark all summer.
“I said to myself, ‘If it’s going to be like this, I’m just going to stay in my room,’” he said. “I think it’s the best thing to do, just stay in your room, order in your food, talk to your family over the phone, just to be careful.”
As for trying to reconcile breaking into the majors while also putting his health at risk to make it happen, Espinal said: “I know what’s happening in the world. What I’m trying to do is to try and be careful with everything that’s going on and when I get on the field, when I get here to the locker room the focus is to do my job and try to help the team win. As soon as the game is over I try to be careful, I stay in my room and that’s it.”
There-in may be a compromise solution for baseball to pursue a path forward, with players bubbling themselves in hotels both at home and on the road, minimizing interactions with the public, and reducing their probabilities.
The path the sport is on might have made sense in May or early June, or might make sense somewhere else at present, where COVID-19 is under control. In the United States it’s very clearly not, and if MLB doesn’t adapt, it will become another symptom of what ails the country, rather than a distraction from it.
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VANCOUVER – As the Major League Soccer season ticks down, Vanni Sartini wants his Vancouver Whitecaps to make a declaration — the team is ready to compete.
“The time of hiding ourselves, I think it’s over,” the coach said after the ‘Caps earned a 2-0 victory over the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday.
“We need to really say that we are here to try to be at the ball until the end and trying to shoot for the highest position. That doesn’t mean that we’re going to make it, but we have the quality to do it.”
With seven games left on their regular-season schedule, the ‘Caps (13-8-6) sit in fifth spot in the congested Western Conference, just two points out of fourth.
Saturday’s loss officially eliminated the last-place Earthquakes (5-21-2) from post-season action.
Vancouver has been on a hot streak since returning from the Leagues Cup break and is unbeaten (3-0-1) in its last four outings across all competitions. The team has not allowed a goal in those matches.
“It’s the fact that we play really well,” Sartini said of the clean sheets. “We have the ball a lot, we finish our attack most of the time in their box. So it’s really hard for the other team to attack us. And then when they attack us, in the rare times that they arrive in the final third, we’re very solid.”
Recent additions have bolstered the team’s ranks, including the club’s newest designated player, Stuart Armstrong. The 32-year-old Scottish midfielder scored his first MLS goal Saturday.
Three minutes after coming on as a substitute for Alessandro Schopf, Armstrong gave Vancouver a two-goal cushion in the 87th minute.
Midfielder Pedro Vite dished a short pass to ‘Caps captain Ryan Gauld, who tapped it toward Armstrong. The former Southampton FC player then blasted a shot into the top of the net for his first strike in a Whitecaps’ jersey.
He was mobbed by teammates in the corner of the field.
“I think everyone was happy. Also for the first goal, but also that it was an important three points,” said Armstrong, who signed with the ‘Caps on Sept. 3.
“It kind of felt a little bit like last week, when we had a lot of chances and we didn’t get the three points. So today, I think everyone was just relieved to have that two-goal cushion.”
Vancouver was the dominant team from the outset Saturday and did not relent, outshooting the visitors 19-5 and controlling 54.1 per cent of possession.
Fafa Picault also found the back of the net for Vancouver, while Gauld contributed a pair of assists.
Whitecaps goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka stopped both shots he faced to collect his seventh clean sheet of the year, while Daniel made nine saves for the Quakes.
Gauld and Picault teamed up in the 22nd minute when Gauld curled a cross in and the Haitian striker headed it down toward the net, only to see Daniel catch a piece of the shot with his forearm and redirect it out of harm’s way.
The duo connected again in the 35th minute on a Vancouver corner. Gauld swung a ball in and Picault jumped up from the pack to send a glancing header in past Daniel for his ninth MLS goal of the season.
San Jose briefly appeared to level the score in the 68th minute when an unmarked Ousseni Bouda collected the ball, froze Takaoka and tapped a shot into the Vancouver net. An official quickly raised the offside flag and waved off the tally.
Daniel kept San Jose’s deficit to a single goal with a pair of solid stops in the 82nd minute.
First, the Brazilian ‘keeper dove sideways on his line to tip away a bomb from Alessandro Schopf. He was tested again on the ensuing corner and jumped up to send a header from Picault over the crossbar.
“I think we created a lot of chances again,” Gauld said.
“We probably should have put the game out of their reach sooner. But we’d be more worried if we weren’t creating the chances. Three clean sheets in a row in the league, I think it’s a big thing for us. And it gives us a good platform to go forward.”
NOTES
Vancouver played without leading scorer Brian White for a third consecutive game as the American striker works his way back from a concussion. … Gauld’s second assist marked his 15th goal contribution (six goals, nine assists) in his last 15 Whitecaps games across all competitions. … An announced crowd of 21,309 took in the game at B.C. Place.
UP NEXT
The Whitecaps kick off a two-game road swing Wednesday against the Houston Dynamo. The Earthquakes host the Seattle Sounders the same night.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 14, 2024.
MILAN (AP) — Bologna’s preparations for its Champions League debut are not going well though it managed to spoil Como’s first Serie A home match in 21 years on Saturday.
Bologna came from two goals down to salvage a 2-2 draw to gather three points from its opening four matches.
Bologna hosts Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday. Its only other appearance in Europe’s top competition was in 1964 in the preliminary round of the old European Cup.
AC Milan is also winless as it prepares for a Tuesday Champions League match against Liverpool. The Rossoneri hosted promoted Venezia later. Juventus drew at Empoli 0-0.
Como made a great start in the fifth minute when Patrick Cutrone attempted to roll the ball across the six-yard box but it took a huge deflection off Bologna defender Nicolò Casale for an own goal.
Bologna thought it was gifted a way back into the match on the stroke of halftime when referee Marco Piccinini signalled for a penalty following an Alberto Moreno handball, but he revoked his decision and instead gave a free kick because the handball was just outside the area.
Bologna improved after the break but found itself further behind when Cutrone raced onto a through ball and cut inside past a defender and fired into the far bottom corner.
Tommaso Pobega hit the post for Bologna, which finally pulled one back in the 76th through substitute Santiago Castro.
Another substitute helped the visitors snatch a point when Samuel Iling-Junior curled a fine strike into the top left corner in stoppage time.
Unbeaten sides
Juventus, and more surprisingly Empoli, are among six unbeaten sides.
Empoli held Monza and Bologna to draws either side of a shock 2-1 win at Roma. Juventus’ perfect start to the season was ruined by Roma in a goalless draw before the international break.
On Saturday, there were few clearcut chances in Empoli although home goalkeeper Devis Vásquez made spectacular saves to fingertip out a Federico Gatti header and deny Dusan Vlahovic in a one on one with the Juventus forward.
Empoli had a good opportunity in the 73rd minute following an Alberto Grassi one-two with Pietro Pellegri but the finish was straight at Mattia Perin.
The host could have won it right at the death but Gatti flew in with a great sliding block to keep out Emanuel Gyasi’s close-range effort.
Juventus hosts PSV Eindhoven in the Champions League on Tuesday.
___
AP soccer:
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MANCHESTER, England (AP) — Not good enough. That was Arne Slot’s verdict after his first defeat as Liverpool manager on Saturday.
A shock 1-0 loss at home to Nottingham Forest in the English Premier League ended Slot’s perfect record since succeeding Jurgen Klopp at Anfield at the end of last season.
“We had a lot of ball possession but only managed to create three (or) four quite good chances, so that is by far not enough if you have so much ball possession,” said the Dutchman, who suggested his team should not be losing to the likes of Forest.
“If you lose a home game it’s always a setback, especially if you face a team … we never know, maybe they will go all the way to fight for Champions League tickets, but normally this team is not ending up in the top 10, so if you lose a game against them that’s a big disappointment.”
Slot won his first three games in charge, including a memorable 3-0 victory against Manchester United before the international break.
But that run came to an end after Callum Hudson-Odoi struck in the 72nd with a curling effort from the edge of the box and beyond goalkeeper Alisson.
Liverpool’s defeat leaves Manchester City as the only team with a 100% record in the league after a 2-1 win against Brentford kept the defending champion at the top of the table.
United won at Southampton 3-0 to end its two-game losing streak.
Unstoppable Haaland
Erling Haaland moved to 99 goals for City after scoring twice against Brentford.
The Norwegian’s double came after Yoane Wissa fired Brentford ahead with just 22 seconds on the clock.
Haaland scored his 98th and 99th goals in his 103rd City appearance in all competitions. And he was the width of the post away from his third consecutive hat trick after trebles against Ipswich and West Ham.
“He’s been really, really good. Yeah, I would say he’s the best (he’s been), but it’s only four fixtures (this season),” City manager Pep Guardiola said.
Haaland, who has been nominated for the Ballon d’Or, has nine goals in four league games. He has topped the league scoring charts in each of his two seasons at City since joining from Borussia Dortmund in 2022 for $63 million.
Haaland’s first goal after 19 minutes evened the game following Wissa’s opener, which stunned the Etihad Stadium crowd. Haaland turned and swept a shot past goalkeeper Mark Flekken after a slight deflection off Ethan Pinnock.
He was then too strong for Pinnock when shaking off the defender and running through for his second in the 32nd.
He was inches away in the 81st; the shot came back off the post after beating the keeper.
Rashford snaps run
Marcus Rashford snapped a 12-game barren run in front of goal as United beat Southampton.
Rashford doubled United’s lead at Saint Mary’s after Matthijs de Ligt’s scored his first for the club. Substitute Alejandro Garnacho scored a third in the sixth minute of stoppage time.
The win came after back-to-back defeats for United.
Rashford hadn’t scored since March in United’s win over Liverpool in the FA Cup quarterfinals. He curled in a shot from the edge of the area to put Erik ten Hag’s team 2-0 up at Southampton in the 41st minute.
Ten Hag said it could be a turning point for the forward.
“For every striker, they want to be on the scoring list. Once the first is in, more is coming. Like a ketchup bottle, once it’s going, it’s coming more,” he said.
De Ligt, who joined United from Bayern Munich in the offseason, headed in from Bruno Fernandes’ cross in the 35th.
It could have been a different story if Cameron Archer converted a penalty for Southampton in the 33rd. Instead, his effort was saved by goalkeeper Andre Onana.
Newly promoted Southampton was reduced to 10 men when Jack Stephens was sent off in the 79th for a high challenge on Garnacho.
Villa comeback
After three straight defeats to start the league, Everton looked set for its first win when leading Aston Villa 2-0.
Goals from Dwight McNeil and Dominic Calvert-Lewin put Sean Dyche’s team in control until Ollie Watkins struck twice to even the game.
Jhon Duran completed Villa’s comeback and sealed a 3-2 win in the 76th to leave Everton rooted to the bottom of the table and the only top flight team without a point.
Late drama
Jean-Philippe Mateta converted a stoppage time penalty to salvage a 2-2 draw for Crystal Palace against Leicester.
Leicester led 2-0 at Selhurst Park after goals from Jamie Vardy and Stephy Mavididi.
But Mateta sparked Palace’s response with a goal in the 47th, a minute after Mavididi doubled Leicester’s advantage.
Conor Coady fouled Ismaili Sarr in the box right near fulltime and Mateta was cool enough to convert.
West Ham left it even later to salvage a point in a 1-1 draw at Fulham.
Danny Ings struck in the fifth minute of added time after Raul Jimenez’s goal looked like earning Fulham the win.
Brighton boss Fabian Hurzeler, the manager of the month for August, was frustrated as his team was held to 0-0 at home by Ipswich.
___
James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson
___
AP soccer:
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