As MLB prepares return-to-play proposal with start dates, Pirates staying in a ready state - TribLIVE

paksijenong.blogspot.com

As baseball prepares for the possibility of a return, with reports of target dates in early June to start spring training and early July to start playing games, the Pittsburgh Pirates are attempting to be in a sweet spot.

That’s what Pirates general manager Ben Cherington called the “ready state” required of MLB players for a ramp-up to a second spring training and be ready for an adjusted regular season during an interview Saturday on 93.7 The Fan, “so that when and, hopefully, if we get the green light to ramp up and get back into a season, we’re not doing that from scratch.”

Want some good baseball news??

I just heard from multiple sources that on June 10th, Spring Training 2 will start. July 1st will be Opening Day and all teams will be playing at their home ballparks.

We’ll be discussing it in full on the next @TalkinBaseball_

— Trevor Plouffe (@trevorplouffe) May 4, 2020

The news that baseball was making plans for a comeback next month initially was broken by a former major-league player. Trevor Plouffe tweeted Monday that MLB teams were telling players to be ready to return with June 10 as a start date for spring training and July 1 as Opening Day and that “all teams will be playing at their home ballparks.”

Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic confirmed Tuesday that the Cleveland Indians gave players those dates as a “mark in the sand.” ESPN’s Jeff Passan reported Wednesday that MLB is expected to offer a “return-to-play proposal” to MLB Players Association within a week for union approval.

Source confirms: MLB plans to give union a proposal regarding start of the season within a week. Wrote today about the continuing difficulty of formulating a plan. https://t.co/fGMrWJErJh Start dates remain fluid. Both @JeffPassan and @Joelsherman1 mentioned proposal coming soon.

— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) May 6, 2020

The dates could be moving targets amid the crisis of the coronavirus that causes covid-19, relying upon the recommendations from state government officials and health experts about the allowance and safety to return to play. Those could prove to be significant obstacles for MLB, as many states are operating under different reopening timelines.

Teams are telling players to get ready and get in shape. MLB is expected to send a return-to-play proposal to the union soon. The gears for baseball's return are starting to turn — but significant hurdles remain for it to become a reality. News at ESPN: https://t.co/fHiasxlS1A

— Jeff Passan (@JeffPassan) May 7, 2020

But Pirates manager Derek Shelton believes it’s instructive that teams have a timeline, in terms of preparation for a season and the return of the sport is important for the national psyche. A three-week spring training would give pitchers time to increase their pitch count and position players a chance to reacclimate to hitting and fielding in game-like conditions after two months of working out on their own.

“One of the things that’s probably most important is, from the time Major League Baseball says, ‘OK, hey, you can go,’ until the time we start spring training, however long that period is, is going to be vital for us because of the fact that we have an end date and we’re going to know how we’re going to be able to ramp,” Shelton said Monday on a conference call with Pittsburgh reporters, adding that he is focusing on the positives.

“Any way we can find a way to play, we play. I view myself as an optimist and a person that’s positive. Getting back to baseball is going to help us on a larger scale. I have not put myself personally or in conversations with our staff in any place where we’re not thinking anything but optimistically that there’s going to be baseball.”

Pirates pitcher Trevor Williams said Saturday during a guest appearance on 93.7 The Fan that players were told a six- to eight-week timeline was likely, and Thursday marks eight weeks since the sport shut down spring training on March 12.

“I firmly believe we’re going to give it the college try,” Williams said, noting that leagues in Japan and Korea returned to playing baseball in empty stadiums this week. “If they’re playing baseball and everything is going good for them, we’re going to be right behind them and hopefully make it work and hopefully playing in front of our hometown cities and go from there.”

That appears to be the preference of not only MLB owners but also the players, despite initial proposals to play “baseball in a bubble” by quarantining players in Arizona or to forgo the traditional American and National league divisions by having teams instead play in Cactus and Grapefruit leagues at their Arizona and Florida spring training sites.

The latest talk of a proposal involved three 10-team divisions, placing the Pirates in the East with the Baltimore Orioles, Boston Red Sox, Miami Marlins, New York Mets and Yankees, Philadelphia Phillies, Tampa Bay Rays, Toronto Blue Jays and reigning World Series champion Washington Nationals.

The key for the Pirates would be playing games at PNC Park, whether or not fans would be permitted to attend. That first would require Gov. Tom Wolf to give the green light, as well as other governors to allow teams to play games in their stadiums.

“Honestly, for me, as a fan of sports and as a fan of baseball, too, I’d like to be able to see us in our own ballpark,” Pirates pitcher Derek Holland said Saturday on 93.7 The Fan. “The fans deserve it. I get it if we have to start off with no fans in the stadium. That’s fine. At some point, we’ve got to let our fans come and see us play. Being in Pittsburgh, you have a good fan base. You want to be in front of those guys. They bring the energy to us when we’re pitching and playing and all that. We need to eventually get to that point.

“But, also at the same time, whatever the case may be, we want to also get on the field, too. So we want to be able to give action to the world because we’re going through a tough time. If we can do anything to distract it, baseball’s one of those things that can really help get past that and give the distraction that we need for the fans out there, for the people out there with everything that’s going on. We’ve got such a good platform, we’ve got to try to be able to use it.”

Kevin Gorman is a Tribune-Review staff writer. You can contact Kevin by email at kgorman@triblive.com or via Twitter .

Categories: Pirates/MLB | Sports