A few tidbits of baseball “Intel” to share ...
It seems to be a virtual lock that 2021 Spring Training will not start on time. MLB is ruling on all governance items for the coming season so that all teams have the same guidelines. I’d expect something along the lines of a one month delay and a shortened time frame for training camp once it commences.
Although our Governor here in FLA bemoans any gathering restrictions local governing authorities such as in Tampa and St. Pete have imposed stricter mandates including issuing citations to those who refuse to wear masks in public ... if any fellow fans are still planning on coming for Spring Training when it takes place please act accordingly. Wearing a mask isn’t really that hard is it 🤦♂️🤷♂️.
January usually marks the beginning of early arrivals to the complex ... in particular an annual group of 10 to 12 minor leaguers who’ve signed up for the Co-Op program with the city of Clearwater where they work half of the day for the city and train the other half at the Complex. There have been no 2021 invitations extended thus far for the program ... in fact it’s likely the program takes a one year hiatus.
It’s also likely that the Complex will not be open to the public any time soon ... we’ve become accustomed to attending January workouts and reporting on them ... “Pre ST” or “Mini-Camp” as we’ve called it. As of now there are no plans for the gates to be open nor have I heard of any early arrivals other than a couple fellas who’ve been granted access ... that access is in a lockdown mode where they agree to get COVID tested.
Phillie Phans are clamoring for new President of Baseball Ops Dave Dombrowski to make moves ... in particular the “Sign JT” group. It’s my understanding that JT’s market isn’t as robust as some may believe ... it’s basically a waiting game to see what develops. Doesn’t seem that anything is gonna transact soon in this regard ... “hurry up and wait “.
There certainly have been other discussions in both the free agent and trade markets. Trades don’t usually happen overnight but rather after multiple chats and iteration reviews have taken place. It’s my belief that there is one ongoing discussion in particular that began early in the season that could indeed come to fruition ... we’ll never know unless it does eh 🤦♂️.
Winter League play continues albeit there have been limited or no fan attendance restrictions in place and some games have been postponed/cancelled due to COVID issues. Just a note ... some of our fellas have concluded their winter play commitments ... Darick Hall in Mexico and Ramon Ross and Austin Listi in the Dominican. It’s great they got some playing time but also am happy for them that they now get to spend the holidays at home with their families.
Former Phillie Howie Kendrick announced his retirement from baseball yesterday. His career was a testament to playing smart, hard and enjoying the game. The game will certainly miss him.
Some of the fellas took advantage of the “lost season” to do other things ... former Phillie Cody Asche completed his college education and earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Nebraska. Zach Eflin, Zach Warren and former Phillie Waylon Richardson each got married to three beautiful ladies ! Congrats to them all 👍.
That’s it for now ...
Happy Day, Happy Baseball ⚾️
Comments