Honestly I would enjoy talking the expanded roster for the Tribe but IMHO there are too many variables at this point before some good debates can even begin.

Will there be a season for MLB or MiLB players?

What is the structure of the MLB teams (30 man roster, 23 plus flexible daily taxi squad, 28 plus semi static taxi squad)??

If there is a MLB season at home ballparks, what is the plan for the various spring training complexes in Arizona & Florida??? Can minor league games be played there for developmental purposes as well as keeping players on a MLB taxi squad in shape & ready for call up????

One thing I hope everyone can keep in mind: the teams Tito manages tend to do very well as the season progresses. As Tito knows each team better, the group responds better. Additionally he is a master of the expanded September roster.  Watching the win streak replay on STO fans can see how Tito navigated back-to-back doubleheaders in NY & Detroit and kept shifting guys around while the team had win after win...

It is true Tito wont have that extra time. In my eyes it would be a level playing field so to speak bc of the expanded rosters and fact every team is in the same boat. Really could be a much different look than we anticipated...a wild revamped division with universal DH may benefit AL clubs that carry that extra bat already. Lots of variables and hopefully play resumes at some point. Either way it should be fun once baseball does return.

Hmmm.. musings on a warm and sunny Memorial Day weekend, sans baseball..

The discussion surrounds roster construction.. first reported by Ken Rosenthal two to three weeks ago.. there will be an active roster of 30 with an addion dozen and a half or more that are, for all intentions and purposes, actively available. Of course, the reasoning for this is multi-faceted.. health/pandemic causes.. short season/limited preparation causes.. appeasing the MLBPA causes.. etc. 

A cynical prespective might reveal that if the owners unilaterally reduce payrolls without the consent of the MLBPA, then the kids on the farm who are already rostered.. already getting a ML salary.. already accruing ML service time.. can't be terribly displeased in the short run.. 

Clearly, this puts a GREAT strain on the ML clubs that have very poor upper minors and gives any current ML free agent a massive boost in value (read: Yasiel).. The mere fact that the Indians have about six to ten prospects in their MiLB system that could be called upon is a bonus. It wouldn't be a huge stretch to see some really interesting trades of MiLB players  for ML talent..especially contending teams giving up the kids..

Thoughts?..

I cant help but think of some clubs that will need another bat. Does that mean young players get a job, teams make deals or maybe someone on the bench gets a regular role.

Either way it will be interesting to see how it all plays out.

Why have a 30-man roster if they aren't going to be cramming extra games into a shorter schedule? It's not like they're proposing a 110-game schedule in 90 days. 

Sounds like the plan is to have a traditional doubleheader per week. Rumors of 2 per week. 

The extended roster is to offset the quick ramp up too.

That's assuming there is a season and at this point it's looking less than certain.

Posted by: @willhoo99

Sounds like the plan is to have a traditional doubleheader per week. Rumors of 2 per week. 

The extended roster is to offset the quick ramp up too.

That's assuming there is a season and at this point it's looking less than certain.

Sounds like 7 games a week over 6 days of play (ie an off day each week). Something like double headers every Sunday and an off day/ travel day on Mondays...   Kinda weird to have all teams off on the same day each week.  I would think staggering the off day each week would be better for broadcasting purposes...

I'm curious if they will utilize the minor league double header version (each game is 7 innings/ 21 outs) or try 2 separate 9 inning affairs with short break in-between.

I'm also curious if they would tweak the extra inning rules

BTW - I can see how a 80 schedule is easily done & could see 81 games also, but I am not seeing an 82 game schedule.

Lets say the 3 division (East clubs - Central clubs - West clubs) is the arranged setup.

Tribe would play the other AL central teams 12 games each (6 home/ 6 away).  There is 48.

Tribe plays its natural rival (Cinci) 8 games (4 home/ 4 away). That brings the total to 56.

Tribe plays the other 4 teams of NL Central 6 games each (3 home/ 3 away), There is another 24 and it brings the total to 80 games.

Home/ Road balance is impossible for 81 games but it would be 9 games against every other team in Central division.

IF someone can spell out the formatting for an 82 game setup, post it.  I'd love to see what I'm missing..

Posted by: @madthinker88

Posted by: @willhoo99

Sounds like the plan is to have a traditional doubleheader per week. Rumors of 2 per week. 

The extended roster is to offset the quick ramp up too.

That's assuming there is a season and at this point it's looking less than certain.

Sounds like 7 games a week over 6 days of play (ie an off day each week). Something like double headers every Sunday and an off day/ travel day on Mondays...   Kinda weird to have all teams off on the same day each week.  I would think staggering the off day each week would be better for broadcasting purposes...

I'm curious if they will utilize the minor league double header version (each game is 7 innings/ 21 outs) or try 2 separate 9 inning affairs with short break in-between.

I'm also curious if they would tweak the extra inning rules

 

BTW - I can see how a 80 schedule is easily done & could see 81 games also, but I am not seeing an 82 game schedule.

Lets say the 3 division (East clubs - Central clubs - West clubs) is the arranged setup.

Tribe would play the other AL central teams 12 games each (6 home/ 6 away).  There is 48.

Tribe plays its natural rival (Cinci) 8 games (4 home/ 4 away). That brings the total to 56.

Tribe plays the other 4 teams of NL Central 6 games each (3 home/ 3 away), There is another 24 and it brings the total to 80 games.

 

Home/ Road balance is impossible for 81 games but it would be 9 games against every other team in Central division.

 

IF someone can spell out the formatting for an 82 game setup, post it.  I'd love to see what I'm missing..

 

If the Tribe played one of the other NL Central teams 8 games instead of 6 that would get them to 82. 

They could also play seven games against four of the NL Central teams and six games against another for a total of 34. I know you'll say seven games doesn't even out the home/away, but the Indians play seven games every year against the AL East and AL West so it's no big deal. 

As for the frequency of games, an 82-game schedule would mean teams forego 80 games and basically start with game 81. Last year the Indians played game 81 on June 28. So if they start on or about July 1 this year they would not have to play 7-8 games a week. They could play at their normal frequency with the normal number of off days and still finish the season in the same week as every year. No double headers, just the usual schedule of 82 games in 96 days same as last year. 

No need for 30-man rosters. They're not playing a compressed schedule. They could if they were playing at a single location, but if they're going to be traveling they'll need travel days. 

Even pushing the playoffs back a week would probably be on the table. 

At this point I'm not convinced they will play seems like a lot of tension and everyone crying significant losses. Not that they aren't losing but using the media to demonize players isn't a great look. But, that really should be as no surprise to owners and a commissioner that seem out of touch with the fans.

Posted by: @madthinker88

Posted by: @willhoo99

Sounds like the plan is to have a traditional doubleheader per week. Rumors of 2 per week. 

The extended roster is to offset the quick ramp up too.

That's assuming there is a season and at this point it's looking less than certain.

Sounds like 7 games a week over 6 days of play (ie an off day each week). Something like double headers every Sunday and an off day/ travel day on Mondays...   Kinda weird to have all teams off on the same day each week.  I would think staggering the off day each week would be better for broadcasting purposes...

I'm curious if they will utilize the minor league double header version (each game is 7 innings/ 21 outs) or try 2 separate 9 inning affairs with short break in-between.

I'm also curious if they would tweak the extra inning rules

 

BTW - I can see how a 80 schedule is easily done & could see 81 games also, but I am not seeing an 82 game schedule.

Lets say the 3 division (East clubs - Central clubs - West clubs) is the arranged setup.

Tribe would play the other AL central teams 12 games each (6 home/ 6 away).  There is 48.

Tribe plays its natural rival (Cinci) 8 games (4 home/ 4 away). That brings the total to 56.

Tribe plays the other 4 teams of NL Central 6 games each (3 home/ 3 away), There is another 24 and it brings the total to 80 games.

 

Home/ Road balance is impossible for 81 games but it would be 9 games against every other team in Central division.

 

IF someone can spell out the formatting for an 82 game setup, post it.  I'd love to see what I'm missing..

 

My suspicion is they will implement more of Manfreds ideas to change the game. It will be pushed as a trial in light of the circumstances. As I have said, what has Manfred wanted that he hasn't forced through?

@willhoo99

- I keep seeing/ hearing the narrative of 'Manfred ideas' but people seem to forget that Rob Manfred (like the other big sports commissioners Adam Silver & Roger G) is employed BY THE OWNERS.  He is PAID by the owners. 

Manfred is not being paid by fans to keep owners & players in line or to keep the game only as it is.

IF Owners as a group did not want or believe a faster product would help their product, Manfred would not be harping on the topic.

IF Owners as a group did not want adjustments made to the game, Manfred would not be talking about or implementing them.

If a majority (or super majority of 60 or 75%) of owners say "get X done" than that is the path Manfred is going to take.

The changes are NOT the brain child of Rob Manfred.  He might steer the path to the final destination/change, but Manfred is given a destination point to reach by his employers first.  

Manfred is hardly the owner's puppet. Like anyone in that type of role, he has to be a salesman. His pitch apparently is profit maximization (my opinion). He is a lawyer with a Cornell education and has negotiated multiple CBA's, the biogenesis scandal, etc.

He laid out a plan the owners bought in and now he's implementing it. 

https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/12218054/new-mlb-commissioner-rob-manfred-top-five-priorities

Players counter-propose a 114-game schedule with no pay cuts other than prorated for the reduced number of games. This changes the total payroll from the $1.2 billion proposed by the owners to $2.8 billion. So the players are offering to extend the regular season by 32 games in exchange for an extra $1.6 billion. 

The only revenue would be the TV money. Does the TV money increase if the number of games is increased? The players are offering to increase the number of regular season games by 39% in exchange for increasing the salaries by 133%. Spring training would start June 15.

Both sides seem to agree on when spring training and the regular season would start so now it's just a matter of finalizing the number of games and the salary structure. They have two weeks to get it done. I expect something will be announced on June 14 or so and spring training will start immediately. 

With high unemployment, food lines, business bankruptcies the players point of view, especially the stars that have spoken, does not go over well with me. Great to hear of the startup of MLB then the star players started to talk.