Players throughout MLB are "voicing objections to the quarantines the league wants, saying the less restrictive health and safety protocols they followed for the majority of the 60-game regular season should be sufficient for October," according to Ken Rosenthal of THE ATHLETIC. There is "no indication the postseason is in jeopardy." But sources said that the proposed quarantines are the "biggest remaining obstacle to the league proceeding with its plan to play all but the first round of the playoffs at neutral-site bubbles in Texas and Southern California." Rosenthal notes the MLBPA "did not agree to any form of bubble for the regular season, and the proposed quarantines would represent a material change in the protocols." But the league is "adamant that players quarantine separately from their families for seven days before entering bubbles, believing the periods of isolation would give the sport the best chance of avoiding outbreaks that might interrupt or force the cancellation of the postseason." Sources said that the parties are "working to find creative solutions to their differences on how families will enter postseason bubbles" (THEATHLETIC.com, 9/11).
FROM START TO FINISH: In N.Y., Joel Sherman notes one COVID-19 case is "enough to shut down a team for at least five days." If that occurs in the postseason, MLB would face a "devilish decision: Do you boot that team from the playoffs or insist that it brings the players who have been training at its alternate site to play the games." That is why "best practices must be applied to try to avoid even one October case." Sherman writes with all that has occurred, "completing this marathon would be a triumph for the sport, especially when it looked so bleak so often." Therefore, the best practices "must win, even while appreciating further hardship on the players," because "running 24 miles of a marathon is a futile gesture" (N.Y. POST, 9/11).
