The Friday, March 27, 2020

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The Red Sox owe us some answers on ’s surgery

Dan Shaughnessy

The Red Sox’ refusal to disclose anything about Chris Sale’s elective elbow surgery in the middle of a national medical-supply shortage is unacceptable.

New York Mets righthander was scheduled for Tommy John surgery Thursday at the Hospital for Special Surgery in West Palm Beach, Fla. The Mets said that team doctor David Altchek would perform the surgery, even though the Florida governor has barred nonessential elective medical procedures in the state.

Doctors in Florida are empowered to determine what is essential, and a Mets official told the Wall Street Journal, "This condition fits within the essential surgery guidelines.''

Last Thursday, the Red Sox announced that Sale, who is in the first year of a five-year, $145 million contract extension, would require Tommy John surgery. When Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom was asked about nonessential surgeries being put on hold in the middle of a pandemic, he acknowledged that he considered Sale’s surgery elective.

"Obviously something we’re mindful of,'' said Bloom. "No. 1, the difficulty generally surrounding elective surgeries with what our country is going through and also making sure that we’re doing this in a way that doesn’t put any extra burden on the public health system.''

Given the sensitivity of Bloom’s comment, it is difficult to understand why the Red Sox aren’t saying anything now. They won’t say whether the surgery has been performed. They won’t say whether it has been scheduled or postponed. On Wednesday, the Globe contacted Bloom, Red Sox CEO Sam Kennedy, and vice president of media relations Kevin Gregg, and all issued no comment.

It’s an unfortunate response while we are in the middle of a global pandemic, with surgical supplies limited and citizens sensitive to the notion of rich and powerful folks receiving preferential medical treatment.

The Sox are a private company but very much a public trust. Accountability has not been a trademark of the ball club in recent years, but this is a lot different than ownership disappearing for two weeks after firing Dave Dombrowski. This is far worse. Sox fans have a right to know what’s going on with Sale — then make their own judgments.

Did the Sox go ahead and do the surgery? Are they waiting? Will they tell us when or where the surgery is scheduled, as the Mets did with Syndergaard? Where is Red Sox leadership?

It’s a decision that impacts Sale’s career and the Sox’ prospects for the next few seasons. Sports fans are mindful that waiting on a star ’s elbow surgery is not in the competitive interest of the ball club.

But what the Red Sox do regarding Sale also speaks to the highly sensitive topic of special treatment for professional athletes. Many Americans were upset with the instant availability of coronavirus testing for NBA players and teams in the early days of America’s emergency.

Transparency regarding Sale’s surgery is not a medical privacy (HIPAA) issue. The team has already announced Sale’s condition. We know exactly what Tommy John surgery means. The Red Sox delayed the surgery last August, hoping for a non-surgical recovery. They delayed again at the beginning of March when Sale experienced pain while throwing. In the middle of a pandemic, does it need to be done now?

Please, let’s not have any headstands from doctors trying to tell us that Sale’s procedure is "essential.'' Bloom’s remarks from last week are clear. The Red Sox have acknowledged that this is elective surgery.

If the Sox postponed the procedure in the spirit of not putting any extra burden on the public health system, it would color the franchise as sensitive, fair, and willing to sacrifice baseball success for the greater good. If the Sox went ahead and did the procedure, there might be some blowback, though some fans no doubt would understand.

"No comment" is simply weak and unacceptable.

I’m not a fan of the Mets’ plan to go ahead with surgery on Syndergaard, but at least they didn’t hide.

Mitch Moreland ready to lead on the field and in the clubhouse for Red Sox

Julian McWilliams

Note: During the MLB shutdown, the Globe will revisit its offseason “Around the Horn” series of position- by-position looks at the Red Sox to update with what we learned in . Today: First base.

The presumption was that Mitch Moreland wouldn’t be back with the Red Sox this season. He was a pending free agent who had endured his share of injuries throughout last year. As a result, the then 33-year- old Moreland only accumulated 298 plate appearances. Additionally, the Sox were under a new program led by Chaim Bloom, who came from the , an organization known for pursuing cheap, controllable talent instead of veterans.

However, just before the start of spring training, the Sox and Moreland agreed to a one-year deal.

“This guy has a track record,” Bloom said at the time. “What’s under the surface and what’s under the hood gives us the confidence that he could do damage in a lineup.”

When Moreland is on the field, he’s an effective ballplayer.

“That’s always been my thing if I can continue to stay on the field, it will be better for me and better for the team,” Moreland said back in February. “I got a lot of work done in the offseason, trying to get my body in a good place and, obviously, I’m not getting any younger, so as the miles start adding up, you have to figure out different ways to keep yourself ready.”

Last year, he returned from the in late July and .279 with an .811 OPS in 161 plate appearances. He can pick it at first, too, and is still nimble around the bag despite his age and injury history.

This spring, the Sox could have gone with their top prospect Bobby Dalbec at first base, a guy Bloom looked forward to seeing play. Bloom didn’t rule out Dalbec possibly making the Opening Day roster.

“He’s obviously a huge part of our future,” Bloom said. “I’m personally excited to get an up-close look at him and get to know him. We’re hoping he comes into spring training ready to impress.”

But once Dalbec was optioned at the end of the shortened spring, it was clear Moreland was the Red Sox’ guy since Day 1. The Sox will need Moreland more than ever and perhaps his largest task might not be on the field but in the clubhouse. There are other leaders and veterans in there, but Moreland is, essentially, the adult in the room. The team has gone through a makeover. and are in Los Angeles. Brock Holt is in Milwaukee. Alex Cora is out as manager and most likely facing a ban of some sort for his part in the sign-stealing scandal. They lost Chris Sale for the season because of Tommy John surgery. Moreland, as much as he can, has to be that calming presence as the Red Sox try to survive this makeover and injuries to the current roster.

“Maybe [my role changes] a little,” Moreland said. “I’m older. Definitely with [Price] and Mookie that’s a tough loss for sure. We still got a great team. Those two guys, they’re not replaceable. They’re great ballplayers. At the same time, we’re going to be fine and looking forward to getting back out there.”

Getting back out there, of course, will have the wait. Baseball, like the rest of the world, is in the thick of a pandemic. Everything is shut down indefinitely, including a season in which the odds of the Red Sox making the playoffs appear slim.

You would never know that when you hear Moreland speak, though. He has the confidence, better yet, the assurance that everything will be OK.

Moreland got only one plate appearance this spring after he was removed against the due to right hamstring tightness. Afterward, Moreland said he was fine, but you couldn’t help but wonder if this would be his fate in 2020, too.

The Sox have some depth there. They have Dalbec waiting in the minors. filled in nicely for Moreland last season. They could platoon that position if need be. But this year might be more or less about presence than production, even though Moreland is more than capable of the latter.

“I try to tell myself,” Moreland explained, “we play 162 games and I’m going to be ready to play 162 days. That’s what I’m telling myself whether I’m coming off the bench or getting two at-bats or playing the whole game. Whatever they need me to do. That’s always been my mindset.”

Despite coronavirus shutdown, players will retain service time in agreement with MLB

Alex Speier

While the anticipated start of the 2020 season came and went without games played as baseball remained shuttered amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, and the MLB Players Association came to an agreement on Thursday about the economic rules that will govern a shortened season.

According to multiple industry sources, the league and its players reached an agreement that is expected to be finalized and announced on Friday. The deal does not specify the length of the season — something impossible to do given the unknown course that the coronavirus will take — but the sides have a shared interest in playing as many games as possible this season, with the possibilities of extending the season (and playing games at neutral sites), committing to doubleheaders, and early-season games without fansall in play to maximize the length of the schedule.

Commissioner Rob Manfred told ESPN on Thursday his "optimistic outlook is that at some point in May we’ll be gearing back up” for games, but the players and league also recognize the possibility that a season may prove impossible to commence this year. For that reason, according to the Associated Press, the deal ensures that even if no season is played, all players who are currently on the 40-man roster, the 60-day injured list, or on an outright assignment to the minor leagues with a major league contract would receive service time equaling what that player was credited with in 2019.

That agreement ensures that Mookie Betts and other players who were slated to hit free agency after the 2020 season will still do so. If a partial season is played, major league service time would be multiplied to what a player would have accumulated over a full season.

Owners will advance players $170 million for April and May, according to Jeff Passan of ESPN. That money is expected to be distributed chiefly to players on the lower end of baseball’s salary scale. If there is no season, players would keep that advance but sacrifice their salaries for the coming year. If there is a shortened season, salaries would be prorated based on the length of the season.

According to a major league source, the luxury tax threshold of $208 million will remain unchanged. Players’ full-season salaries (rather than the prorated amount they’re actually paid) will be used to determine the amount that they count toward the threshold.

MLB has the right to shorten the 2020 draft to as few as five rounds and could delay the draft from June 10-12 to late July, with owners gaining the right to defer bonus payments into subsequent years. Recommended signing bonuses for picks are expected to be kept at 2019 levels. Signing bonuses for undrafted players will be capped at $20,000. MLB also has the right to delay the start of the international amateur signing period from its typical date of July 2 to as late as January 15. Those moves would limit the expenses of baseball operations departments during the coming season, when revenues will take a hit due to the schedule alterations.

According to multiple reports, the players have already approved the agreement. Owners are expected to do the same via conference call on Friday, thus establishing the potential ground rules for a season — even at a time when it remains unclear when or if games will actually be played in 2020.

Red Sox assign Colten Brewer and three other to minors

Julian McWilliams

The Red Sox optioned pitchers Colten Brewer, Chris Mazza, Matt Hall, and Jeffrey Springs to minor league rosters Thursday.

The club also officially added infielder Yairo Munoz as a nonroster invitee.

The Sox claimed Mazza off waivers in December after he was designated for assignment by the . Mazza debuted in the majors in 2019 and posted a 5.51 ERA in 16⅓ innings of relief work.

When David Price was traded to the Dodgers this year, there was some talk about Mazza possibly being a starter. However, that idea didn’t gain much momentum as spring camp progressed.

Brewer might be a surprising move to some. After a down 2019 season, he was a candidate for an opener position, and he made an impression during spring training (2.16 ERA in 8⅓ innings).

Nonetheless, Brewer still has an option left and still could be a part of the equation once the season gets under way. In this age of depth, this move might give chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom more flexibility to add another starter.

The Tommy John dilemma: Can you justify doing surgery during the coronavirus pandemic?

Alex Speier

One week after the Red Sox announced that Chris Sale would require Tommy John surgery, two questions loom: When will he have it done, and should he be allowed to have it despite widespread calls by states to postpone elective medical procedures amid the COVID-19 pandemic?

Both topics are enormously sensitive in the game. The Red Sox and Sale’s agent, B.B. Abbott, have declined to say when or if Sale’s surgery is scheduled. Major League Baseball and the Players’ Association declined to comment on the propriety of Tommy John surgery at a time when many states are limiting or banning elective surgeries.

In Massachusetts, Gov. Charlie Baker called for the postponement of elective procedures on March 15.

Three Massachusetts orthopedists contacted by the Globe said the state’s prohibition would include ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction (i.e. Tommy John surgery), and that the operation shouldn’t be performed here for anyone, including professional athletes.

“There’s no question that Tommy John is an elective surgery,” said former Red Sox medical director Thomas Gill, now the director of the New England Baptist Hospital-affiliated Boston Sports Medicine and Research Institute. “A lot of guys try PRP [platelet-rich plasma] injections, try rehab to avoid it, and when they can’t, they end up having surgery. By definition, that’s elective.”

Others disagree with that assessment — at least as a blanket statement. Dr. Jeffrey Dugas, a surgeon with the Andrews Sports Medicine and Orthopaedic Center (the facility founded by Dr. James Andrews) in Birmingham, Ala., believes that there are risks to delaying Tommy John surgery that could reclassify cases from elective to urgent.

“I don’t think it’s that black-and-white,” said Dugas, who estimated that he’s performed thousands of Tommy John procedures. “There are certainly aspects of Tommy John surgeries that, if not dealt with in a timely way in certain people, could have a deleterious effect on the outcome.

“Tissue quality is certainly one of them. If you anticipate a deterioration in tissue quality or bone quality as a result of timing, the timing of dealing with things in a simultaneous way, as opposed to a staged way, protects an athlete from multiple procedures as opposed to one. All of those things are examples of ways that these things could be pushed to a more urgent position.”

For Sale and the Red Sox, there certainly would be on-field consequences to a delay. A typical timeline for recovery for a , chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom said in a conference call last week, is 14-15 months. That suggests that a best-case scenario for a surgery done now would be a return in late May or early June next year. A delay could put into question Sale’s ability to contribute at all in 2021.

But the timetable of his return as well as his team’s competitive outlook would still have to be weighed against the public-health rationale for limiting non-urgent procedures.

“People can make the argument that, well, it’s someone’s livelihood; a player needs to get back quickly,” said Gill. “But how do you value a baseball player getting back to his livelihood three weeks earlier, four weeks earlier, when you’re talking about a year to 14-month recovery anyway, versus a construction worker, a small businessman or woman, a mother or father trying to take care of their kids?

"How do you say one is more important than the other? You really can’t.”

Restrictions on elective surgery are driven by several public-health concerns, among them: the preservation of personal protective equipment and ventilators to manage the COVID-19 pandemic; possible exposure of medical personnel to the coronavirus (not just through a patient but also through family members or friends who transport a patient to a hospital); and a desire to allow as many medical personnel as possible to help with the pandemic itself.

But while Massachusetts has offered clear guidelines that would prohibit Sale from undergoing Tommy John surgery here, the situation isn’t necessarily clear-cut elsewhere. In Alabama, where Dugas works, the state is requiring a delay of unspecified duration for elective procedures.

Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard was scheduled to have Tommy John surgery Thursday at the West Palm Beach (Fla.) Hospital for Special Surgery. While Florida has prohibited “medically unnecessary, non- urgent or non-emergency procedure or surgery which, if delayed, does not place a patient’s immediate health, safety, or well-being at risk, or will, if delayed, not contribute to the worsening of a serious or life- threatening medical condition,” that standard is being left to the interpretation of doctors.

Dr. Chris Geary, an orthopedist at Tufts Medical Center, said he has “a little bit of skin in the game” when it comes to the dilemmas faced by orthopedists who are trying to assist their patients while also being mindful of the broader context. Geary tested positive this week for COVID-19 and is currently quarantined.

“I guess ethical and legal are two different things at this time," said Geary. “We’re in kind of uncharted waters.”

A doctor in Florida, he said, could be "well within his rights to [perform Tommy John] as long as, on a state-by-state basis, he’s not running afoul of any government mandates.

"But you could look at it from a larger societal level and say, ‘Would it be great if they repurposed everything they had at their surgery center to a larger hospital?’ Yeah, probably. But if he’s not breaking any laws, he’s within his rights to do it.”

The optics, of course, are unavoidably poor. Even if Sale undergoes Tommy John at a surgery center that doesn’t have an ICU and wouldn’t be treating patients with COVID-19 anyway, the mere fact of an athlete receiving surgery at a time when patients are being told that they can’t receive joint replacements would be subject to scrutiny.

“In general, things sometimes get moved around for professional athletes,” said Gill. “That’s not something I agree with, but it’s kind of the way of the world.”

The question of operating on world-class athletes — balancing their long-term care with questions about PPE availability — is one that will weigh on the doctors who ultimately will decide who can and cannot have surgery during the current crisis.

“I don’t think anybody at this point would make the decision to [perform Tommy John] without considering the position we’re in," said Dugas. “I don’t know of any clinician who would be thoughtless enough not to consider that.

“I’ve had to cancel Tommy John surgeries this week, for sure. We’ve canceled our surgeries. But I don’t know that the situations of the people I’ve been dealing with are the same situations that [Syndergaard and Sale] are in, for multiple reasons, biological and ethical.

"We’re all kind of working through that. I have every confidence in my colleagues around the country who do these procedures on a regular basis as they make these difficult decisions.”

What might have been: Here’s how Strat-O-Matic’s simulation of the Red Sox’ Opening Day game went

Nicole Yang

The Red Sox are 1-0 to start the 2020 season.

Wait, wasn’t Opening Day postponed?

Yes, the slate of games originally scheduled for Thursday has been pushed back indefinitely, as has the rest of the major league season, because of the coronavirus pandemic. In the interim, Strat-O-Matic has baseball fans eager for action covered with its daily simulations of the league’s schedule.

“We are excited to be able to give fans of every age a fun and detailed daily distraction during these challenging times,” said founder Hal Richman.

According to Strat-O-Matic, the Red Sox defeated the , 3-2, Thursday afternoon behind a ninth-inning go-ahead home from Rafael Devers. Batting second, Devers scored two of Boston’s three runs and recorded a team-high three hits. Xander Bogaerts, J.D. Martinez, new right fielder Kevin Pillar, and new second baseman José Peraza each had two hits.

Starting pitcher Eduardo Rodriguez lasted six innings, striking out nine and walking five. Rodriguez gave up three hits — two of which were solo shots, his lone earned runs of the game. Josh Taylor, Colten Brewer, , and Brandon Workman pitched in relief, with Barnes nabbing the win and Workman earning a save.

For every game, Strat-O-Matic simulations will produce a box score and play-by-play report.

Using its extensive research and data, Strat-O-Matic is able to create profiles that closely represent active players. Since it started forecasting results in 2015, the company, founded almost 60 years ago, boasts an impressive track record and has accurately predicted not only winners but also individual player statistics.

“We know ‘Baseball Daily’ works with all the simulations we’ve been able to run,” said research director John Garcia.

Take Game 5 of the 2015 World Series as an example. Garcia said that with the exception of one , Strat-O-Matic correctly simulated Mets pitcher Matt Harvey’s line through seven innings. Strat-O-Matic pulled Harvey after the seventh, while Mets manager Terry Collins opted to leave him in into the ninth.

“There’s a reason Strat-O-Matic has been around for almost 60 years,” Garcia said. “It’s because it’s the most accurate baseball simulation there is.”

“We’ve been thrilled with our results,” added Strat-O-Matic’s president, Adam Richman.

Strat-O-Matic will use projected lineups and starting pitchers for its simulations, and will soon also incorporate fan and media input into those decisions.

Results and statistics will be announced daily at 2 p.m. via Strat-O-Matic’s website.

* The Boston Herald

Bad Red Sox news would be better than no news at all

Bill Speros

Opening Day was closed across North America Thursday.

The coronavirus pandemic continued its vicious winning streak against professional sports, pushing back another annual athletic milestone on the 2020 calendar.

March Madness went out like a lamb. The NBA is in timeout. The NHL is on ice. The PGA Tour has found the metaphorical water. The XFL? Fuhgeddaboudit.

The Kentucky Derby, Indy 500 and Masters have all been postponed.

But this was Opening Day. And we missed it.

The Red Sox were scheduled to begin the season in Toronto. No matter where they are playing, Red Sox Opening Day is the unofficial first day of spring and the official first day of hope each year (post-Patriots playoff run) across New England.

The 2020 Red Sox are bereft of Mookie Betts, David Price, Chris Sale (until further notice) and any real hope of reaching the postseason. Still, they would have been perfect on this Opening Day. And the die- hards, dreamers and Pink Hats would have the opportunity to demonstrate that the Red Sox can win 84 games without Mookie as easily as they can win 84 games with him.

These Red Sox have done their best to quarantine any optimism about the 2020 season. And yet the worst may be yet to come.

The Red Sox stand accused of stealing signs during their 2018 World Series championship run by using their replay room in violation of MLB rules. That’s the antiseptic way of saying they allegedly cheated. Former manager Alex Cora was dragged down by the Astros’ sign-stealing scandal. That forever puts a -sized asterisk next to ’s 2017 World Series title.

Baseball Commissioner Rob Manfred now knows what the Red Sox did and knows when they knew it.

He’s just not telling anyone.

“We are done with the investigation,” he told ESPN’s Scott Van Pelt Thursday. “There’s been a delay in terms of producing a written report, just because I, frankly, have not had time to turn to it with the other issues. But we will get a Boston report out before we resume play.”

It appears all but certain that there will be some punishment delivered to Jersey Street.

In a related lawsuit last week, an attorney for the Red Sox hinted that MLB had evidence and/or concluded that the team broke the rules.

“I think that there are distinctions between what the Red Sox believe occurred and what the commissioner found,” Lauren Moskowitz of Cravath, Swaine & Moore told a judge. “And I think that certainly they’re entitled to disagree that that activity happened at the club level,” The Athletic reported.

COVID-19 is in the process of becoming the ultimate excuse for everything. This pandemic has changed American life, culture, society and its economy in a way not seen since the Great Recession or 9/11, depending on whether or not you’ve lost your job and/or are dealing with the illness firsthand.

Manfred’s copout is an easy one. Baseball has yet to set a framework for any potential season given that everything must be done in unison with the players’ union. Scott Boras proposed a full season beginning in June or July with the potential of a Christmas Day World Series game somewhere in .

Ho. Ho. .

But Manfred is not doing the Red Sox any favors by delaying this report. There’s no better time to drop bad news about the Red Sox than right now.

Millions are on lockdown because of a medical and economic crisis strangling America. A record 3.283 million first-time jobless claims were filed last week nationwide. And that doesn’t even include Cam Newton, Andy Dalton and Joe Flacco.

The sports world is now less fertile than the surface of Mars. Last weekend, 903,000 people tuned in to a virtual NASCAR race that aired on FS1. Denny Hamlin won it. A similar iRacing event from a simulated Texas Motor Speedway will air on Fox at 1 p.m. on Sunday. You know you will be watching.

Locally, Jeremy Jacobs just bronzed his throne as the most despicable team owner in Boston. Parent company Delaware North put 68 salaried full-time TD Garden employees on indefinite leave, cut pay for 82 others, and left all their part-time workers in the cold. Jacobs is worth $3.4 billion.

With that as a background, Manfred could tell us Shoeless Joe Kelly is guilty of wiretapping the Dodgers’ locker room during the 2018 World Series and it would barely register a whimper among the Bay State masses.

We’re all desperate for any news that doesn’t include the words “pandemic,” “stimulus” and “quarantine.”

A good old-fashioned cheating scandal would be a welcome change for Red Sox fans everywhere. No matter how bad it may make the team appear.

After all, at least we’d be talking about baseball.

Fenway Park’s third-party concession workers petition for Red Sox’ help

Jason Mastrodonato

Seven employees of Aramark, the third-party company that supplies hourly workers for Red Sox games at , are set to lose their health insurance amid the coronavirus pandemic, according to sources familiar with the negotiations.

The news comes as Aramark has not agreed to lower their limitations that guarantee health insurance to employees who reach an hourly threshold during the year. The Boston Local 26 union asked Aramark to lower the threshold considering the Red Sox season has been postponed and employees can’t work hours they usually would, but that request was denied.

“They don’t have insurance, can’t go to the doctor and we’re in a public health crisis right now,” said John Ferolito, who is entering his 14th season working at Fenway Park via Aramark.

Aramark is believed to have shut down all operations at Fenway during the postponement and the company is not expected to pay any of its employees for any lost wages at this time.

The Red Sox had been in constant communication with Aramark and, as of last week, expected that Aramark was working on something to help their employees across the country at all the venues they serve.

Many of those employees are longtime concession workers at Fenway Park. They’re now asking for the Red Sox’ help.

While the Sox and every other MLB team pledged $1 million each to help support hourly workers during the pandemic, those funds were applicable only to the 1,300 employees who worked directly for the Red Sox.

The third party employees who call Fenway Park their office during the baseball season feel left behind.

“The 1,000 subcontracted concessions workers in UNITE HERE Local 26 like myself at Fenway are hearing that we’re being shut out,” wrote Sean Boudreau, a Fenway Park concession stand worker for more than 20 years.

Boudreau is leading a petition as part of the Local 26 union to ask the Red Sox to help support the third party employees as well.

Ferolito, a bartender in the EMC Club who serves high-end clientele who pay upwards of $375 per game, said working at Fenway Park is the best job he’s ever had. He said most of his co-workers have worked there 10-plus years and feel like a family.

But seeing the Red Sox exclude third-party employees from the $1-million pool “felt like a slap in the face.”

“It’s scary,” he said. “The unknown is the worst part. It would be nice to see the little guy get some respect for once. Get a little help. Not get looked the other way or walked on. Now is the time to help the people who help the Red Sox.

“When there’s a rainout Tuesday afternoon, two days later we learn it’s rescheduled for a Thursday afternoon. Those people re-schedule their day jobs to work a doubleheader. It’s the little things. We’re doing stuff for you guys at the drop of a hat. Where are you when we need you?”

Multiple efforts to reach Aramark for comment over the last week have not been successful.

Carlos Aramayo, the incoming president of Local 26, compared the situation to that at MIT, where the university agreed to pay third-party food service workers through the end of the semester, even though those workers don’t get paid directly by MIT.

“They’ve done the right thing,” Aramayo said of MIT. “They’ve realized they’re passing that money down to the contractor. They’re paying folks till the end of the semester. MIT is a deep pocket institution. We all know the Red Sox are a deep pocket institution as well. I don’t think it would be that difficult for them to do right by them.”

The Red Sox have not yet offered any comment on the developing situation.

“People are facing potential loss of benefits, loss of income,” Aramayo said. “It’s an industry where there’s a limited number of games every year. Those guys get in there and hustle. Everyone who has been in there sees how those guys hustle. That’s how they make a big share of their income with those games that happen every year.”

Mookie Betts could never suit up for the Dodgers under MLB’s new agreement

Jason Mastrodonato

The circumstances are less than ideal, but the Mookie Betts trade should work out OK for the Red Sox.

According to multiple reports on Thursday night, MLB and the MLB Players Association agreed on a deal to clarify the details of the 2020 season, which has been suspended and could yet be cancelled altogether depending on the coronavirus pandemic.

Among the results of the deal, which has already been voted on by the players and could be ratified by the owners on Friday, is the matter of free agency. And the results are interesting for the Red Sox.

Players who were scheduled to hit free agency after the 2020 season will maintain that right, whether there’s an abbreviated season in 2020 or no season at all.

That means Betts will end up either playing only a partial season with the Dodgers or no games at all for the team that traded for him just before spring training began.

Service time will go forth as regularly scheduled, regardless of how many games are played this year, according to the new deal. And players with long-term contracts will stay on the same agreed-upon contracts and hit free agency as they normally would.

The Red Sox received outfielder Alex Verdugo, infielder Jeter Downs and Connor Wong for Betts, David Price and cash before spring training began. Price has three years remaining on his deal while Betts is scheduled to be a free agent in the winter.

Players will receive a guaranteed $170 million total (less than 5 percent of their overall salaries) in April and May, and will keep that money whether or not MLB ever resumes the season, according to the new deal.

Further details are expected to be released as the deal is finalized.

* MassLive.com

Boston Red Sox roster moves: Free agent Yairo Muñoz added; Colten Brewer, 3 other pitchers optioned to minor league camp

Christopher Smith

The Red Sox have added Yairo Muñoz, who they signed to a minor league contract, to their spring training roster as a non-roster invitee.

Boston also announced Thursday it optioned 40-man roster pitchers Colten Brewer, Chris Mazza, Matt Hall, and Jeffrey Springs to minor league camp.

The Red Sox initially were scheduled to play their regular season opener Thursday (today). But Major League Baseball suspended the 2020 season indefinitely because of the coronavirus outbreak.

The Red Sox acquired Mazza, Springs and Hall during the offseason.

Mazza pitched 4 ⅔ innings in Grapefruit League action before MLB suspended its season, allowing seven runs, all earned, 10 hits and five walks while striking out three.

Brewer allowed two runs, both earned, four hits and two walks while striking out nine in 8⅓ innings. Springs allowed six runs, all earned, nine hits and no walks while striking out nine in six innings. Hall allowed four runs, all earned, six hits and four walks while striking out three in three innings.

The 26-man roster can include a maximum of 13 pitchers. Sixteen pitchers remain in camp.

40-man roster pitchers remaining in camp (13): , Austin Brice, Matt Barnes, Heath Hembree, Brandon Workman, Collin McHugh, Martín Pérez, Eduardo Rodriguez, Darwinzon Hernandez, Marcus Walden, Ryan Weber, Ryan Brasier, Josh Taylor, LHP

Non-roster invitees pitchers still in camp (3): , Domingo Tapia, Robinson Leyer.

* Chris Sale won’t pitch in 2020 because of Tommy John surgery.

MLB coronavirus deal: Boston Red Sox lose draft picks, Mookie Betts could hit free agency without ever playing for Dodgers as result of league’s deal with MLBPA

Chris Cotillo

Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association came to terms on an important agreement Thursday night, solving a series of issues created by the coronavirus-induced league shutdown. The effects of the agreement are wide-ranging and will impact every team throughout the next couple of years.

The Red Sox -- whose owners were surely part of the negotiating process -- are no exception. Here are some of the effects of the deal on Boston moving forward:

If the season isn’t played, Mookie Betts will hit free agency -- without ever suiting up for the Dodgers

The biggest takeaway from the MLB-MLBPA deal is that players will not be penalized by losing service time due to the coronavirus shutdown, meaning any player scheduled to hit free agency after this year will do so, no matter how many games are played. Even if baseball’s doomsday scenario happens and the entire season is canceled, players scheduled to hit free agency will do so.

The most notable free agent of next winter is Mookie Betts, who the Red Sox traded to the Dodgers last month. There’s now a chance Betts will hit the open market without ever suiting up for the Dodgers in what would amount to one of the most disastrous transactions in sports history.

The three players the Red Sox acquired -- Alex Verdugo, Jeter Downs and Connor Wong -- are all under control for the next few years. So if the season is canceled, the Sox would have acquired Verdugo, Downs and Wong for two years of an aging David Price and whatever compensatory pick the Dodgers would receive if Betts signed elsewhere.

The Red Sox obviously didn’t know a global pandemic would threaten the season when they traded Betts, doing so expecting he’d play a 162-game season for the Dodgers. That won’t be the case, and it’s at least slightly possible Betts will never suit up for the Dodgers at all.

Jackie Bradley Jr., Brandon Workman and others will also become free agents this winter

The Sox have a handful of free agents of their own -- including Jackie Bradley Jr., Brandon Workman, Kevin Pillar and Collin McHugh -- who will hit free agency in the fall, no matter what. Boston also has two players with club options (Mitch Moreland and Martin Perez) and J.D. Martinez has another opt-out at the end of the year, meaning he could test free agency if he so chooses.

Just like with Betts, it’s possible Boston’s pending free agents have played their last game -- or in the case of Pillar, McHugh and Perez, no games -- in a Red Sox uniform.

Looking further down the line, the Sox have key players scheduled to hit free agency after 2021 (Eduardo Rodriguez and Matt Barnes), 2022 (, Christian Vazquez and Nathan Eovaldi) and 2023 (Rafael Devers). Those players’ timelines for hitting the open market will go unchanged by the delay to the 2020 season.

The Sox will be limited in adding amateur players this year

It’s no secret that the Red Sox don’t have a top farm system, as MLB.com (No. 25), The Athletic (No. 25) and ESPN (No. 27) have all ranked Boston near the bottom of their system rankings in the last two months. The two avenues in which Boston could add amateurs might be significantly reduced based on Thursday’s agreement.

The annual draft, which usually spans 40 rounds, has been reduced to just five rounds (and could be expanded further). The 2021 draft has also been cut, tentatively to just 20 rounds. And the 2020 international signing period might start in Jan. 2021, not in July as scheduled.

Those changes could prove detrimental to any club, but a team looking to rebuild its farm system quickly might be hurt the most. Instead of adding the usual amount of draftees, the Sox will only add a handful. The Sox are projected to have three picks in the top 100 -- at Nos. 17, 52 and 90 -- and will be under even more pressure to hit on those guys considering the lack of depth available.

Undrafted players can sign for a maximum bonus of $20,000, and the Red Sox, who have a rich history, recent success and plenty of spots for talented minor-leaguers, would theoretically be attractive to undrafted amateurs. It stands to reason the pool of amateurs turning pro will be significantly limited this year, with high school seniors deciding to go to college and college juniors returning to school for their senior years in hopes of entering deeper drafts.

Internationally, the Red Sox are expected to make a big splash or two, with ’s Ben Badler reporting that the club is projected to give a bonus worth nearly $2 million (Boston’s largest in three years) to Dominican outfielder Miguel Bleis and could be in on other top prospects. Any delay to the signing period would mean international signees would not start playing for the Sox until spring training next year.

Simply put, the agreement was not friendly for clubs looking to reload their farm systems in the coming months.

Ayn punishment for sign stealing could hurt the Red Sox even more than they thought

The Red Sox are still waiting for commissioner Rob Manfred to issue his report determining if they allegedly stole opponents’ signs in 2018, and any punishment from his findings could be made more severe by Thursday’s agreement. If, like he did with the Astros, Manfred decides to strip the Red Sox of draft picks, that penalty would be even more devastating considering the shortened draft. The Sox could theoretically lose, say, two out of their five picks instead of two out of their 40.

The league is likely taking the coronavirus delay into account while deciding on any punishment for the Red Sox. It’s unclear how any suspensions -- like those given to former Astros employees A.J. Hinch and Jeff Luhnow or anything coming for former Sox manager Alex Cora -- would be impacted by an abbreviated or lost season.

Could MLB suspend Cora for a 2020 season that isn’t being played anyway? It’s a question that’s further complicating matters as the league looks to close its investigation. The Red Sox, who cut ties with Cora in January and replaced him with Ron Roenicke, won’t be directly impacted by that outcome.

Other effects

The owners promised a $170 million advance payment to the players -- split among them based on contract type -- ensuring that players will be paid over the next two months even if games aren’t being played. Salaries will be prorated based on how many games are played in 2020 and players cannot sue teams for any money lost due to a shortened season. All of that obviously applies to Red Sox players as it does all major-leaguers.

Roster moves will be frozen once the agreement is ratified, which likely will happen Friday. The Red Sox, after optioning four pitchers to the minors and adding Yairo Munoz as a non-roster invitee Thursday, have 43 players in camp and will need to trim down further once teams get together for an abbreviated spring training. It’s likely that rosters expand past 26 players when the regular season begins but no rules have been finalized in that regard.

Nothing related to the regular season schedule was determined by the deal, though the sides agreed that players would hold final approval in the making of the revised schedule, the regular season could stretch into October and that the postseason could be expanded and played at neutral sites. The revised schedule will be determined by the course of the coronavirus pandemic and how America reacts in the coming months.

Coronavirus: MLB, MLBPA reach deal, giving players full service time in 2020 and significantly reducing draft

Chris Cotillo

Major League Baseball and the MLB Players Association have reached a deal on various issues caused by the coronavirus pandemic, according to ESPN’s Jeff Passan. The sides spent the last two weeks negotiating the issues after the league suspended spring training and indefinitely delayed the beginning of its regular season.

The contract does not determine what the league’s schedule will look like in 2020, as the course of the pandemic in the coming months is the only thing that will decide how much baseball is played this year. As a result, the sides did not reach an agreement on what an abbreviated spring training would look like or if teams would be able to expand their rosters at the beginning of a shortened season.

According to Passan, Evan Drellich and Ken Rosenthal of The Athletic, and Ronald Blum of the Associated Press, the contract includes the following stipulations:

The 2020 MLB draft will still be held -- no later than July 20 -- and will be cut from 40 rounds to five. MLB has the discretion to increase the number of rounds at a later date.

Players will receive full service time for the 2020 season, even if it’s shortened or cancelled. Players active or on the injured list for the shortened year will be given a full year of service and players will receive the same amount of service time they did in 2019 if the 2020 season is canceled.

Players will receive an advance lump payment of $170 million over the next two months, split between “four tiers of players - those with guaranteed contracts and those in three different levels of split contracts between majors and minors.” If there is no season, the players will keep that money.

Salaries will be pro-rated based on the length of the regular season.

Players cannot sue teams for their full salaries if the 2020 season is canceled.

Players get to sign off on scheduling before it’s made official.

MLB can delay the start of the international signing period from July 2 to as late as Jan. 2021, can shorten the 2021 draft from 40 rounds to 20 and could push back the 2021 international signing period to Jan. 2022.

Teams can defer signing bonuses for draft picks in 2020 and 2021, with 10% due within 30 days of each contract’s approval and 45% on July 1 in each of the following two years.

Signing bonuses for undrafted players will be capped at $20,000.

Adjustments of arbitration rules so that players are not penalized for stats that don’t compare to other seasons. If the season is canceled, arbitration-eligible players will receive the same salary in 2021 that was scheduled for 2020.

Beginning Friday, roster moves will be frozen until the season begins.

The main trade-off, it appears, is that players were able to secure the guarantee of service time -- even if the season is not played at all -- in exchange for giving owners a potential cost-cutting measure by significantly changing the structure of the draft. Any player set to hit free agency after 2020 (including Mookie Betts, J.T. Realmuto, Trevor Bauer and others) will still be able to, even if the season is not played.

Coronavirus: MLB Draft likely to be held in July, could be shortened (report)

Chris Cotillo

The MLB Draft is likely to be delayed until July and could be shortened significantly, according to a report from ESPN’s Kiley McDaniel. McDaniel reports the draft could last 5-10 rounds instead of its usual 40.

The pending agreement, which would be part of a larger deal between Major League Baseball and the Players Association regarding a variety of issues related to the coronavirus-caused suspension of play, would also call for deferred bonus payments to prospects. McDaniel writes draftees would get 10% of their bonuses upfront, 45% a year later an 45% in July 2022.

Shortening the draft would obviously mean fewer players are selected, so the league has discussed a maximum bonus for unsigned players. As McDaniel notes, there could be a high number of high school seniors who decide to attend college and college juniors who return to school for a final season as a result of the shortened draft.

MLB considered cancelling the draft, which was originally scheduled from June 10-12 in Omaha, as a potential way to cut costs while games are not being played. It’s likely the MLBPA didn’t view that as a viable option and had the league meet somewhere in the middle with today’s outcome.

The sides are reportedly closing in on a wide-ranging agreement covering service time, pay for major and minor league players and other issues caused by the coronavirus pandemic delaying the start to the regular season.

Boston Red Sox 2020 Opening Day lineup? What it might have looked like Thursday vs. when MLB season possibly resumes in June, July

Christopher Smith

The Red Sox’s 2020 regular season opener was scheduled for Thursday (today). But the MLB season has been suspended indefinitely because of the coronavirus outbreak.

Commissioner Rob Manfred is hopeful baseball will resume in May.

“My optimistic outlook is that at some point in May, we’ll be gearing back up,” Manfred said Wednesday on SportsCenter with Scott Van Pelt. “We’ll have to make a determination depending on what the precise date is, as to how much of a preparation period we need."

What would have the Red Sox’s Opening Day lineup looked like Thursday compared to how it might look differently when the season eventually returns?

What might the Red Sox lineup have looked like Thursday?

1. Andrew Benintendi, LF

2. Xander Bogaerts, SS

3. Rafael Devers (*Devers typically will bat second, see note below)

4. J.D. Martinez, DH

5. Kevin Pillar RF

6. Jackie Bradley Jr. CF

7. Michael Chavis 1B

8. Jose Peraza 2B

9. Christian Vazquez C

SP Eduardo Rodriguez

Where’s Mitch Moreland? The Red Sox probably would have faced Blue Jays left-handed starter Hyun-Jin Ryu.

Moreland likely will sit vs. left-handed starters. On those days, Chavis should start at first base and Jose Peraza at second base.

Chavis, a right-handed hitter, had reverse splits last year and in the upper levels of the minors. That said, we could see Peraza, a right-handed hitter who is better vs. lefties than righties, make more starts at second base vs. left-handed pitchers.

* Xander Bogaerts might have batted second and Rafael Devers third vs. a left-handed starter Thursday. But Devers likely will bat second vs. right-handed starters.

Analytics show the two best hitters in the lineup should bat second and cleanup. Then-manager Alex Cora inserted Devers into the No. 2 hole last June 25. Devers hit second in the lineup 69 times over his final 79 games while batting in the third spot 10 times. He batted .334 with a .379 on-base percentage, .653 , 1.032 OPS, 19 homers, 36 doubles, three triples and 63 RBIs in the two hole.

“I don’t think it’s ideal," interim manager Ron Roenicke said Feb. 28 about two left-handed hitters back-to- back at 1-2. “And that might change if a lefty throws that day. We can flip flop some guys. Maybe Pillar goes up top. But we can look at that."

Andrew Benintendi likely will serve as the leadoff hitter this year despite struggling in the spot last year. He went 5-for-42 (.119) with one , five walks and 16 as the first batter of the game in 2019 before then-manager Alex Cora moved Mookie Betts back to leadoff. But with Betts traded, Roenicke has given every indication he plans use Benintendi as his leadoff hitter most of the time. He also mentioned Kevin Pillar and Alex Verdugo, when healthy, as candidates.

“I think that was just during a period I wasn’t playing well," Benintendi said Feb. 24. "At that point, it didn’t matter where I hit. It was not going well. I can see why it’s being talked about, if I hit leadoff. I think it was more of a fluke than anything.”

This lineup presents a nice balance of left- and right-handed hitters vs. the left-handed starter: 1. Andrew Benintendi (L); 2 Xander Bogaerts (R); 3. Rafael Devers (L); 4. J.D. Martinez (R); 5. Kevin Pillar (R); 6. Jackie Bradley Jr (L); 7. Michael Chavis (R); 8. Jose Peraza (R); 9. Christian Vazquez (R)

How might the Red Sox lineup look different if Opening Day is in June or July?

1. Andrew Benintendi, LF

2. Rafael Devers 3B

3. Xander Bogaerts SS

4. J.D. Martinez, DH

5. Alex Verdugo RF

6. Michael Chavis 2B

7. Mitch Moreland 1B

8. Jackie Bradley Jr. CF

9. Christian Vazquez C

SP Eduardo Rodriguez

Alex Verdugo would have started the regular season on the injured list because of a stress fracture in his back. But the right fielder, who the Red Sox acquired in the Mookie Betts trade — likely will be ready for Opening Day if the season begins in June or July. He began swinging a bat earlier this month.

Don’t expect Verdugo, a left-handed hitter, to platoon with Kevin Pillar, a right-handed hitter. Verdugo is expected to be an everyday player. That could lead to Bradley sitting on days the Red Sox face a left- handed starter. Pillar or Benintendi would play center field.

Other notes:

Ace Chris Sale won’t pitch in 2020 because he needs Tommy John surgery. But Collin McHugh — who would have started the season on the injured list after an offseason non-surgical procedure for a flexor strain — likely will be ready for the start of the season if it returns in June or July.

* WEEI.com

There is now a scenario where Mookie Betts never plays for the Dodgers

Rob Bradford

With so much coronavirus-induced uncertainty hovering around Major League Baseball, MLB and it's players' association struck a deal Thursday night that will help offer some direction going forward. ESPN.com was first to report the arrangement.

Of particular note, MLB is granting its players a year's worth of service time even if there are no games played in 2020. What that means is that players who are eligible to become free agents after the upcoming season - such as Mookie Betts, Trevor Bauer, J.T. Realmuto and, from the Red Sox side of things, Jackie Bradley Jr. - will still be able to hit the open market.

The possibility of that taking place immediately puts the Red Sox' trade of Betts in the microscope considering the Dodgers might end up with nothing from the outfielder despite giving up Alex Verdugo, Connor Wong and Jeter Downs. Los Angeles retains the rights to offer Betts a qualifying offer before he hits free agency.

David Price, who also went to LA in the deal, will still have two more years left on his current deal.

Some other parts of the agreement include:

- The amateur draft may be shifted to as few as just five rounds, with MLB having the ability to increase that number of rounds. It won't occur any later than July. Signing bonuses will also be deferred.

- Once the deal is ratified (expected Friday) there will be a freeze on all transactions until both sides agree to end the moratorium.

- The international signing period -- which was scheduled to run from July 2-15 -- will be pushed back to as late as January.

When it comes to another spring training, MLB better learn its lesson from 25 years ago

Rob Bradford

Aaron Sele remembers that 1995 season well. He was, after all, the Red Sox’ Opening Day starter, giving up just one hit over five innings while getting the win.

But what the former pitcher also recalls is how spring training shook out that year and what can potentially be learned when baseball starts back up this time around.

“It’s so different than this. What that work stoppage was was just business. It’s a whole different thing,” Sele warns. “But …”

While the current coronavirus crisis is much different than the work stoppage 25 years ago, the similarity is that both will have led to a race to power through a delayed spring training long enough prepare the players for the season. In the case of 1995, the first day of workouts was April 7 with the opener taking place 2 1/2 weeks later.

“As a young player you didn’t really know what was going on,” recalled Sele, who got the Opening Day nod because of ’ groin injury. “It was start, stop, start, stop, go. That’s what I remembered about it. Hey, we’re going to go. No, we’re not. Hey, we’re going to go, No, we’re not. Hey, we’re going to go … Start.

“Major League Baseball really doesn’t matter compared to everything else that is going on, but once it starts they need to be well aware of the injury risks of the shortened spring training. And that is what everybody has fought for years. Why is spring training so long? Well, you need it for pitchers.”

The hasty preparation came back to haunt Sele, who ended up making just six starts before being shut down for the season with a shoulder injury.

“I was 23 years old. I used to think I could just pick up a baseball, play catch for a couple of days and be ready to go,” See said. “Because you’re so young it’s kind of what you did. But that was going to be my first full season. As a player, I wasn’t prepared for the grind of a full season because I had never played a big-league season. 1994 was shortened and ’95 you’re trying to get ready to go, so personally, I didn’t know what to expect. I thought I was ready and obviously making six starts and then blowing out and missing the rest of the season I wasn’t ready.

“The biggest key MLB has to worry about is obviously the safety of its fans and its workers. But the players? I would suggest a longer version than probably what they’re going to have. Obviously, you don’t need all of spring training, but you need consistency of when it is going to start. That’s what I remember them saying we’re going to go on this date and then we didn’t. We’re going to go on this date, and then we didn’t. And then you eventually go, ‘They don’t know when they are going.’ And then they say to go and you’re like, ‘Crap! Here we go.’ At 24 years old you’re like I’m fine, whatever. But obviously, it didn’t work.”

Update: MLB commissioner Rob Manfred touched on the timeline when appearing on ESPN Wednesday night saying, "My optimistic outlook is that at some point in May we'll be gearing back up. We'll have to make a determination, depending on what the precise date is, as to how much of a preparation period we need."

* NBC Sports Boston

Red Sox sign Yairo Munoz, infielder who left Cardinals, to minor-league contract

Darren Hartwell

The Boston Red Sox' season opener would have been Thursday had coronavirus not put an abrupt halt to the 2020 campaign.

So, the Red Sox instead are occupying their time by adding to their roster.

The team signed former St. Louis Cardinals utility man Yairo Munoz to a minor league contract Wednesday night, according to their transactions page.

The 25-year-old Dominican Republic native made his major league debut at age 23 and appeared in 196 games for the Cardinals over the last two seasons, posting a .273/.331/.391 slash line.

Munoz looked like a promising prospect for St. Louis but left the team on rather odd terms: Per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, he suffered a hamstring injury six games into 2020 spring training and flew home to the Dominican Republic before the team could give him an MRI.

Tomase's Red Sox 25-year All-Entertaining team: Pitchers The Cardinals released Munoz on March 7, with president of baseball operations suggesting the young utility player was unhappy with his lack of playing time.

"We just decided based on what we’re hearing from his agent maybe cutting ties make the most sense," Mozeliak said at the time, via the Post-Dispatch. "He just wasn’t happy here, and was frustrated with how he was used last year. Didn’t like the writing on the wall that he was seeing this year."

It sure sounds like Munoz could use a fresh start.

He'll have to play his way onto Boston's major-league roster, and it's unclear when he'll return from that hamstring injury, but perhaps Munoz can benefit from the scenery change and make an impact with a rebuilding Red Sox club.

I'm going to miss baseball and I'm not embarrassed to say it

John Tomase

My name is John, and I have a confession.

I miss baseball.

I know it's hip to rip the national pastime for being past its prime because the game is too slow and the nights too long and the product too predictable in its sensory-killing metronomic click of strikeout- strikeout-homer, strikeout-strikeout-homer.

But as the spring officially kicks off without any games — the Red Sox were supposed to open Thursday in Toronto — now's a time to take stock of what we'll miss if ballparks remain empty through at least May or June, if not beyond.

Baseball makes an easy target for ridicule, with its staid unwritten rules and untimed game in an era of hyperactive attention spans and handheld devices and instant gratification. But the outright hostility the sport engenders among a certain demographic of fans (and sportswriters) sometimes feels like it's coming off the top rope when a telegraphed slingshot into the turnbuckle would suffice.

Baseball's place in the American sporting consciousness remains unique. It owns the stage from June until September, and its daily pace helps give the summer a narrative. Winning streaks mean euphoria. Losing streaks feel interminable. But the connection is constant.

"Bah," you might say with an eyeroll. "Baseball's day has passed."

While it's true the game desperately needs to accelerate pace of play and increase the action on the field — all those homers and strikeouts can be pretty numbing, click, click, click — let's not pretend MLB is in danger of folding or anything.

Major League Baseball remains the second most valuable league in the world, with annual revenues of roughly $10 billion. That's more than the English Premier League and NHL combined. Even with an attendance drop of 14.5 percent since 2007, baseball still draws nearly 70 million fans a year. In addition, its broadcast rights remain more lucrative than ever, with Fox, ESPN, and Turner Sports negotiating deals totaling more than $13 billion.

Those are just numbers, though. What I miss is more personal.

I've walked into Fenway Park probably 2,000 times since 1996, and the sight atop of the first ramp outside Gate D never gets old — the grandstand, the impossibly green grass, the Monster. There's a part of me that still feels like the kid attending his first game in 1982, marveling that the park could simultaneously feel so big and yet so intimate.

Summer nights mean the murmur of the crowd wafting through the radio while lighting the grill, or flipping on a few innings to unwind. Just because fewer and fewer fans want to sit through an entire three and a half hour game anymore doesn't mean they're ignoring the product altogether. Baseball can be consumed in bites, two innings here, four innings there. It's nice to know it's always an option and if you want to scream that that proves it's irrelevant, have at it. I just happen to disagree.

Red Sox didn't fare too well in 2020 simulation I still love the game itself, though it's certainly trying my patience from a pace perspective.

The individual battles provide endless opportunities for second-guessing and analysis, from pitchers vs. hitter, to fielder vs. runner, to manager vs. manager. It's the one sport everyone in my generation played growing up (clarification: mostly just the boys), so it's the one sport we could identify with on even the smallest level. I understand that millennials and Gen Z were doing other things.

You know why else I miss baseball? Because in a time of crisis, it has often helped unite and/or heal us. Think players answering the call during World War II and Korea, George W. Bush throwing out the first pitch at the 2001 World Series after 9/11, or of course, Boston Strong in the wake of the Marathon bombings.

Nothing will say return to normalcy like packing Fenway Park again (although who knows if we'll ever view large crowds the same way again). And even if that day remains weeks or months or maybe even a year away, it will happen.

And on that day, I will be there, and you'll be watching, and we'll collectively celebrate the return of this maddening, confounding, perfectly imperfect game.

Most memorable Red Sox Opening Days since 2000 feature joy, heartbreak

John Tomase

No two words herald the arrival of spring quite like "Opening Day."

Unfortunately, the real world has intruded on the sports world this year, and so in lieu of Thursday's scheduled opener in Toronto, the Red Sox will be sheltering in place.

But that doesn't mean we can't look back at some of the most memorable openers of the last 20 years. Since 2000, the Red Sox are a middling 9-11 on Opening Day, and the losses have tended to leave a mark.

NBC Sports Boston's chief cynic (me) has compiled the five most memorable opening days since 2000, and of course two of them are losses, including No. 1. What did you expect, rainbows?

Anywhere, here's the list.

5. 2015 Red Sox 8, Phillies 0 Hoping to prove that 2014's descent to last place was a fluke, the Red Sox pummeled the Phillies and ace Cole Hamels in Citizens Bank Park, but alas the good times did not last.

The Red Sox slammed five home runs — including two each from Dustin Pedroia and Hanley Ramirez — and tossed seven shutout innings in a game that seemingly augured well for the rest of the season.

The Red Sox had retooled that winter around Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval, a pair of $80 million free agents who were supposed to bolster the lineup. For one day, Ramirez did his part, but his lack of interest in playing left field would soon catch up to him.

Sandoval, meanwhile, went 0 for 5 with three strikeouts, a performance that provided only a taste of what was to come in Boston, unfortunately.

4. 2012: Tigers 3, Red Sox 2 The Bobby V. years were greeted with curiosity, the veteran baseball man returning to the dugout at age 61 after three years in the broadcast booth. And a season that would give us one disaster after another started in excruciating fashion.

Jon Lester and Tigers ace dueled to a virtual standstill, with Verlander delivering eight shutout innings and Lester departing after seven innings of one-run ball.

The Red Sox entered the ninth trailing 2-0, but a David Ortiz sacrifice fly and improbable Ryan Sweeney triple tied the game.

Valentine turned to closer Mark Melancon, who retired Ryan Raburn before allowing consecutive singles. Out went Melancon — his confidence shaken by the quick hook — and in came human tinderbox Alfredo Aceves.

Aceves hit Ramon Santiago and served up the walk-off to Austin Jackson, starting a trend that carried through the rest of the campaign. The Red Sox would get walked off again three days later in the series finale and eight times overall in a lost season that set the stage for rebirth in 2013.

3. 2008: Red Sox 6, A's 5 The defending champions opened their season on the other side of the world in Japan, one year after the start of Daisuke-mania.

Daisuke Matsuzaka got the start over ace in his homecoming, but the Red Sox appeared headed for a loss until reserve outfielder Brandon Moss — starting only because J.D. Drew was a late scratch — tied the game with a solo homer in the ninth off of Huston Street.

Manny Ramirez then won it in the 10th with a booming two-run double to complete a four-RBI day before Jonathan Papelbon closed it out with a little bit of a heart attack save, allowing a run on a walk, double, and two singles.

The 2008 Red Sox never said die for the rest of that season, either, eventually pushing the Rays to Game 7 of the ALCS.

2. 2013: Red Sox 8, Yankees 2 The tone setter for a title came early. The 2013 Red Sox entered the season with zero expectations, coming off the disaster of Bobby Valentine and the offseason acquisition of multiple unheralded veterans.

Mike Napoli, Shane Victorino, Jonny Gomes, Stephen Drew, David Ross, and Ryan Dempster felt like varying degrees of retread. But on Opening Day in New York, the Red Sox gave us a taste of their future by teeing off on ace CC Sabathia and then running the stunned Yankees off the field.

Victorino's two-run single keyed a four-run second, and struck out seven over five innings before being replaced by veteran setup man Koji Uehara, a name that would acquire infinitely more significance as the season progressed.

Rookie Jackie Bradley Jr. worked a pair of walks and recorded an RBI groundout in his big league debut, but the real statement came in the ninth when beat out an infield single and Gomes never stopped running, coming around from second with the run that announced exactly what kind of team the Red Sox would be in 2013, an attitude that carried them to a title.

1. 2003: Rays 6, Red Sox 4 There's nowhere else to finish.

The pressure on the Red Sox that afternoon in Tampa was absurd. Theo Epstein's first game as general manager featured one of his most controversial decisions — to eschew a closer in favor of a mix-and-match that would become known, for better or worse but definitely worse, as closer by committee.

That lasted eight innings. The Red Sox cruised into the ninth with a 4-1 lead on the strength of seven three- hit innings from ace Pedro Martinez. What happened next felt here-we-go-again perfect for baseball's most cursed franchise.

Alan Embree, hoping to take the closer's job for himself, didn't retire a batter, departing after a two-run homer from Mookie Betts' uncle, Terry Shumpert. Right-hander Chad Fox replaced him and immediately recorded two outs.

But with the Red Sox one strike away, Fox served up a walk-off three-run homer to Carl Crawford and jaws hit the floor across New England.

* The Athletic

Routines have been upended. On Opening Day, NESN’s Guerin Austin is no different

Chad Jennings

There’s a 12-year-old pug named Oliver who splits his time between a Boston apartment and a Northern Virginia home. He is, it seems, a good dog, though he has one particularly relentless, occasionally annoying habit.

“That’s one thing I don’t have to deal with when I’m on the road — my dog barking incessantly,” NESN sideline reporter Guerin Austin said. “I do have to deal with my mom calling me, yelling at me that my dog’s barking incessantly, because he’s literally barking incessantly.”

It’s the sound that now awaits Austin every single day.

She’s supposed to be in Toronto right now. One cappuccino in the morning, another on her way to the ballpark. Clubhouse small talk with players she’s known for five years. Dinner with her gameday broadcast partners. But Austin is among the thousands whose workday routines have been completely disrupted by the pandemic and a national quarantine. Oliver’s determined barking is a regular reminder, as if she needed such a thing.

During the season, Oliver stays at Austin’s parents’ house in Virginia, and Austin herself is there now, spending most of her weekdays in a home office while her weekends are spent at her family’s lake house. Two weeks ago, when Major League Baseball postponed the season and canceled spring training, Austin was on a Florida beach enjoying a scheduled day off. She saw the news on , then a NESN producer called and told her to cancel a weekend hotel in West Palm Beach — the Red Sox would not be making that spring training road trip — and then another producer called to tell her to book a flight home. The Red Sox wouldn’t even be in Florida much longer. Austin flew out that Saturday.

“If you’re going to be stuck somewhere, it’s better to be stuck at a lake than in my small apartment in Boston,” she said. “I was hoping, too, if I stayed in Virginia, I could get back to spring training more quickly if this was only a week or something.”

Wishful thinking, as we now know all too well.

Among the benefits of staying with her parents, Austin said, is extra time with her family, a nice home gym – her gym in Boston is closed – and weekend fishing trips with her dad. The downside?

There really is a lot of barking.

And, truthfully, the downside is familiar to most of us. It goes without saying that it could be much, much worse — Austin is thankful for her health; thankful for doctors and nurses – but she loves the routine of a baseball season. That’s gone, and no one knows when it’s coming back.

“I’m trying to keep it as normal for me as possible,” she said, presumably meaning massive coats on mildly chilly days and oversized sunglasses in every shape and color.

It doesn’t take much for Austin to imagine the way her Thursday should have played out. It would have started, actually, on Wednesday night with NESN’s annual night-before-Opening-Day dinner. She loves hearing and Jerry Remy tell stories. Then, a hotel alarm — not a dog — would have gotten her out of bed by 6 a.m. for a daily treadmill session. During spring training, when games and media access are much earlier, Austin said she gets up at 3:30 a.m. and loves such early hours. At her parents’ house, she’s settled for a middle ground of 5 a.m. wakeups. In-season, though, it’s always 6 a.m., especially on the road, where she stays at the team hotel.

“I’ll tell you this,” she said, “if you go down to the gym at 6 o’clock in the morning, it’s usually the entire Red Sox crew that’s in there. The trainers. The coaches are usually in there. Eck is in there. You’re going to work out with everybody with the team. It’s a pretty dedicated workout group.”

After the gym would have been her first cappuccino of the day, and she would have gotten another on her way to the ballpark. First pitch was scheduled for 3:37 p.m. ET, meaning she would have arrived around 11, allowing for some time in the booth to talk things over with the NESN analysts. She would have bumped into WEEI radio broadcaster Joe Castiglione and bounced ideas off him as well. She would have been in the clubhouse around noon for typical pregame chatter and interviews. The players would have been happy, hopeful. They always are on Opening Day.

“It would have been fun to watch Kevin (Pillar) come back to Toronto,” Austin said. “And I’ve known Eduardo (Rodriguez) since the day that he made his major-league debut, so I was so excited to watch him. I’ve been with him every step of the way, and it would have been such a neat experience to watch him have that, to do the big pregame interview with him to be the Opening Day starter. Just being at the ballpark on Opening Day, there’s just nothing like it.”

But there was no Opening Day, so Austin started her Thursday by running on her parents’ treadmill, then followed her new routine of going to the grocery store early and getting her first cappuccino there. As of 1 p.m., she was planning to watch some sort of baseball on Thursday night — catch some of NESN’s programing about the 2013 season, she even mentioned watching “Fever Pitch” — but she’d also recently discovered the Netflix docuseries “Tiger King” and made her parents watch. And who can look away from that? As far as life within a pandemic goes, Austin’s Thursday wasn’t bad, but her routine is built around baseball, and she’s waiting for it to come back.

“It’s hard to think about that we should be there right now,” she said. “And instead, I’m sitting in my home office. When you think about problems, though, it’s kind of relative because of what so many people are going through right now, whether it’s our doctors or our nurses, or how so many lives have been affected through this illness or (have been impacted) financially. Hopefully everything gets under control, and at some point this season, we can all kind of get back.”

Baseball is routine. It’s nine innings at a time, 162 games a season, spring through fall. It’s constant. It’s durable. It’s as reliable as a 12-year-old pug barking incessantly, always eager to start a new day.