hogan873

I agree that March should be a big month, especially with the J&J vaccine likely becoming available. Right now, there are 1.75MM people getting a shot each day. That number should increase, and as we go into March we should be seeing over 2 million a day. That, coupled with the positivity rate continuing to drop, should allow us to feel better and better. Hopefully the vaccines continue to perform well against the variants and more people commit to getting the vaccine. I get my second Pfizer shot in two weeks, my wife (who works with students) gets her second shot next week, and my oldest (a nursing student) has had both shots. My in-laws, who we see regularly are getting their shots, and my parents, who live in NC are getting their second shot this week. I know that my story isn't unique. More and more people are getting the vaccines, and we should see even more of this happening as we go into March. I don't plan on ditching the mask, but I feel better every day hearing the success stories. Remember how we felt last summer and fall. For me, at least, there was a huge sense of dread. Now there's a sense of hope.

It's very frustrating right now, because for nearly a year we've heard that a vaccine is our only real way out of this. Now we have two approved and another close, and we truly are on the road to getting out of it. But the media, at least some of the media, is focusing on the bad instead of the good. And we're getting conflicting information every day. I understand not wanting to be all sunshine and rainbows and saying we'll be back to normal in a month. But the headlines we see pick out the cautious points and make them the most prominent. I saw an article yesterday with the headline saying we'll be wearing masks into 2022. But upon reading the article, that's a worst case scenario if the variants end up being resistant to the vaccines. The data, the real data, is showing that the vaccines are very effective against severe infection and will drastically reduce deaths and hospitalizations. And this is what we've wanted, what we've been told we need to start getting back to normal. Being cautious is one thing, but publishing articles and opinions with misleading headlines is irresponsible. No wonder there's mistrust and confusion about the vaccines.

I just want to see photos of sunshine and green grass. Very exciting with pitchers and catchers reporting today. First game is less than 2 weeks away. Our snow will melt...maybe.

I realize many of us dislike the TLR hiring, and everyone has a right to deal with that as they wish. Personally, I chooses to concentrate on the players and what happens on the field. I will be going to games this season (provided fans are allowed - fingers crossed), I'll buy the gear, I'll cheer them on. I liked Renteria, but he lacked the edge and made some piss-poor decisions regarding pitching. As far as Hendriks and others looking forward to playing for him, why wouldn't they? Thoughts of him personally aside, he's proven to be a very good manager and has demonstrated the ability to handle a pitching staff very well. If he leads this team to the playoffs, a pennant, a World Series, the players are going to like playing for him. Besides, what do you expect the players to say? That they don't want to play for him? Anderson was honest about his thoughts and is still willing to see what happens before making biased assumptions. Throughout this season, let's complain about TLR for the same reasons we've complained about previous managers. Let's b**** about lineups, play 10th inning arm chair managers regarding pitching changes, and proclaim that we could do a better job. And let's cheer this bad ass team all season while they fuck up the rest of the AL.

I got the first dose of the Pfizer vaccine yesterday. Aside from some mild arm soreness, I've had no issues. I did wake up about 2:00 this morning and found myself sleeping on the arm where I got the shot. That smarted a bit.

It's frustrating how much information differs from day to day. But, it is encouraging to hear that shipments of the vaccines are increasing on a regular basis. It does sound like if the rate of distribution keeps increasing and the J&J vaccine is approved by the end of the month that there will be enough available by late March/early April to vaccinate most people. There may some bottlenecks, though, when it comes to actually getting people vaccinated. Information of how to get a shot is spotty and differs from state to state, county to county, town to town. If states can start setting up mass vaccination sites, that will help a lot.

Wearing a mask when out in public is one of the easiest things we can do. There really hasn't been a flu season, and much of that can be attributed to masks and social distancing. That is easy proof of how effective wearing a mask can be.

Yes. Our health and safety manager worked with the county health department to set up a clinic here.

Getting my first shot tomorrow. Originally was supposed to be Moderna, but we were just informed it will be Pfizer. Happy to get the ball rolling.

Hard to imagine Anderson not leading off. Anderson Moncada Abreu Jimenez Grandal Robert Vaughn Eaton/Engel Madrigal

Unless he's being traded... ?

Not sure. It certainly could be.

A lot more people will be vaccinated by April/May, not just health workers and at-risk folks. However, I agree that we won't see a proof of vaccination requirements for game attendance.

With a 60-game season that didn't start until deep into the summer, it's hard to justify comparing 2020 to the predictions of a full 2021 season. Many players (like Jose) didn't have the early season slump. Others never experienced a mid-season slump because of the length of the season. There was no cold weather to deal with. And on and on. Still, I wouldn't be surprised to see a WAR drop from Jose, and placing his projection in line with 2019 seems logical. I do think, if 2020 had been a full season, we would have seen better results from Jose. He obviously couldn't have kept up the pace for HRs and RBIs over 162 games, but he looked totally locked in last year. I expect a very good 2021 for Jose and a higher WAR than predicted.

My wife was able to set up an appointment to get her mom the vaccine by calling the Mariano's pharmacy at 11:00 PM. We wouldn't have known to do this except her aunt asked someone in person at the pharmacy how to get an appointment. Apparently they open registration at 11:00 each night, and as long as you are one of the first callers, you can make an appointment to get the shot. I imagine other pharmacies are doing similar things. There's no real information out there, so you have to hunt around and be creative.

My daughter is a nursing student, and she recently received the second shot. She had a fever, the chills, and some nausea for about 12 hours. But, that seems like a small price to pay.

Sorry...I meant more teams in the playoffs.

I like the idea of more teams for the same reason. There are too many teams that are close that don't make the playoffs, and there are way too many teams that are essentially eliminated from contention early in the season. I do think, however, that the number of teams that tank each year needs to be reduced/eliminated. I know that it a much bigger issue that ties in salaries and potential caps, etc. But I still feel that teams that play good/great baseball for 162 should have a better chance to make the playoffs.

He's having a banner off season.

On a lighter note, Nightengale made an ass of himself again last night re-tweeting his own tweet about IF the union and MLB agree on universal DH and expanded playoffs, and saying in his retweet that it is now official. Needless to say he got destroyed. I'm beginning to think he does that kind of stuff on purpose. I like the 7 inning doubleheaders but not the runner on second in extra innings. Seems like the universal DH would have been agreed upon before that, and maybe it would have if MLB didn't tie it to expanded playoffs.

Before the vaccines were a reality, things looked really grim. Now we have two vaccines approved (for emergency use) and several more coming within months. Things look brighter today than they have in close to a year. Going to a baseball game is going to be a reality this season. Maybe not right away, but I can't imagine there no being at least limited fans by May. Hopefully...

People will feel safer, a lot safer. There's no indication that new vaccines will be needed by fall. The thought is that booster shots may be required annually. So far, the Moderna and Pfizer vaccines are showing to be effective against newer strains. That's not to say they will be effective against all strains, but so far it's encouraging. Remember that the idea behind the vaccines is to prevent severe disease. The majority of the population gets vaccinated, people can still get sick but will endure mild effects. Hospitals aren't overrun and people stop dying. Regardless, I believe the safest way to handle getting fans back into the ballparks is to require proof of the vaccine to attend. I don't think they'll do that, but it makes sense.

That's good news.

I imagine regular boosters will be necessary even after getting through this year. Many are saying COVID will likely be endemic.

There is a lot of differing opinions out there regarding the vaccines and now quickly we can get to herd immunity. The latest I read hinted that we're going to end up with a surplus of vaccines due to supply outpacing demand. Most polling says that slightly more than 50% of the 16+ population is eager for the vaccine. Then there's a smaller percentage of "maybes" and another chuck of the population that believes the government is injecting us with spyware or whatever. The concern is that we'll get most of the eager folks vaccinated pretty quickly, say by April/May. Hopefully a lot of those on the fence will see that it works and opt to get the vaccine. Only then will we reach the herd immunity magic number of 75% or so. What happens when we get to 65% to 70% of the population vaccinated with the rest refusing? Can we truly allow this small percentage of the population to limit when we can start getting back to normal? Can we delay allowing fans into sporting events and concerts because of the minority. I see this being a potential problem soon. You'd hate to say to those COVID anti-vaxxers, "You're on your own...sorry." But where do we draw the line? Does requiring proof of the vaccine for admittance to sporting events make sense at that point?