Matt Breen

I don't think we'll really see and understand the effect the pandemic has had on people economically for another year. It's not just businesses closing and industries failing - which are huge. There will be a ripple effect that could be brutal. Tons of people on the fringe of economical stability are losing so many jobs. Waiters/waitresses, cab drivers, retail workers - these workers are being pushed into unemployment. They have little to no savings. And their families are often not wealthy. And women have been hit hard by the pandemic. It's been women who have quit their jobs - far more than men - to stay home with the kids. Add in the businesses that have closed, and the jobs that have been cut as companies re-tool. It's going to hit people hard. And, unfortunately, it will hurt the people most vulnerable as they dip into their savings, have to borrow to survive, and struggle to find good work that is saturated with lots of people trying to get back into the workforce.

Ouch. Eddie was one-in-a-million. Saw him back in the day on the 1984 tour.

We are going to get a new state-wide emergency order from the governor regarding COVID. Probably see some limiting of number of people in restaurants, limits of people at events, stuff like that.

I talked to a friend who's daughter is a junior at UW-Madison - as well as an RA in one of the dorms. He had this story: On his daughter's first night as an RA, she and another RA went to a room to deal with a noise complaint. They found 27 people in the one dorm room. Obviously, no distancing going on there. No masks.

Brewers are the worst team in baseball history to make the playoffs! I'll take it.

Rosenthal is only 30. Seems like he's older than that. Nice comeback for him this year.

Friend of mine sent me a photo he took two nights ago. He ordered take out food from a local bar/restaurant. Place was filled up. No one had masks on (including staff). No one was spaced out.

Where I live - central Wisconsin - I bet 1/3 to 1/2 the people don't where masks when out. They do when an essential store requires them (such as a grocery store), but tons of the places don't wear them, or require people to wear them. My wife went to a salon and every single stylist (she said there were 5-6) weren't wearing masks, and only one customer was. I think a big thing that happened was that for a lot of America the virus was in the news early on - but people didn't see the affects. I'm not talking about cities. I'm talking about outside the cities, especially in rural areas. They saw all these predictions of problems and stuff - and what happened - virtually nothing - at least for a few months. This made people wonder if it was really that bad. And were we doing the right thing, etc., etc. If COVID had hit - and killed 200,000 in April and swept into every town in the nation - no one would be arguing about wearing masks or whatever. Instead, it was a slow trickle, often times a big nothing in some places. For many, it was a classic Boy Who Cried Wolf scenario. No one in their home town or family was sick. No one they knew had died. And for that, we were shutting down businesses and schools and sports. It was, in the eyes of many, overkill. It's made people skeptical - even now - of the seriousness of things. Sadly, this allowed some of the more fringe-type things to flourish. COVID is being used to impose socialism on the people, or it's a hoax to torpedo Trump's re-election, etc., etc. But for many Americans, I still think they look at COVID and say, "It's not that big of a deal." Yes, some people are dying. It's just a 'bad flu'.

Yeah, this is what my wife has seen (she's an exec at a healthcare system). Only now the COVID hospitalizations are rising. While it was 2 or 3 a couple of months ago, now it's 20. They are seeing that all over the system.

I'm guessing this upcoming offseason goes like last offseason. We'll sit in the weeds, wait to see gets left behind, and sign up a few bargains to fill the many holes in this club. Doubt we'll see a big signing - not with so many question marks. Sadly, there won't be any impact players from the minors coming up. I'm more comfortable with the pitching staff than the hitters. Hitters have just struggled. The thing we are going to have to hope happens is good players having bad years rebound (Narvaez, Yelich, Garcia), and young hitters mature and figure some stuff out (Hiura, Urias). But that still leaves a lot of holes in the lineup.

Things getting interesting in upper Wisconsin and surrounding territories. Every hospital in Duluth is diverting new patients out of the city. One major network in the north/central area has suspended all elective surgeries. Everyone is just running out of beds and/or staff to care for patients. Multiple things are happening: 1. COVID hospitalizations are rising really quickly and taking up more and more beds. Hospitals are seeing 3-4 times the number of COVID patients compared to just two week ago. These aren't huge numbers - going from 1 to 4 or 3 to 10 - but when a lot of the hospitals aren't that big, it just starts taking up a lot of space (and the attention of healthcare workers). 2. A lot of people - for a variety of reasons - have avoided coming to the doctor the last few months. By doing so, many of these people have avoided treating some sort problem. Well, they are now starting to show up - and in much worse shape that if they had come in a month or two ago. What could have been dealt with via a prescription or identified early with an x-ray or exam - is now sending the person to the emergency room - and hospitalization. 3. Doctors, nurses and staff are getting scarce in some places as these people get COVID - or are quarantined because they work or live with someone who has gotten the virus. Hospitals are scrambling in some places to fill staff. Some places would like to add more beds - but just don't have the staff to handle any extra people. It's been a tough week. You'll probably see more and more places start to cancel elective surgeries - although the healthcare systems don't want to do that. Those are the kinds of things that make them a lot of cash. But it is happening - and will probably start happening in other places around the state. A big scary thing is the upcoming flu season. It's going to make things confusing. However, if people wear masks, it would really help prevent the spread of the regular flu. So there's hope that the flu season might not be as harsh as in past years. On the positive side, hospitals are learning more and more about COVID, and are able to discharge people a lot quicker.

I would, personally, love an automated strike zone. Would players and coaches and fans have to adjust? Sure. But it's better than having strike zones that change from night to night - or worse yet, inning to inning (or even batter to batter). For all the frustration it might provide - I would think players would appreciate the consistency - both from the perspective of the hitter and the pitcher.

I noted this trend earlier today. It's creeping into the rural areas (maybe more than creeping). Small hospitals are filling up, pushing people to places with open beds. My wife (a healthcare exec) said the models are not good. Let's hope the models are wrong. They have been before, but that was when data was so limited.

We could be seeing a sharp increase in serious COVID cases in some parts of the state. A lot of the smaller hospitals in northern/central Wisconsin are running out of beds for COVID patients. You've got people coming down from the UP, and even from eastern Minnesota/western Wisconsin who would normally go to the Twin Cities). The numbers are not encouraging, and the modeling they have available is a bit scary (but it's just modeling, so it's not gospel). Why is this happening? Well, as you can imagine schools re-opening is a big suspect. Also, there's the simple fact that the virus is probably just takes longer to reach some of the more rural areas.

A friend who is a school consular told me last night that things are going well for her school. The young kids are, she said, the best with regards to masking. They know it's the rule and so they just accept it. Teachers and kids seem to be doing their best to make things workable. They don't want to go back to full time virtual school. There will, no doubt, be slip ups along the way - but let's hope they are minimal. To all the teachers and workers at the school - thanks very much. If we can pull this off, it will be great for everyone.

If anything happens with Padres, I'm guessing it's a Campusano/Patino package. Maybe some more stuff - couple of flyers - but I doubt they give up Gore for a reliever (even if the reliever is amazing). But hey, you never know. The Dodgers may come knocking with all the moves SD is making - and pump up Josh's price tag.

Indians went with quantity over quality on this deal. These kinds of trades can be hard to judge, but I hate giving up a really good starter without getting a premium player back.

I think you're right about the 60 man roster thing. Not something we usually have to think about.

Agreed. The Yankees just don't have that exciting of guys outside of Dominguez - who would be awesome to get.

Seattle isn't a playoff contender, so adding Hader makes little sense for them. Padres are a different story. In normal times, Patino and either Campusano or Trammel is probably favorable - for us - trade package right there. Maybe even get another player like Arias. But with our leverage, perhaps you can squeeze all three out of them out of the Padres. I'm guessing no - but it can't hurt to try. To me, Patino and Campusano would be great, and then add in a couple of other guys with some upside. Aim for high upside guys in the lower minors who aren't on the prospect lists. That's where you can find some gems (or rocks).

Yes. My bad.

I know eight people who have gotten COVID. Six of the people I know well - had dinner with, gone out for drinks - that sort of thing. So it's not like it's a 'I know someone who knows someone who knows someone' type of thing. Two others are people I've met a few times. One of those actually died from it.

I think you start with an elite prospect/young player. Gore, Lux - that kind of player. If a team isn't willing to deal (or doesn't have) such a player, then you're talking three top 100 types. Again, this could be minor leaguers, or young major leaguers - but ideally guys with at least 5 years of service remaining after 2020. In 2016, the Cubs acquired two months of Aroldis Chapman for Gleyber Torres - who was ranked #19 on the MLB Pipeline at the time. They also got Billy McKinney (a borderline Top 100 guys) and Adam Warren, who was a pretty good reliever for the Yankees. For 3.5 years of Hader, we should be able to top that deal.

Giannis named DPOTY. Well done, sir. EDIT: originally said he was named MVP, but that was due to a headline that was a bit misleading. Just Defensive Player of the Year - for now...

To me, this is how it should be. Hader is an awesome player, and can be really important for years for this club. Thus, it means we need a 'bananas' offer if we are going to move him. If not, no big deal. Just enjoy having him.