When the Federal Guidelines for Reopening America first came out, I reviewed them and communicated to the South Carolina Governor’s twitter account, as well as the Post & Courier’s account, that the state hadn’t met a single one of the requirements to reopen. The very first one was a 14-day decrease in new cases. I received some commentary from the peanut gallery on twitter and, since I have no clout with the Governor’s office, decided to just track the new cases myself. Since then, South Carolina has exploded in COVID-19 cases as one might expect, and I’ve decided I will stop tracking the cases now that they are broadly covered by numerous sources. It’s a sad tale with no end in sight, but I no longer see a need to maintain my own version of the sadness. Here’s the result of reopening the state in the midst of a pandemic with no plan in place:
What am I starting instead, is the joy of the 2020 MLB Season. While there will be constant reminders of the pandemic as the games are played in empty stadiums, with players and coaches wearing masks for the most part, and players testing positive for the disease, it’s still a good feeling to have the national game resume. It may not have the place in America’s collective heart it once had, but it will always have a special place in mine.
The Mets opened their season with a terrific 1-0 win against the Braves, with the long lost Yoenis Cespedes returning to the lineup and demolishing a belt-high fastball deep into the empty stands for the Mets sole run. It was great to see Edwin Diaz return from his nightmarish 2019 season and record the Save with a couple of K’s in the inning.
It’ll be a short 60-game season, with expanded playoffs that allows a lot of teams to get in, which will be weird certainly. But I’m confident it will be enjoyable and damn if we don’t need some enjoyment in this horrific 2020 which has brought so much tragedy.
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