2019 Season Opens With Two Games In Japan

[Greg Ambrosius]

Major League Baseball is unveiling its gimmicky schedule again next year with the Oakland A's "hosting" the Seattle Mariners for a two-game set in Japan. The two teams will play a full week before the start of the rest of the MLB teams, who will still have another week in spring training. Here's the full story:

http://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/2337 ... ason-japan

We will have to address this in the NFBC, but what we've done in the past is allow all owners to set their starting lineups AFTER this series and know the results of the two games. Unfortunately, if MLB starts the season on a Thursday again we may have to make that first weekend a full week of games. If we allow the Friday hitting changes, it would be easy for owners to just draft players who excelled in Japan and quickly take them out of their starting lineups. We will address that later, but that is my first thought of this schedule.

We don't know for sure if Major League Baseball will start the full season on a Thursday again like they did last year, but it's very likely. We will discuss all of this further, but this is news that we knew was coming for 2019. Not good.

Any thoughts on the Japan Series?

[Greg Ambrosius]

From Doughboys:

Yankees-Red Sox in England in June next year too.
For years, baseball and football have tried to promote their sports as having worldwide in interest.
They'll probably keep at it till realizing it is really not the case.
A little like Europe disbelieving our interest in soccer.

Drafting after knowing what happened in the games in Japan adds a little intrigue to drafts.

Either way with a THU only, then FRI-SUN lineups or just THU-SUN.
If there is an injury on THU, some will be hoping for the FRI-MON lineups.

https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2018/ ... m-baseball

[Greg Ambrosius]

WHAT???? YANKEES-RED SOX IN LONDON?

Oh my, that's crazy. At least the NFL sends the Jaguars to London for those stupid games. You can't have the biggest rivalry in the sport playing overseas. That's just crazy.