Ray Fosse knows exactly where he should be right now.
“We would be in Cleveland, an off day I think it is,” the former catcher and longtime NBC Sports California broadcaster said on Monday via FaceTime.
While life and sports continue in this impaired existence due to the global coronavirus pandemic, Fosse reflects on what remains a reality for the Oakland franchise.
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And for Fosse, it's unfortunate they’re not able to capitalize right now.
“This is the window that everybody was looking at,” Fosse said in reference to the roster, timing, and amount of returning contributors. “It’s a perfect club.”
At this point, any season MLB can execute will obviously be shortened, which definitely presents a new and different challenge than the typical 162-game marathon for the A’s and their players.
“You’re looking at players individually,” Fosse said. “If they get off to a slow start, will they have time to recover?”
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“From the team standpoint, having the good rotation that the A’s have, and the outstanding bullpen they do, I think they could get off to a good start once baseball does resume. And then catapult them on, into postseason.”
Fosse sees the ‘all-Arizona’ schedule as an option for MLB to utilize, and says from experience that the Atlantic humidity of summer is more impactful than any dry desert heat for baseball.
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But before all that, some perspective on the current situation at hand.
“First and foremost, we have to think about the health of the American people,” Fosse said. “Who are really a lot worse off right now than any professional sports team.”
“We’ll come back, it’s going to be strong as ever, I don’t have any doubt about that.”