Clubhouse Chatter: How do you feel about MLB starting in July?

What our Sports staff has to say while waiting for the games to resume.

Go for it. Do it now. At some point, we have to see if the return of sports is safe. And what better sport to start that adventure than baseball?

- John Radtke

Let's play ball, even it means empty stadiums initially. Take necessary precautions. Rubber gloves for umps. Masks for umps, even the home-plate ump, who'll already be wearing a metal mask. Fewer guys in the dugout. Can we be brave but not stupid? Don't know. But let's try.

- Joe Aguilar

Under sufficient safety guidelines, I'm fine with baseball starting in July. The sport is built for social distancing. You see players wearing mufflers on their faces in cold weather, so it won't be a complete stretch to wear a mask if it's deemed necessary.

- Kevin Schmit

Love it. And let some fans in as well. There's no reason why 5,000 to 10,000 couldn't safely distance themselves in outdoor stadiums that have 40,000-plus seats. Concessions could be open as well. Just prepackage the meals, pre-pour the drinks and set up a way to prepay via cellphone.

- John Dietz

Still hard to be sure. This one is up to the players and owners. If the owners are willing to field a team, let the players having the option of playing or sitting out until they feel safe. If owners can't get enough players, then no team.

- John Leusch

I'm in favor of sports starting up with safety guidelines in place.

- Patricia Babcock McGraw

It should start as soon as it's deemed safe by medical professionals. No matter when that is, there will be an inherent risk. It wouldn't surprise me if a player or team official became infected. I trust Major League Baseball will have protocol in place and appropriate responses if someone becomes ill.

- Mike Smith