Taking a look at the Arizona plan

Say this for officials of Major League Baseball and the Major League Baseball Players Association: They seem very determined to play baseball in 2020.

That may prove to be ambitious, but the will to get it done is clearly there.

The plan that ESPN and other outlets reported on yesterday included all 30 teams playing their games in the Phoenix area in parks with no fans. Players and other essential personnel would basically be under a form of quarantine, going back and forth from a hotel to a ballpark.

The ESPN story stated that we could see games as early as May and that this plan "has emerged above other options as the likeliest to work and has been embraced by MLB and MLB Players Association leadership, who are buoyed by the possibility of baseball's return and the backing of federal officials." The story went on to report that this plan "has the support of high-ranking federal public health officials who believe the league can safely operate amid the coronavirus pandemic."

To say the least, this plan seems to have many potential stumbling blocks and was not exactly embraced on social media on Tuesday. In fact, MLB issued this statement before noon yesterday:

"MLB has been actively considering numerous contingency plans that would allow play to commence once the public health situation has improved to the point that it is safe to do so. While we have discussed the idea of staging games at one location as one potential option, we have not settled on that option or developed a detailed plan. While we continue to interact regularly with governmental and public health officials, we have not sought or received approval of any plan from federal, state and local officials, or the Players Association. The health and safety of our employees, players, fans and the public at large are paramount, and we are not ready at this time to endorse any particular format for staging games in light of the rapidly changing public health situation caused by the coronavirus."

So while this has been discussed, it's clearly far, far from the finish line. Nothing is set or close to it.

Here are some potential issues:

* Players could be separated from their families for months.

* If no minor league games are played, where would replacements come for injured players?

* While Chase Field - and its retractable roof - could host three games per day, what about the other 12 games? They would be played at spring training sites and perhaps even at college ballparks. Are the facilities sufficient for that?

* What about playing outside in Arizona in the summer? The average high temperature is 104 in June , 106 in July, 105 in August and 100 in September.

There are plenty of other issues amid the plan for players and coaches to sit, not in dugouts, but in the empty stands six feet from each other. The plan includes no mound visits from the pitching coach. I guess it doesn't include a tag that is simply within six feet of the runner. I'm kidding, of course. You would never send a guy home under that rule!

There is something to the chance for baseball helping to heal the country and bringing some normalcy back. That happened after 9/11. Baseball has some special powers. Maybe some that we need right now. Maybe this plan is in place for a month or two and then the season continues at home ballparks.

MLB officials might be emboldened by being the first major sport to return to signal that the country is getting back to business. This shows us baseball's importance in society.

By early last night, in a very unofficial poll on my Twitter feed, 61 percent voted no when asked could this plan work.

But if they have to play games with players sitting apart from each other in the stands, for instance, maybe this plan needs more work.

Could the Arizona plan work?

-- Steve Melewski (@masnSteve) April 7, 2020