Sunday morning tidbits

A random assortment of tidbits for you on this Sunday morning with no baseball ...

* We put the World Series re-watch on hold for a couple of days so we could line up the final two games with MASN's rebroadcast schedule. So look for my re-watch article about Game 6 on Monday morning, with MASN showing the game at 7 p.m. Then I'll have my re-watch article about Game 7 on Tuesday morning, in advance of the telecast at 7 p.m. Hope you've been enjoying the entire experience all over again.

* As various scenarios for how the 2020 Major League Baseball season might be played begin to be leaked and floated around, keep in mind these are only a couple of many options the sport is considering. Also keep in mind there's no way anybody at MLB can say with any certainty whether any of these scenarios could actually come to fruition. As always, we're all at the mercy of the virus.

So as tempting as it is to debate the "Arizona Plan" or the "Florida/Arizona Plan," it's really not worth expending too much mental energy on them at this still-early stage of the whole process.

If there's any conclusion we can legitimately draw from these various proposals, it's this: Both MLB and the MLB Players Association are willing to do what they can to ensure baseball in some form or another in 2020, and they're willing to consider any and all options in an attempt to make it happen.

Who knows if it'll ever happen, but give them credit for at least considering all the possibilities. And for remaining hopeful.

"I've been optimistic that we will get some form of a baseball season," Nationals general manager Mike Rizzo said Friday during his weekly conference call with reporters. "I have nothing to base that upon other than my positivity. I think that any time you have Major League Baseball and the Players Association and the players wanting to do something, they really dig in and try to find out ways to get it done."

"I think everybody wants to play," Rizzo added. "I think the players are champing at the bit to play. But they also realize they have to do this in a safe manner for themselves, their families, for the fan base and for everybody surrounding Major League Baseball."

It's one thing to want to play. It's another thing to actually figure out a way to safely do it.

* There's no actual baseball being played right now, but there are a lot of simulations being played across the virtual world. And the newest addition involves 30 major leaguers playing each other in a video game, each representing his own team.

The MLB The Show Players League debuted Friday night, with each team playing 29 regular season "games" of three innings apiece in a round-robin format. Once the regular season is completed, the top eight teams will advance to the postseason, which will mirror MLB's real postseason format and conclude with the World Series.

Juan Soto is the Nationals' representative, and he makes his virtual season debut Monday at 9 p.m. Eastern time. Soto will be playing four three-inning games, facing the Dodgers' Gavin Lux, the Indians' Carlos Santana, the Rockies' David Dahl and the Brewers' Josh Hader. (Wonder if he'll clear the bases with a base hit to right in that last contest.)

Fans can watch the online gaming on a variety of digital platforms, including Twitch and YouTube.

* If you're more into old-school simulations, the official Strat-O-Matic Baseball 2020 simulation is entering its third week of play, and the Nationals are faring quite well so far.

The Nats are currently 10-4, a full four games ahead of the 7-9 Braves and Marlins in the National League East. The Phillies (6-9) and Mets (3-11) bring up the rear in the division.

Among the interesting statistical notes from the Nationals' season to date ...

Starlin Castro is batting third and sports a .357 batting average, but Soto is batting only .151 and Howie Kendrick is batting only .130. Yan Gomes leads the team with 10 RBIs.

Stephen Strasburg is 3-0 with an 0.86 ERA, 21 strikeouts and one walk. He also hit a homer.

Carter Kieboom is batting .300 with four RBIs and has been charged with only one error at third base.

Sean Doolittle has four saves and a 3.52 ERA. Daniel Hudson has three saves and a 5.68 ERA.