Play ball!

The GIST: After an excruciatingly silly back-and-forth between the MLB and the MLB Players Association, they’ve finally kissed and made up. Which means baseball is coming back, baby!

Tell me more: The MLB has issued a 60-game regular-season schedule, which is expected to start on July 23rd or 24th (read: less than a month away!), meaning players will need to report to training camp by Wednesday, July 1st. Talk about a quick turnaround!

• The schedule will be regionalized, so teams will mostly play against division rivals, with the rest of their games against teams close by. All teams will host at their home stadiums, most likely without fans, though we’re still not sure how that will work for the Toronto Blue Jays if the Canada-US border remains closed past July (as expected).

Is it actually safe to play?: Who knows? The league issued a safety plan back in May, which included rules such as no spitting, no handshakes, no stadium showers and no buffets. But many players have already said that the guidelines are nearly impossible to follow (that no buffet rule does sound pretty hard...) and many rules will be broken.

• What’s worrying is that despite teams like the Blue Jays, Detroit Tigers and Colorado Rockies announcing positive cases for their players and staff, the MLB is forging ahead — and maybe forging ahead too quickly — with the season. Oh boy.