Coronavirus (sports-related only)

[BostonRoss]

This article says that the Phillies knew about the four positive tests before the game yesterday.

"Phillies manager Joe Girardi informed his players of the Marlins’ outbreak by text Sunday morning...Girardi said no thought had been given to not playing."

When COVID-19 spread, why did Phillies play Marlins on Sunday?

[allentown]

So... and excess of macho is bringing the whole protection program down. I'm disappointed in the Phillies ignoring an obvious problem. The poor clubhouse attendants. The team willfully exposed them to severe hazard.

Zambonir -- girardi doe not have a career winning percentage of .333, that is his winning percentage for the first week of this season.

[zambonir]

It was a joke. In response to your prediction that the season is over. (Phillies career, obviously.)

I should hope they don't actually have clubhouse attendants. All workout and dining facilities have been moved out of there, so have some of the ice baths even. And they don't shower. Cleaning should take place each day after everyone is gone and no one should be handling the players' gear.

[Lawman]

I really don't know, but I think that as long as the majority of the spread is limited to one team, MLB will play on. I'm not saying it's the right decision, but I think it's going to be the decision that MLB will land on. If 10 players from the Phillies and Braves test positive, or if multiple teams have large scale outbreaks, that decision is going to be revisited.

I'll also say this. For any player that didn't opt out, this was to be expected. I'm not surprised nor, I suspect, are any of the players. A risk of an outbreak was an acknowledged risk.

[Lawman]

If you're going to shut it down b/c 4 players on the opposing team have the virus, then you never should have started in the first place. Also, why are the players/teams making this decision? If the Phillies knew about the 4 player outbreak, didn't MLB and if not, why not?

[zambonir]

Sure but now 14 people have the virus. That's too many, both for safety and ability to field a credible roster. You get one chance, I think, to say "this is still a work in progress and protocols should have been followed more strictly." Not two.

The players want to play and they want to get paid but they also trust their team and the league more than they should. If they start to feel like they can't, opt-outs may increase. The rich players can afford it and the low-paid players aren't making that much to begin with.

[BostonRoss]

I should hope they don't actually have clubhouse attendants.

According to the article, "The visiting clubhouse assistants at Citizens Bank Park are reportedly all under quarantine."

[zambonir]

That's unfortunate. I had read there weren't going to be the usual batboys.

This should probably be leaguewide policy:

Told 1 precaution #Yankees will definitely have if they play in Philly is that they summoned their own clubhouse personnel to work rather than use anyone who works the visiting clubhouse at Citizens Bank Park.

— Joel Sherman ( @Joelsherman1 ) July 27, 2020

[Lawman]

Sure but now 14 people have the virus.

Correct. But, at game time yesterday it was only 4 so I think the correct decision to play was made yesterday and the correct decision was made today - postpone/cancel PHI/NYY and MIA/BAL games.

[LoneStarPhan]

We still don't know what the reason for Price missing the last couple games. If he has tested positive for COVID, it is another concern since he almost certainly had contact with many of the Phillies' pitchers in the days just prior to his absence.

[allentown]

That makes no sense to me. Clubhouse surfaces can be disinfected. Health offices do this routinely. Why should today's game be postponed, when 0 Phillies have tested positive, when yesterday's game was not with 4 positive tests and close contact, but no quarantine of those having close contact? It seems that the facts say that Sunday's game was far riskier.

[zambonir]

It just doesn't seem sustainable either way though. You can cancel games for two days while you wait for everyone to be tested twice or you play through but then cancel them after they get tested twice along the way. If the tests are positive there's no difference. Option 2 prioritizes playing baseball, Option 1 prioritizes health. It's all well and good that most of these guys are asymptomatic but not all of them have been. And for the clubhouse attendants and umps and coaches and other personnel to also be at risk is just wrong.

Heck, for all we know the Marlins caught it from the Phillies, who caught it from Bryan Price. I assume testing won't suggest that, but we'll have to see.

The games are cancelled partly for PR reasons, but also they have decided yesterday's game was high-enough risk that now both teams are in isolation. I believe the city of Philadelphia may also be involved. Ultimately, this could be shut down by cities or states, not MLB.

[andyb]

I am not so sure about that. If they wanted to play yesterday they should have probably tested everyone on the Marlins. They would have needed the 15-minute immediate response tests, but any time you have multiple infections you really need to test everyone. They should not be playing outside a bubble if they don't have rapid response testing.

[zambonir]

Supposedly they did test everyone on the Marlins. But not the quick-response kind. They could have easily moved the game to evening, for that matter. That kind of flexibility is going to be necessary, even if it affects travel.

[andyb]

And that is the problem. In baseball you play every day. You need rapid response. Other sports are in a bubble and have off days. You can get away with 24-48 hour response in that situation.

If I had to guess now, they have both the Phillies and Yankees travel back to NYC and try to play 4 games in 3 days. And Howard starts one game of the DH as long as that is Wednesday or Thursday. Bohm could be up also if Didi has to sit.

[zambonir]

With the Yankees already in Philadelphia last night and the Phillies not able to travel today I think it's more likely they'll play 3 games in 2 days and make another one up if need be. Or they could just go ahead with it tomorrow, if the Phillies pass their tests.

If they really are commited to trying to play out the season, the reality probably is that some teams will only play 56 or 58 games.

[Lawman]

I would tend to agree w/ this. It's not sustainable from multiple view points. And, don't forget about the competitive POV as well. So the Mets play 60 games, the Phillies play 55, and the Marlins 50?

[Lawman]

That makes no sense to me. Clubhouse surfaces can be disinfected. Health offices do this routinely. Why should today's game be postponed, when 0 Phillies have tested positive, when yesterday's game was not with 4 positive tests and close contact, but no quarantine of those having close contact? It seems that the facts say that Sunday's game was far riskier.

One thing that seems to be crossing political parties, businesses, state lines, etc... is uniform logic. Don't look for logic, it's probably not there.

[andyb]

Looks like the Orioles and Marlins are both going back to Baltimore with the hope of playing Wednesday.

[zambonir]

If you are determined to play and determined to finish the season on time I think you just suck it up and use winning percentage. It's not fair but the schedule isn't fair anyway. And it could cut either way. We already have new rules about rainouts/official games. Heck, why not 7-inning games?

Have the Marlins been cleared to travel, or, pending clearance?

I gather the residents of the fancy Rittenhouse condo/hotel wasn't too thrilled about this either.