Adjusting to games without fans easier for some than others
Well-traveled Milwaukee Brewers first baseman-outfielder Logan Morrison figures it will be easy for him to adjust to games without spectators this season.
“I played for the Rays and the Marlins, so I’m used to it,” Morrison said.
The Brewers and other major-league teams worked out again Monday in mostly empty ballparks, mindful the long-awaited start to the season is barely a week away and fans won’t be coming. So teams are trying as best they can to ramp up the competitiveness of summer camps conducted in isolation.
Several teams announced upcoming exhibition games, including Houston at Kansas City, Kansas City at St. Louis, and Cleveland against Pittsburgh.
The Brewers will play intrasquad games for several nights starting Tuesday and are dubbing them the Blue and Gold World Series, a nod to manager Craig Counsell’s alma mater, Notre Dame.
“It’s important for the players to understand the dial can’t go from one to 10, from camp to Opening Day,” Counsell said.
The virus continued to complicate preparations. St. Louis Cardinals reliever Jordan Hicks opted out of playing this season, citing underlying health concerns. He was diagnosed in high school with Type 1 diabetes.
Manager David Ross and five other undisclosed tier one individuals sat out a Chicago Cubs workout as a precaution while awaiting virus test results. Tier one includes players, coaches, physicians and others.
Los Angeles Angels left-hander Patrick Sandoval rejoined the team after contracting the virus last month. The Minnesota Twins said first baseman Miguel Sano and backup catcher Willians Astudillo, who tested positive when they arrived at camp, are eager to return.
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Yankees: Right fielder Aaron Judge remains slowed by his sore neck and is uncertain for Tuesday’s intrasquad game, and pitcher Masahiro Tanaka remains a concern for the start of the season as he recovers from a concussion. Judge had improved motion Monday and took some swings in an indoor batting cage. “He’s got way more range of motion,” manager Aaron Boone said. “They’ve got a lot of pain out.” Tanaka was hit on the side of his head by a line drive off the bat of Giancarlo Stanton on July 4.
Cubs: Pitcher Yu Darvish still has trepidation about playing during the COVID-19 pandemic, something he expressed shortly after pitching the last game of spring training four months ago. And he hasn’t closed the door on opting out of this season, particularly because of the delays in testing that have pushed back the start of several workouts.
Blue Jays: The team will honor the late Tony Fernandez by wearing a patch with his No. 1 on the left sleeve of uniform jerseys this season. A member of Toronto’s
1993 World Series champions who had nine RBI in the six-game win over Philadelphia, Fernandez had kidney problems and died Feb. 16 at age 57.