The count goes against them
Brewers forge on despite setbacks
A lot happened during the four days since the Brewers last played a game, and it was mostly bad. Very bad, in fact. Between finishing a three-game series in Pittsburgh and finally playing the thrice-delayed home opener Monday night against the Chicago
White Sox at Miller Park, the Brewers waded through these disheartening developments:
1. The postponement, one by one, of all three scheduled games against the St. Louis Cardinals, who had their own crisis to deal with in what evolved into a major outbreak of COVID-19 in their traveling party.
2. Gold Glove centerfielder Lorenzo Cain opting out of the remainder of the season.
3. Bench coach Pat Murphy having a heart attack during the workout Saturday, although thankfully being rushed to Froedtert Hospital promptly and undergoing a stent procedure that will allow a full recovery.
4. Ryan Braun's infected finger worsening to the point he went to an emergency room to have it treated, putting him on the team's injured list.
By any standards, that's about as tough a four-day period as a team can experience, particularly just a week into the season. No, it doesn't
compare to the pain and suffering of countless people across the country as the coronavirus pandemic death toll rises to unimaginable levels and the economy absorbs a major blow.
But, in terms of a baseball season, even an upside-down one such as this, it was pretty rough going for the Brewers.
“There’s mental health but there are also physical health issues right now with the players,” manager Craig Counsell said. “I’m not talking about COVID. I’m talking about sitting out for four days and starting to play again. Ramping up intensity, ramping down intensity.
“I feel like we’re starting the season over with our pitchers, with our relief pitchers. Some of them have one appearance in 10 days. We’ve got to be careful in every way and make sure we keep the pulse of everybody as much as we can in this different environment. We’re doing our best.
“It’s alright to be a little afraid right now; it’s alright to wonder what’s going on. We try to come to work and do the thing we love, which is play baseball and compete. We do love to do those things, absolutely. But to not acknowledge that other stuff is going on and that it factors in, I’m not going to say that. There’s other stuff going on and it’s real, and it affects you.”
Of Cain’s decision to opt out of the season after six games, Counsell said, “Frankly, when he first told me, I was a little surprised. It maybe caught me off guard. But, as I digested it a little bit and talked with him a little bit, it all made perfect sense.
“It’s not a decision you make that day. He had been thinking about it for a while. He gave it a shot. We should be thankful for that. He gave it a shot; he tried. He went through camp; he went through the first week (of the season). I think it’s safe to say the news with the Cardinals was jarring. It may have been the final straw. He tried to get through it and it just didn’t feel right for him.”
It remains to be seen how many major outbreaks MLB can absorb such as those suffered by the Marlins and Cardinals,
whose early-season schedules were blown apart. It also blew holes in the schedules of other affected teams, such as the Phillies, Brewers and Tigers.
It cannot go on like this if league officials can still call it a representative season and one worthy of playing.
“Unfortunately, we’ve handled this the same way our country has handled this,” Counsell said. “We put together these guidelines and well-intentioned protocols, and then we handed them off to 30 individual operators, just like states, and asked them to do their best.
“Adherence to a set of protocols and suggestions, and trying to get it right, has just not gone well. It’s because this virus is an incredible, difficult opponent. It has put us behind the 8-ball. I desperately want to play and finish the season. It’s so important for so many people in so many places. But it’s not going well right now, it’s not.”
That doesn’t mean the Brewers have lost their desire to continue playing. In fact, Counsell said the group eagerly awaited the 7:10 p.m. start time all day so they could go out and play the game that still means so much to them.
“That’s when we get to do what we love to do,” he said. “It’s the best time of the day. It is every day for baseball players. It’s an opportunity to compete and forget about everything else that’ s going on and hopefully put on a good show for people watching at home and win a baseball game.
“It’s still a lot of fun, absolutely.”