Sensitive situation for Lindblom
Because Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Josh Lindblom has an at-risk young daughter, Monroe, he has been particularly sensitive to the possible consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, and therefore a stickler for following protocols established by MLB for the shortened 60-game season.
Nevertheless, when the Brewers’ entire series with St. Louis last weekend
was postponed because of a virus outbreak in the Cardinals travel party and teammate Lorenzo Cain opted out of the remainder of the season because of concerns about player safety, Lindblom admittedly was taken aback somewhat.
“It’s been kind of a hard week,” Lindblom said Wednesday during a Zoom session with reporters. “It’s weighed on me mentally a little bit. It’s been tough.
“You never think it’s going to impact you. It’s always the other teams dealing with it. But when the Cardinals thing happened, it kind of hit close to home a little bit. It was difficult to realize you are still susceptible. Your family’s still susceptible.”
Lindblom, 33, who signed a threeyear, $9.125 million free-agent deal with the Brewers last December, said it “never really crossed my mind” to opt out of the season. He has had to find ways in the past, pandemic or not, to try to protect Monroe, who was born with a serious heart defect and has undergone two surgeries, with more to come.
“But now you kind of heighten those precautions a little bit,” said Lindblom, who has two other young children, daughter Presley and son Palmer. “Trying
to be a little safer when we go out. I think the hard thing with the kids is there’s a little bit of guilt you feel. You take your kids to get ice cream, you take them to the park maybe, and it’s like I feel guilty doing it at times when we’re home because you don’t want to expose anybody.
“So, it’s a lot of stuff that weighs on your mind about things you’re doing, when you do go out, trying to be safer. It’s a hard scenario for everybody because it’s not just about baseball right now. You can’t just show up and prepare. There’s so many other factors that are going on right now and it makes it hard at times for players.”
Lindblom has had another matter on his mind in preparing for his start Thursday night against the Chicago White Sox at Guaranteed Rate Field. He was forced to exit his first start of the season in Pittsburgh in the fourth inning when he suffered back cramps that he said made it feel as if a boa constrictor was wrapped around his rib cage.
“There was some soreness the next day, probably for three or four days after,” he said. “Not really pain, just like muscle soreness. So, having time to recover and get that soreness out, altering my in-between start routine just a tad helped.
“I’ve had to weigh myself about 600 times a day. Before I work out, when I wake up. Just trying to check weight levels. How much water I’m losing when I work out. Just trying to figure out from that standpoint, cutting back on some on-field work, not stress my body.
“I did a bunch of strength tests with my oblique and back. It was kind of weird because I was passing all the tests but having some symptoms of other stuff going on. I passed all the tests and maintained strength. So, we kind of ruled all that out and chalked it up to dehydration and the residual soreness that came with it.”
Lindblom said he has considered all possible remedies, including eating more of the food he had while pitching in the Korean Baseball Organization the previous five seasons.
“We were joking around about diet a little bit,” he said. “I’m used to a high sodium diet, being in Korea the last five years. Maybe I need to order some Korean barbeque or some ssamjang sauce, get some extra sodium.
“It’s just testing, seeing what works and doesn’t work. I think I’ll be fine.”
Yelich gets mental break
Manager Craig Counsell said he knew after the Brewers’ game Tuesday night against the White Sox that Christian Yelich would not be in the lineup Wednesday against tough lefty Dallas Keuchel. Yelich went 0-for-3 with a walk and three strikeouts in the 3-2 loss, leaving him with three hits in 34 at-bats (.088) and 16 strikeouts through eight games.
“It’s a day off for a player who’s not swinging the bat well and struggling a bit,” Counsell said. “It’s obviously more intended to be a mental break than anything else. I just think it was kind of obvious after the game last night that this was the right thing to do right now.”
Another hitter off to a dreadful start, first baseman Justin Smoak, also was out of the lineup for the first time. Smoak was batting a mere .161 with a .212 OBP and .290 slugging percentage, with 15 strikeouts in 31 at-bats.