State of flux
No make-up dates set for two games lost to virus in Cincinnati; rotation is altered
After nearly two full days of waiting around in their Cincinnati hotel rooms, the Pirates got word from Major League Baseball late Sunday afternoon that they would not play a doubleheader Monday against the Reds at Great American Ball Park.
The reason wasn’t terribly revealing, at least as Pirates manager Derek Shelton put it. It sounded like, with the chance to kick the can, MLB decided to not risk any sort of Miami Marlinsor St. Louis Cardinals-level outbreak.
With a Reds player testing positive for the coronavirus late Friday, the Pirates had the third and fourth games of their series against Cincinnati postponed — now with no firm makeup dates.
“Major League Baseball has decided protocol-wise that they did not want us to play Monday,” Shelton said on a Zoom
call with local reporters. “What goes into that decision happens a lot higher than me. They just informed us that we’re not going to play Monday, and we’ll reschedule.”
Fair enough. It’s better safe than sorry. Monday was an open date for both teams, but there’s no sense rushing this. And with two more series between the Pirates and Reds, as well as a second shared off-day following the first of those three-game sets Sept. 7, rescheduling two games shouldn’t be hard.
The bigger-picture issue is the continuous drip of weirdness that Shelton has encountered during his first season as an MLB manager.
A pause in spring training followed by a lengthy wait to manage his first MLB game. A suspension, COVID-19 and injuries decimating his bullpen, which was supposed to be a strength. The top-six hitters all enduring slumps. Injuries to 40% of the starting rotation. A brutal start that has included more postponed games (5) than wins (4).
It hasn’t been easy, obviously. But Shelton said he’s hoping that there’s some sort of benefit on the back end.
“I think ‘challenging’ is probably the word,” Shelton said. “Because you’re always dealing with the unknown, it’s going to make me and our group better because we learn every day.”
As for the more immediate stuff …
Shelton said the Pirates all tested the day after learning that a Reds player was positive. Those results came back Sunday, and they were all negative. The Pirates tested again Sunday and expect to get those results Monday.
As of now, Shelton added, he does not expect to lose anyone to contact tracing. Per MLB’s protocols, anybody who came in direct contact with the Reds player would have to produce a negative test to return. The Pirates also require players to have a second negative result on do-it-yourself tests they purchased on their own.
“We anticipate having no one held back,” Shelton said. “We anticipate everybody being fine.”
There are also logistical concerns that Shelton and Co. have had to manage. For example, practice time. Before boarding their chartered flight home from Cincinnati, the Pirates were able to work out at Great American Ball Park.
The Pirates also adjusted their rotation heading into a three-game series at PNC Park against the Cleveland Indians Tuesday. Steven Brault was supposed to start Saturday but won’t pitch until Wednesday, with JT Brubaker getting the opening game.
Derek Holland, who was supposed to go Sunday, won’t pitch until the weekend against the Milwaukee Brewers. Brault will be followed by Trevor Williams Thursday.
Monday is a previously scheduled off-day, and Shelton said the Pirates will have a few pitchers throw and position players do some light work.
“I think that’s the challenge we’ve gone through,” Shelton said.
“We’re going to work out [Sunday] before we go home. I think that’s important. We’ll probably have some guys throw [Monday] just because of our pitching being backed up. We just try to treat it like a workday and make sure we’re out on the field and moving around.”
Less than 20 games into his first season as an MLB manager, it’s been nothing short of nuts for Shelton. Since he took over, he’s lost Chris Archer, Luke Maile, Michael Feliz, Nick Burdi and Phillip Evans — the Pirates’ hottest hitter at the time — to season-ending injuries. Keone Kela only returned from his battle with COVID-19 this weekend. Edgar Santana has been suspended, while Kyle Crick has been hurt.
Two of their top three starting pitchers entering the season — Joe Musgrove and Mitch Keller — are currently injured, while Gregory Polanco has not been the middle-of-the-order presence many expected back in spring training.
To his credit, Shelton has maintained a positive attitude. He’s getting judged on wins and losses, as he should be, but he’s managing a team with a bare-bones payroll that’s in the middle of a rebuild — or a “build,” if we’re using the front office’s terms — while watching many of his best players underperform.
And now, Shelton is having to navigate this: Trying to figure out how to get better, or even tread water, when the Pirates are having to stop for a series, play two games, then stop for three more days before starting again with the Indians and Brewers — hardly lightweights.
“We have to adapt and adjust,” Shelton said. “I think in our positions, especially my job, there’s a lot of adapting and adjusting. I’m hoping by going through this, it’s making me better at dealing with things.”