Bridich, Black forced to play wait-and-see game

To steal a phrase from the late, great Tom Petty, “The waiting is the hardest part.”

Rockies general manager Jeff Bridich and manager Bud Black can relate.

As the coronavirus continues to spread, and as more cities across the country are forced to shut down, baseball has become part of the great unknown. There is no timetable for the game’s return, no revamped schedule on the horizon.

Rockies players are no longer practicing together at the club’s Salt River Fields complex in Scottsdale, Ariz., which was shut down Wednesday, so they are left to work out on their own.

“We are trying to come to grips with a season not happening right now, and literally, practice not happening anymore,” Bridich said Thursday during a conference call. “Those are all just the realities of the situation right now.

“I think it was a good thing that Salt River was closed down and that players can go home and concentrate on their families. Who knows when the season is going to start up again? Nobody can know that right now.”

Added Black: “This is unprecedented for all of us. As coaches and players, we were two weeks away from opening day and now, obviously, that’s seen as so far away. As each day goes by, the focus has turned back to what’s going on in the world, and baseball has taken a little bit of a secondary phase to all of this.”

There was not a lot of new information revealed Thursday, but some things stood out:

• Both men admitted that they have, reluctantly, thought about the possibility of the entire season being canceled.

“I’d be lying to say that it hasn’t crossed my mind,” Bridich said. “But there is a lot of time between now and when that decision would have to be made. … I can’t give any specifics about how much that might have been talked about.”

Added Black: “I’ve thought about it, but I try to get rid of that thought as quickly as possible. I’m trying to be as optimistic as possible that this is going to turn around and we are going to play baseball.”

• How the schedule will be constructed is unknown, but Black said he would be open to the idea of playing doubleheaders, perhaps a couple of times a week.

“In theory, yes,” Black said. “But it has to make sense for both the clubs and the players. All of these things are being talked about, probably as we speak, with the (players’) union and the commissioner’s office, with the owners. But in theory, yes, I think all of us would be open to some sort of doubleheader situation.”

• Bridich said that while most players have been able to return home, Venezuelans such as pitchers German Marquez and Antonio Senzatela, have been forced to stay in the United States.

“Venezuela literally shut down all travel into and out of that country,” he said. “So we have a number of Venezuelans, both major league and minor league, who are remaining in Phoenix right now.”