Brewers ready to take the field
After a full day of COVID-19 testing and two subsequent days of self-quarantining, the Milwaukee Brewers will gather Saturday as a group – actually, several groups – at Miller Park to resume training for the 2020 season.
When we last saw the Brewers gathered on March 12th in Phoenix, they had split-squad games against Colorado and Arizona rained out. The next day, MLB suspended spring camps in Florida and Arizona because of the growing COVID-19 pandemic, and shortly afterward players headed home.
Now, after waiting more than three months, much of it while owners and the players union squabbled over money, teams will have three weeks to prepare for a shortened 60-game season, with hopes of making it to October baseball. With expansive protocols in place to keep players and staff safe and healthy, the workouts will look different than in the past, with an emphasis on keeping everyone spread out as much as possible.
Beyond that new way of conducting business, the Brewers have sever
al boxes they'd like to check off before opening play July 24 against a yet-tobe-named opponent. Let's take a look:
5 Things to Watch 1. Simulating game action
Baseball is a game that is best prepared for by actually playing games. That, along with making some money, is why teams play about 30 exhibition games each spring. With only three weeks of summer camp, and MLB trying to limit travel during the pandemic, teams have permission to play only three exhibition games at most, likely against a nearby team. That means lots of intrasquad games and simulated action to get players as game ready as possible. Pitching coach Chris Hook said the team will get “creative” in ramping up intensity when needed and will look for feedback from hitters when they face pitchers in live batting practice. Players did their best to work out individually during the shutdown but the adrenaline level always rises, especially for pitchers, when a hitter steps into the box.
“I think the key to this year is to be flexible and be ready to change and to be ready to scribble everything off that you've already started and start over,” manager Craig Counsell said. “Intrasquad games are going to be a big part of this.”
2. Keeping pitchers healthy
Upon checking in with pitchers to see what they had done individually to stay ready during the shutdown, Counsell said he felt better about where they stood as summer camp began. With only three weeks to get game-ready in the resumption of working together, there's a natural urge to try to do too much too soon. The Brewers plan to carry plenty of pitchers on their 30-man roster, perhaps 16 or 17, but they still don't want anyone coming down with a sore arm. So, it will be steady as you go with the knowledge that games will be chopped up among several pitchers, at least in the early going.
“When I thought about this, I thought what would a three-week camp look like?” Counsell said. “We have a bunch of guys that are much further along than I anticipated. So, I'm not as concerned about that as I would have originally thought when we departed in midMarch. They've all been throwing on a regular schedule. They've all been throwing to hitters. Now, the challenge when we ramp up intensity, what does recovery look like? That's probably the thing I'll think about the most.”
3. Making the most of Miller Park
When the Brewers hold spring practice at American Family Fields of Phoenix, the key word is “Fields.” Beyond the main stadium where they play exhibition games, they have two other adjacent full fields as well as four back fields where work is done daily, particularly in the early stages of camp. With 45 players in camp, they obviously can't work on the Miller Park field all at once. Beyond holding two workouts each day to split up the group, Counsell said they'd find other ways to make full use of the facility.
“For fans, it's kind of hard to picture our clubhouse,” Counsell said. “It's a very functional space but when you start putting a lot of people in there, it's not a place to spread out. So, we'll use areas like that on the concourse, kind of for some meetings and things like that. Most of all, it's a place for the players to be communal without being on top of each other.”
4. Yelich returns
No, it was not a dream that Christian Yelich signed a nine-year, $215 million extension, in essence making him a lifetime Brewer. That was back on March 6, less than a week before spring camps were shut down by the pandemic. After the most-prolific back-to-back offensive seasons in club history, Yelich is still in his prime at 28, with the sky the limit for the most improved player in the game since 2017.
No one on the team is more competitive or driven, so you know he's been champing at the bit during the threemonth shutdown.
After winning the NL MVP Award in 2018 and finishing runner-up last season to LA's Cody Bellinger, Yelich's atbats have become don't-miss. With no fans in the stands, that means they will be must-see TV this year. There's only 60 games to enjoy him this season, and Counsell already warned that even with a short season he'll still get the occasional game off. I can already here the grousing when the first lineup card without him is presented.
5. Embrace the madness
Nothing is going to be the same for players this year, on an off the field, with the expansive, comprehensive COVID-19 protocols changing life as they formally knew it. The teams that are able to remain focused and productive on the field – not to mention staying healthy – will have the best chance of playing baseball in October. Never before has their professionalism and responsibility been tested like this.
“You're asking a lot but the answer is, yes, they can handle it,” Brewers bench coach Pat Murphy said. “They've got to stop resisting. If they resist, they'll get more stressed. With all of the players, their first priority was their family, which is pretty cool to see. Now, they're here and they have to learn to handle things in stride and live with ease among these guidelines. Don't get all worked up about them.
“These guys know what to do when the bell rings. We've just got to stay cool until then. Our motto has been ‘stay connected' but you don't have to be close physically to do that. The connection we're talking about is a belief system and having certain standards. It's ‘be there for each other.' I don't think that requires to be within six feet of each other. Connection is more about intent, accountability and communication. We can still do communicate, however we need to. The core will be that connection.”