Two St. Louis players have tested positive for COVID-19 forcing Major League Baseball to cancel yet another game between the Cardinals vs the Brewers that was supposed to take place tonight in Milwaukee.
This is the latest of games being canceled & postponed by MLB in just a matter of one week and will be the 30th game canceled due to positive tests, since the abbreviated 60-game season started on July 23rd. The Coronavirus forced another change in the MLB’s schedule, bringing the league’s total to 8 teams affected in the first 9 days of the season.
The league announced the schedule change hours before the game was to be played. It said the postponement in Milwaukee is “consistent with protocols to allow enough time for additional testing and contact tracing to be conducted.” The Cardinals said in a statement they learned Thursday night about the positive tests from samples collected Wednesday. Player and staff have been instructed to isolate in their hotel rooms in Milwaukee, and the club did not leave the hotel Friday for Miller Park. “The team is currently conducting rapid testing of the entire traveling party, has implemented contact tracing, and will continue to self-isolate,” the team said.
“We are supportive of MLB’s decision to postpone today’s game and look forward to playing our home opener as soon as conditions safely allow,” Brewers GM David Stearns said in a statement. “The health and safety of our players and employees are, and will continue to be our top priorities.” Rightfully so. Two Other games scheduled for Friday involving the Marlins, Nationals, Blue Jays and Phillies had already been postponed because of the outbreak involving 18 Marlins’ players and 2 of their coaches. Additionally, there’s been 2 positive tests reported on the Phillies coaching staff.
It’s uncertain now if the Indians and Twins will move forward with their scheduled game Friday night. Cleveland plans to hold a team meeting early in the afternoon to discuss the situation and if so, it’ll force MLB to scramble as they try to figure out when they intend to make up all these games since the 60-game season is being played in 67 days.
To help make up all the postponements, MLB and the players union agreed Thursday evening that doubleheaders this season will become a pair of 7-inning games, which is completely ridiculous. This decision goes against everything that MLB is about. First, they implemented the “extra-innings rule” and now 7-inning doubleheaders? What is this, Little League? This simply proves that MLB is turning this season into a nontraditional farce, and this decision does not sit too well with baseball purest like myself. What’s MLB going to implement next — every game played will be only 7-innings too?
Meanwhile, back in Philly, the 20 infected Marlins intend to return back to Miami in sleeper buses, where they will remain together in quarantine. The trip is expected to take about 18 hours. The Brewers and Cardinals plan to resume their schedule Saturday night at Miller Park, pending results from the testing and contact tracing, and make-up Friday’s game as part of a doubleheader Sunday.
In a MLB season already filled with several firsts, the Brewers have never hosted a doubleheader at Miller Park which has a retractable roof. The last twin-bill in Milwaukee was Sept. 23, 2000 against the Pirates at the old Milwaukee County Stadium.
All I have to say is one thing to MLB baseball & the players…you should’ve come to terms months ago and agreed to play out the 2020 season in a bubble like the NBA.
Photo Credit Facebook Cardinal Nation
