By Brian Joura August 23, 2020
If you ask 10 people about the pandemic in general, and MLB
trying to have a 60-game season in the middle of a pandemic in particular, you
might get 10 different answers. One thing that seems clear, at least to me, is
that people who haven’t been affected directly are the ones most vociferous
about pushing onwards. It’s human nature – nothing matters until it happens to
me or someone in my circle.
Some might say that it’s only a matter of time, that
eventually your luck runs out and the disaster happens to you. For the Mets,
that happened while playing in the known Covid hot spot of Miami. By all
indications, the Mets were doing everything “right,” in that they were
following all of the rules and not skipping out to participate in risky
behaviors. If this is true, perhaps the negative tests will continue and their
time on the sidelines will be relatively brief.
We all want answers. Who was the player and coach who tested
positive? Did one or both of them break protocols? How many people did they
come into close contact with? These, and others, are all legitimate questions
and perhaps one day we will get the answers. But for right now, it’s impossible
for me to get those answers. Because of that, my mind wanders to questions that
can be answered. And one of those is this: How did teams that did miss multiple
days (three or more) fare when they returned to action? Here’s a list of teams
and how they did once they returned to the field:
| Team | Last game | Resume Play | Return record |
|---|---|---|---|
| Marlins | Jul 26 | Aug 4 | 5-0 |
| Cardinals | July 29 | Aug 15 | 3-1 |
| Reds | Aug 14 | Aug 19 | 2-3 |
| Phillies | Jul 26 | Aug 3 | 3-2 |
| Nationals | Jul 30 | Aug 4 | 1-4 |
| Blue Jays | Jul 30 | Aug 4 | 2-4 |
| Tigers | Aug 2 | Aug 7 | 4-0 |
| Cubs | Aug 6 | Aug 11 | 3-0 |
| Pirates | Aug 9 | Aug 13 | 1-4 |
The overall record is 24-18 but it’s not a slam dunk that
the layoff is actually good for teams. Five teams started off good after
resuming plays and four teams didn’t. And maybe that’s the takeaway – missing a
few games doesn’t necessarily mean anything. For the Mets, it gives their
relievers some time off and they’ll be able to reset their rotation however
they’d like. Here’s hoping this isn’t the latest thing that screws Seth Lugo
from being a starter.
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