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8/23/20

Mets360 - Covid hits the Mets, Luis Guillorme’s production and future role, Rick Porcello and grounders


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:

TeamLast gameResume PlayReturn record
MarlinsJul 26Aug 45-0
CardinalsJuly 29Aug 153-1
RedsAug 14Aug 192-3
PhilliesJul 26Aug 33-2
NationalsJul 30Aug 41-4
Blue JaysJul 30Aug 42-4
TigersAug 2Aug 74-0
CubsAug 6Aug 113-0
PiratesAug 9Aug 131-4

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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