Phillies' Girardi hoping to get back to work…
Phillies' Girardi hoping to get back to work against Yankees, worried about pitching after layoff
Michael Reaves/Getty Images North America/TNS
Philadelphia Phillies manager Joe Girardi is worried about his team's pitching after a long layoff following its first series because of the coronavirus.
By Bucks County Courier Times |
August 2, 2020 at 11:21 p.m.
The last week has felt familiar to Phillies manager Joe Girardi.
Watching baseball on TV reminded him of the past two seasons he spent as a TV analyst for MLB Network.
"It is strange," Girardi said during a Saturday afternoon Zoom call.
Assuming the Phillies begin four games against the Yankees on Monday night in the Bronx after being forced to take a week off, they will need to play 57 games in 56 days to finish the 60-game season on time, since they will have completed just three in the first 10 days.
Asked if that is reasonable, Girardi replied, "I think it's happened before where teams have had that many games. … I think we're concerned with, 'Can we just get through Monday?' We have a hurricane coming in here."
While MLB is allowing teams to carry 30 players through Thursday, perhaps the 1-2 Phillies and 2-1 Miami Marlins will be permitted to use an expanded roster longer given their imposing upcoming schedules.
Miami has been shut down all week, too, while multiple positive tests resulted in the postponement of the Cardinals' weekend series with the Brewers.
The MLB season could be hanging by a thread.
"I can't tell you exactly how the players feel, but I can tell you they want to play and they're frustrated they're not playing," Girardi said.
Pitching is Girardi's biggest onfield concern because no Phillie has made more than one start while other teams have guys increasing their arm strength. Phils' pitchers threw into mattresses and brick walls out of necessity, but it's going to take them longer to reach 90 or 100 pitches, which means Girardi will have to rely heavily on relievers in the short term.
New York ace Gerrit Cole is on track to make his third start of the season Monday in what would be the Yankees' ninth game of 2020. If Aaron Nola starts for the Phils, he'll have nine days off since the July 24 opener.
"We have to be a little bit cautious because you feel like for some of these guys we were building them up and now you have them on hold," Girardi said.
The Phillies' week consisted of Monday and Tuesday off, practice Wednesday, quarantined Thursday and Friday and then staggered workouts at Citizens Bank Park on Saturday and Sunday.
The four games in the Phillies' home-and-home series last Monday-Thursday were postponed after the Marlins' COVID-19 outbreak in Philadelphia.
After initially making the Phillies-Blue Jays three-game series at Citizens Bank Park into a Saturday doubleheader and Sunday single game, they were postponed, too, after three Phillies' staffers tested positive Wednesday. It "appears that two of those individuals' tests were false positives," according to a release sent out by MLB on Saturday. No Phillies personnel tested positive Thursday, Friday or Saturday.
"I know one thing — I would rather have a false positive than a false negative," Girardi said.
Girardi also isn't getting worked up over reports some Marlins players didn't follow MLB protocols by going to a bar in Atlanta before coming to Philadelphia to face the Phillies because he said there's no confirmation it's true.
What Girardi is worried about is his team — if all goes well — having to face the Yankees four times, including Wednesday and Thursday in South Philly, after a week off. That seems like a daunting task.
He is pleased the Phillies have been following safety protocols, but realizes the players must remain vigilant because one slip-up could potentially bring the entire season to a screeching halt.
That's why when someone without a mask tried to get in an elevator with Girardi the other day, Girardi wouldn't let him. He couldn't take the risk.
"I didn't want to be rude," Girardi said.
Girardi jokingly wondered if there is a baseball league in Iceland where MLB teams could play and not have to worry about the pandemic.
Given everything that's happened, it doesn't sound as far-fetched as it would have a week ago.
Tom Moore: tmoore@couriertimes.com; @TomMoorePhilly
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