Season cancellation could save Red Sox pitching problems.
The Boston Red Sox pitching staff has created a Sisyphus task and that is no shock when one examines what has been collected as a rotation. Is it too early to call it a season? The Red Sox may avoid the painful consequences of playing 60 games while watching line drives dance throughout ballparks and that will be the tightrope MLB is traversing with COVID-19.
The worst possible outcome has surfaced and that is the situation with the Miami Marlins having an increasing number of players and coaches testing positive. MLB has tweaked the schedule, but a vote by the champion Washington Nationals to forego a scheduled trip to Miami may just be the tip of a nightmare about to unfold.
Players – most notably David Price – have already opted out for the season. Other teams have had additional players test positive and with the case of star left-hander Eduardo Rodriguez the situation could intensify. E-Rod has been diagnosed with an inflammation of the heart muscle and that can send emotional shock waves to others in baseball. Is the risk worth the reward?
The season has barely started and if the Miami situation is repeated elsewhere, baseball’s options will be limited to just one – call the season and prepare for a legitimate season in 2021. For the Boston fans, this may be a welcome relief from what may be a performance nightmare.
Granted, in the baseball dream world of anything can happen, but so far all the rose-colored glasses in the world will not convince me this junk rotation can suddenly be a force. There will be no sudden surprises of an arm discovering talent long hidden.
Hindsight is a wonderful tool that we almost universally use, especially with baseball. Hindsight allows every trade, free-agent signing, and draft pick to be a success. This is one instance where the naysayers may be on target with not having a season. I had a give it a go approach since the player’s youth and health minimize the risk, but when half a team is suddenly in the COVID-19 protocol it is a dire warning.
"We think we can keep people safe and continue to play." - Commissioner Rob Manfred, on @MLBNetwork
— Bryan Hoch (@BryanHoch) July 27, 2020
Baseball is planning on trudging forward which means the Red Sox will trudge along. Commissioner Rob Manfred is not yet willing to toss in the rosin bag on the season, but it may be beyond his control. If other teams follow the Nationals and even worse if others follow the Marlins the choice will be made.
For the Boston fans who need their baseball fix, this is just watered down baseball with strange rules, no fans, and a team that may even be a long shot to play .500 baseball. From what I have seen of the first few games, attempting to shine a positive on the product on the field is a Herculean task. Calling the season could be an act of mercy for this rotation.