TORONTO – There is an unbreakable steadfastness and tunnel-visioned determination needed to survive the tortuous grind of an 162-game season, and both are shining through in Major League Baseball’s response to this week’s COVID-19 outbreaks.
Under normal circumstances, those are qualities to be admired and respected. Resilience in the face of adversity, be it injuries or struggle, is often the difference between success and failure. Sometimes, you just have to power through problems, or to “sack up,” as Tanner Roark put it this week, when talking about his Toronto Blue Jays having to call Buffalo’s Sahlen Field home.
Here’s general manager Ross Atkins with a bit more of a polished take.
“I wish you guys could see the amount of isolation we’re in, how we’re going about our daily lives,” the Blue Jays general manager said Friday during a Zoom call with reporters. “The only times that our players are really ever together are when we’re in a bus, on a plane or at the field. And then we go back to our hotel rooms and we’re all in isolation. I think that the industry has a great deal of respect for this virus and the fact that it has no boundaries. I can’t say that it could be proven that it went from one team to another. I don’t think anyone knows that. But I do know that everyone is very respectful of how serious this virus is, and we can’t control what that means for other teams in other environments.
“What we can do is to the best of our ability stay safe and keep communities safe, not just our baseball team, but the communities in and around us. We are in a pandemic. We did not expect this to be smooth and without hiccups, without bumps. We all expected that there would probably be challenges, some anticipated and some not anticipated. And I can’t say enough about our staff and players and how respectful they’ve been, how thoughtful they’ve been, how disciplined they’ve been, the amount of sacrifice that they’ve made for the love of the game and for one another. It has been inspiring.”
All of that is true, yet the coronavirus doesn’t care.
A fundamental issue facing a sport conditioned to fight through any and all obstacles, that the bus doesn’t stop moving for anyone, is that it’s totally the wrong mentally to have amidst a pandemic.
Consider that last Sunday, when the Miami Marlins should really have been self-isolating in their hotel rooms, they decided to persist through a handful of infections and take the field against the Philadelphia Phillies. So very baseball.
The consequences of that call is that they’re up to 18 positives among their players, or 60 per cent of their 30-man roster. The Phillies on Thursday reported two positive cases and while it’s unclear if they’re related to the Marlins exposure, their weekend series with the Blue Jays was postponed as a result.
Then, Friday morning, a pair of positive tests among the St. Louis Cardinals led to the postponement of their series opener Friday at the Milwaukee Brewers to Sunday, when the teams will play a double-header. They’ll still play as scheduled Saturday, with the delay Friday “consistent with protocols to allow enough time for additional testing and contact tracing to be conducted,” MLB said in a release.
This, however, is where things get sticky, and the sport’s blind determination becomes really reckless in the face of the widely accepted science on COVID-19.
The onset of symptoms can take up to five days and a patient can be infectious for up to nine days afterwards for a total of 14 days, which is why quarantines are set at 14 days. In theory, an untested person could be spreading virus without knowing for up to two weeks, but baseball has mitigated that with every other day testing.
Those results provide bookends for a player’s exposure period, which is very helpful in contact-tracing – i.e., Player X was negative Tuesday but positive Thursday so his infection likely occurred Wednesday. At that point, work can begin on identifying whether transmission occurred on the field, in the clubhouse, socially, at home or in the community.
Still, within the gap from negative to positive, there are countless contact points with teammates, even with the current protocols in place, and the virus’s incubation period can last up to 14 days. So a player who tests negative one day could still become positive a few days later, and in the meantime, he’s spread the virus to several others.
All that is why 14-day quarantines are the gold standard for breaking transmission chains and avoiding silent spread. But two-week breaks don’t really line up with a 60-game season played across 9½ weeks, so you end up with a situation like the Marlins, and allowing the Cardinals to play as soon as Saturday is a recipe for replicating that outbreak.
Richard Deitsch and Donnovan Bennett host a podcast about how COVID-19 is impacting sports around the world. They talk to experts, athletes and personalities, offering a window into the lives of people we normally root for in entirely different ways.
Major League Baseball has thrown around the phrase “abundance of caution” quite a bit lately, but a real abundance of caution is in stopping people who have been exposed to the virus from being exposed to other people.
In the Cardinals’ case, that would mean keeping them away from the Brewers all weekend, and contact-tracing them up to five days backwards, which takes them through series versus the Pittsburgh Pirates and Minnesota Twins, who on Thursday played Cleveland.
All of them are, to some degree, at risk right now, and then there’s the risk of them vectoring disease into the wider community, too.
This isn’t fear-mongering or nay-saying – it’s math and probabilities, which has been the problem with MLB’s return-to-play plan from the outset. The United States reopened too quickly, never quelled COVID-19’s first wave and, unable to logistically bubble up the way the NHL and NBA have, MLB decided to go ahead with a season cut off but not totally isolated from a general population spreading the virus at alarming levels.
Whenever that hard truth is raised, baseball people fall back on the usual mantras used to survive the 162-game grind, about focusing on themselves, controlling the controllables, not worrying about matters outside their purview, blah, blah, blah.
Even with stricter protocols coming – “we’ve already instituted them in how we’re interacting with families, how we’re interacting with people away from the field,” Atkins said of the Blue Jays – it’s wishful thinking to insist that the MLB season can get to the finish line without some real bubbling from the wider community.
“When someone leaves the ballpark and we obviously consult with Major League Baseball and talk to them about extenuating circumstances, like myself of driving to Buffalo to see the facility, I would by no means have jumped on a commercial flight and come back to this team,” Atkins said in describing the extra cautions he and the Blue Jays are taking. “The amount of testing and intake process for myself as I come back to join the team, the same for our players with Ken Giles as he left the team (to see a specialist about an injury) and came back to join us. We’re going to isolate him from the team before he rejoins the group. Our interactions with families, how we’re testing families. Major League Baseball is very supportive, but I think everyone’s having to do their part to deal with circumstances that are changing every day.”
Diligence is great but adherence to MLB’s current plan, under current circumstances, isn’t enough to avoid the coronavirus. Persistence and resolve may be commendable hallmarks of the sport, but what a shame it will be if they leave the game’s decision-makers too blind to grasp the realities in front of them.
LAHORE, Pakistan (AP) — A top official of the Pakistan Cricket Board declined Friday to confirm media reports that India has decided against playing any games in host Pakistan during next year’s Champions Trophy.
“My view is if there’s any problems, they (India) should tell us in writing,” PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi told reporters in Lahore. “I’ll share that with the media as well as with the government as soon as I get such a letter.”
Indian media reported Friday that the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) has communicated its concerns to all the Champions Trophy stakeholders, including the PCB, over the Feb. 19-March 9 tournament and would not play in arch-rival Pakistan.
The Times of India said that “Dubai is a strong candidate to host the fixtures involving the Men in Blue” for the 50-over tournament.
Such a solution would see Pakistan having to travel to a neutral venue to play India in a group match, with another potential meeting later in the tournament if both teams advanced from their group. The final is scheduled for March 9 in Pakistan with the specific venue not yet decided.
“Our stance is clear,” Naqvi said. “They need to give us in writing any objections they may have. Until now, no discussion of the hybrid model has happened, nor are we prepared to accept one.”
Political tensions have stopped bilateral cricket between the two nations since 2008 and they have competed in only multi-nation tournaments, including ICC World Cups.
“Cricket should be free of politics,” Naqvi said. “Any sport should not be entangled with politics. Our preparations for the Champions Trophy will continue unabated, and this will be a successful event.”
The PCB has already spent millions of dollars on the upgrade of stadiums in Karachi, Lahore and Rawalpindi which are due to host 15 Champions Trophy games. Naqvi hoped all the three stadiums will be ready over the next two months.
“Almost every country wants the Champions Trophy to be played here (in Pakistan),” Naqvi said. “I don’t think anyone should make this a political matter, and I don’t expect they will. I expect the tournament will be held at the home of the official hosts.”
Eight countries – Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, England, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and Afghanistan – are due to compete in the tournament, the schedule of which is yet to be announced by the International Cricket Council.
“Normally the ICC announces the schedule of any major tournament 100 days before the event, and I hope they will announce it very soon,” Naqvi said.
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia – Ottawa‘s Gabriela Dabrowski and Erin Routliffe of New Zealand are through to the doubles final at the WTA Finals after a 7-6 (7), 6-1 victory over Nicole Melichar-Martinez of the United States and Australia’s Ellen Perez in semifinal action Friday.
Dabrowski and Routliffe won a hard-fought first set against serve when Routliffe’s quick reaction at the net to defend a Perez shot gave the duo set point, causing Perez to throw down her racket in frustration.
The second seeds then cruised through the second set, winning match point on serve when Melichar-Martinez couldn’t handle Routliffe’s shot.
The showdown was a rematch of last year’s semifinal, which Melichar-Martinez and Perez won in a super tiebreak.
Dabrowski and Routliffe will face the winner of a match between Katerina Siniakova and Taylor Townsend, and Hao-Ching Chan and Veronika Kudermetova in the final on Saturday.
Dabrowski is aiming to become the first Canadian to win a WTA Finals title.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
Inter Milan winger Tajon Buchanan, recovered from a broken leg suffered in training at this summer’s Copa America, is back in Jesse Marsch’s Canada squad for the CONCACAF Nations League quarterfinal against Suriname.
The 25-year-old from Brampton, Ont., underwent surgery July 3 to repair a fractured tibia in Texas.
Canada, ranked 35th in the world, plays No. 136 Suriname on Nov. 15 in Paramaribo. The second leg of the aggregate series is four days later at Toronto’s BMO Field.
There is also a return for veteran winger Junior Hoilett, who last played for Canada in June in a 4-0 loss to the Netherlands in Marsch’s debut at the Canadian helm. The 34-year-old from Brampton, now with Scotland’s Hibernian, has 15 goals in 63 senior appearances for Canada.
Midfielder Ismael Kone, recovered from an ankle injury sustained on club duty with France’s Marseille, also returns. He missed Canada’s last three matches since the fourth-place Copa America loss to Uruguay in July.
But Canada will be without centre back Derek Cornelius, who exited Marseille’s win Sunday over Nantes on a stretcher after suffering an apparent rib injury.
The Canadian men will prepare for Suriname next week at a camp in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.
“We are looking forward to getting the group together again with the mindset that there is a trophy on the line,” Marsch said in a statement. “We want to end 2024 the right way with two excellent performances against a competitive Suriname squad and continue building on our tremendous growth this past summer.”
The quarterfinal winners advance to the Nations League Finals at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood, Calif., with the two semifinals scheduled for March 20 and the final and third-place playoff March 23, and qualify for the 2025 CONCACAF Gold Cup.
Thirteen of the 23 players on the Canadian roster are 25 or younger, with 19-year-old defender Jamie Knight-Lebel, currently playing for England’s Crewe Alexandra on loan from Bristol City, the youngest.
Bayern Munich star Alphonso Davies captains the side with Stephen Eustaquio, Jonathan Osorio, Richie Laryea, Alistair Johnston and Kamal Miller adding veteran support.
Jonathan David, Cyle Larin and Theo Bair are joined in attack by Minnesota United’s Tani Oluwaseyi.
Niko Sigur, a 21-year-old midfielder with Croatia’s Hadjuk Split, continues in the squad after making his debut in the September friendly against Mexico.
Suriname made it to the Nations League quarterfinals by finishing second to Costa Rica in Group A of the Nations League, ahead of No. 104 Guatemala, No. 161 Guyana and unranked Martinique and Guadeloupe.
“A good team,” Osorio said of Suriname. “These games are always tricky and they’re not easy at all … Suriname is a (former) Dutch colony and they’ll have Dutch players playing at high levels.”
“They won’t be someone we overlook at all,” added the Toronto FC captain, who has 81 Canada caps to his credit.
Located on the northeast coast of South America between Guyana and French Guiana, Suriname was granted independence in 1975 by the Netherlands.
Canada has faced Suriname twice before, both in World Cup qualifying play, winning 4-0 in suburban Chicago in June 2021 and 2-1 in Mexico City in October 1977.
The Canadian men, along with Mexico, the United States and Panama, received a bye into the final eight of the CONCACAF Nations League.
Canada, No. 2 in the CONCACAF rankings, drew Suriname as the best-placed runner-up from League A play.
Canada lost to Jamaica in last year’s Nations League quarterfinal, ousted on the away-goals rule after the series ended in a 4-4 draw. The Canadians lost 2-0 to the U.S. in the final of the 2022-23 tournament and finished fifth in 2019-20.
Canada defeated Panama 2-1 last time out, in an Oct. 15 friendly in Toronto.
Goalkeepers Maxime Crepeau and Jonathan Sirois, defenders Joel Waterman, Laryea and Miller and Osorio took part in a pre-camp this week in Toronto for North America-based players.
Canada Roster
Goalkeepers: Maxime Crepeau, Portland Timbers (MLS); Jonathan Sirois, CF Montreal (MLS); Dayne St. Clair, Minnesota United FC (MLS).
Defenders: Moise Bombito, OGC Nice (France); Alphonso Davies, Bayern Munich (Germany); Richie Laryea, Toronto FC (MLS); Alistair Johnston, Celtic (Scotland); Jamie Knight-Lebel. Crewe Alexandra, on loan from Bristol City (England); Kamal Miller, Portland Timbers (MLS); Joel Waterman, CF Montreal (MLS).
Midfielders: Ali Ahmed. Vancouver Whitecaps (MLS); Tajon Buchanan, Inter Milan (Italy); Mathieu Choiniere, Grasshopper Zurich (Switzerland); Stephen Eustaquio, FC Porto (Portugal); Junior Hoilett, Hibernian FC (Scotland); Ismael Kone, Olympique Marseille (France); Jonathan Osorio, Toronto FC (MLS); Jacob Shaffelburg, Nashville SC (MLS); Niko Sigur, Hadjuk Split (Croatia).
Forwards: Theo Bair, AJ Auxerre (France); Jonathan David, LOSC Lille (France); Cyle Larin, RCD Mallorca (Spain); Tani Oluwaseyi, Minnesota United (MLS).
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This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 8, 2024.
