CLEVELAND, Ohio – If Zach Plesac does not think the Indians are serious about not only getting through the coronavirus season, but also trying to make something positive like it, he now knows.
MLB security personnel captured Plesac back at the Indian team hotel in Chicago early Sunday morning after he went with friends to his victory over the White Sox on Saturday afternoon. Plesac needed permission to leave the hotel, something he apparently did not get.
MLB announced the Indians, who will be speaking to Plesac on Sunday morning. They rented a car for him and told him to drive back to Cleveland. They did not allow him to fly with the team back to Sunday night’s game against the White Sox for fear that the Indians would infect the traveling party.
Plesac has told people near him that he knows he made a mistake and takes responsibility for it. It is safe to say that the Indians are not happy with Plesac at the moment.
Chris Antonetti, president of baseball operations, was a key member of the MLB committee that drafted protocols to keep teams safe through the 60-game season. She shot Franmil Reyes three days out of Spring Training II for not wearing a mask at a July party. They have a few options with Plesac.
They could give him option to their alternative training site at Classic Park in Eastlake. They could find him too. Or they could do both.
They will have time to sort things out, as they do not need a fifth starter until August 22nd. Plesac will need to be quarantined and tested negative for the virus twice in a 48-hour period.
The Indian players wrote their own code of conduct for the start of the season. Each team had to do it.
Mike Clevinger, one of Plesac’s closest friends, described it this way: ‘I think the thing we decided was cool is that this is not going to be a’ run to daddy ‘kind of thing. We will handle it at home. It will be a player-discipline thing. We’ll keep the coaches and front office kind of out of it.
‘It just puts a little extra responsibility (on players), because trusting your teammates is a big thing. It’s a great thing to be on the field. If you know your team does not trust you from the field, how will they feel that they can trust you when you get between the lines? ”
Well, let’s just say Dad was warned on this one. Antonetti was scheduled to take questions about the matter after Sunday’s game. This has become a matter of business-only for players. One more thing, how does Plesac look Carlos Carrasco in the eye?
Plesac is one-fifth of the best starting rotation in the American League. He threw six scoreless innings Saturday against the White Sox in a 7-1 win. You just have to ask, what did he think?
He grew up in Crown Point, Ind., Which is about an hour’s drive from the guaranteed rate range. His family and friends were unable to attend the game because fans were not allowed in the ballpark due to the coronavirus. But apparently they still made the trip and wanted to celebrate the win.
This season, a season of adjustments as manager Terry Francona called it, sometimes the game is not the hardest thing. The most difficult thing is to say no to friends, to put the team and its goals for the season first.
Francona talked endlessly with the players about this. He said that every time you want to roll your eyes at a particular rule or protocol, use it to your advantage. It could give you and your team an advantage over the opposition.
MLB has seen major outbreaks of the virus with the Cardinals and Marlins – outbreaks that have ended their seasons and endangered the health of their players and staff. Commissioner Rob Manfred and the MLBPA have implemented stricter rules regarding keeping and carrying teams on a field. Each team was required to appoint a compliance officer.
In response to that news last week when the Indians were in Minneapolis, Antonetti said, “We are all government officers.”
With one exception.
A variety of face masks from Cleveland Indians are available online today. (Fanatics.com)
