Yankees vote unanimously to resume schedule against Orioles

PHILADELPHIA – The coronavirus outbreak among the Miami Marlins had a ripple effect in the Major League Baseball, and MLB postponed the opening game for the New York Yankees on Wednesday against the Philadelphia Phillies.

The Yankees will now play in Baltimore against the Orioles on Wednesday and Thursday before heading to Yankee Stadium to play their first home game of the season against the Boston Red Sox.

The cancellation of the Miami schedule until Sunday gave the Yankees a chance to vote on whether to resume their season with the games in Baltimore, and the team unanimously chose to do so. The Orioles had an opening on their schedule because they were supposed to host the Marlins in a two-game series starting Wednesday.

“When we started, we understood that there was going to be positive tests and that there could be a team that had multiple positive tests, a significant amount like the Marlins, so I think everyone understood that this was a possibility. And the most important thing is for us to continue “Team union representative Zack Britton said Tuesday in a video conference call from the team hotel in Philadelphia before boarding the bus to Baltimore.

“We had a discussion, first of all, about what was happening here,” he added. “They gave us some options on what we could do. The guys felt that we obviously want to play. Our team has done a pretty good job, I think overall following the protocols, and our medical staff has done a great job. disinfecting the visiting clubhouse. And we felt like we didn’t want to take three or four days off if we get a chance to go to Baltimore and play. “

Publicly, the Yankees have strongly expressed their belief that the 113-page 2020 operations manual and protocols that have been implemented are sufficient to keep them safe and on the field.

“I definitely feel great about our group. I’m sure there are other teams that can handle different things, but one of the conversations we had about it is that we always try to be prepared for adversity. We know that adversity is coming up to our way, “manager Aaron Boone said. “And 2020 is unlike anything we’ve all experienced. We know that going into this we will have to prepare ourselves for some awkward situations, some difficult times, some difficult days, from the point of view of baseball, from the point of view of the virus. , from travel, due to inconveniences, and I feel that we are uniquely equipped to handle that. “

General manager Brian Cashman, who spoke to Britton by phone, said the entire team had a unified message, similar to the players’ refrain during the bitter back-to-game negotiations: “Tell us where and we’ll be there.”

“We are in a world where no one has dealt with something like this before, so I think we should all be flexible and able to swing and at least be open to adjust, and I am really proud of our organization. Far,” Cashman said. “When I phone our manager and ask him, 45 minutes before our bus leaves for New York, ‘What do you think if we instead turned around and went to Baltimore so we could play some games there?’ Everyone seems to be all inclusive. “

Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, who recorded a 4-1 win on opening day after pitching five innings in a rain-shortened game, was slated to start Tuesday against the Phillies, but will now headline the first game at Camden Yards. JA Happ will pitch in Game 2 against the O’s.

Boone did not announce a starter for the Yankees’ rescheduled start against the Red Sox on Friday, but revealed that Masahiro Tanaka and Jordan Montgomery will start two of the three games in the series.

The third-year manager was also asked about Dave Martinez’s comments, in which the Nationals manager was thrilled to say he was “scared” of himself and his players after the news that 14 players and staff from The Marlins tested positive for COVID-19, and said they do not share the sentiment. Martinez had a health scare last year due to heart problems.

“I certainly understand that Dave went through a lot of things from a health point of view a year ago and obviously Juan Soto’s situation arose on the opening day [when Soto tested positive for COVID-19]”Boone said.” I understand that a lot of people are going to feel in many different ways about this, and this affects people in different ways, and I certainly respect that, but I haven’t shared those same feelings as of yet. “

Boone, like his players, focuses on playing and winning as many as possible, even in current circumstances.

“Every time I hear about these [positives], your heart is with whom it is infected. First of all, there is a chance that someone will get very sick. So, first of all, you expect people to remain largely asymptomatic, which we’ve seen a lot, “he said.” And then you hope that the boys can turn it around and go back to the field because it’s a very short season, and in general, the boys want to go out and act and have a season. … Right now, we can continue our season, and we are excited about that opportunity. “