LEADING OFF: Marlins postponed again amid virus outbreak

A look at what's happening around the majors Tuesday:

PANDEMIC PANIC

Major League Baseball has already postponed a second scheduled game between Miami and Baltimore after more than a dozen Marlins players and staff tested positive for the coronavirus, prompting the club to lock down in Philadelphia. Commissioner Rob Manfred said the soonest the Marlins could resume their schedule is Wednesday, when they are set to play in Baltimore.

“I don’t see it as a nightmare,” Manfred told MLB Network on Monday night. “We built the protocols to allow us to continue to play. That’s why we have the expanded rosters, that’s why we have the pool of additional players. And we think we can keep people safe and continue to play.”

The Yankees and Phillies also postponed their game Monday after the Marlins played in Philadelphia over the weekend. As of Monday night, the teams planned to begin their series Tuesday instead.

Word of multiple positive tests among the Marlins and Reds rosters shook many around the game.

“I’m going to be honest with you: I’m scared,” Nationals manager Dave Martinez said.

Experts are also concerned.

“Baseball is in huge trouble,” said Dr. Andrew Morris, a professor of infectious diseases at the University of Toronto. “It makes me wonder if they are listening to the advice of experts or whether their experts are giving them good advice. This was not a plan anyone who knows what they are talking about would have conceived. It’s playing out like it was supposed to play out.”

TAKING PRECAUTIONS

The Chicago White Sox could be without manager Rick Renteria for a doubleheader in Cleveland. The 58-year-old Renteria woke up Monday with “a slight cough and nasal congestion” and will be kept away from the team pending the results of...

source https://www.chron.com/sports/article/LEADING-OFF-Marlins-postponed-again-amid-virus-15438446.php