Davey Martinez approves of Major League Baseball’s decision to postpone this weekend’s series with the Miami Marlins.
“First of all, I think MLB did the right thing. It’s all about keeping us safe -- myself, the players, our staff,” Martinez said. “Everybody.”
Next are the questions of what will happen to those games and what the Nationals will do over the weekend with three days off.
Before MLB announced the three-game series between the Nationals and Marlins set to be played in Miami was postponed, the Nationals took a vote about whether to travel to Florida to play. Only one person raised their hand to express willingness to play in Florida. That majority decision was a simple one internally.
“All the decisions made here are basically group decisions,” Martinez said. “We’re very close and we’re very united. I heard rumblings from the players and they had some concerns. I wanted to talk about it. We had a vote. We all decided it was unsafe to go there. Had nothing to do with the Miami Marlins. It’s all about Miami, the state of Florida, this pandemic...they didn’t feel safe. And I was one of them that felt the same way. We took a vote, and they all voted that they thought it best we didn’t go there right now.”
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Next was a decision from MLB as to whether the Marlins would play anywhere this weekend. They were quarantined in Philadelphia on Monday following a coronavirus outbreak within the team. The Toronto Blue Jays -- who finally settled on Buffalo as their baseball home in 2020 -- are playing two games in Nationals Park this week as the “home” team. That appeared to be an option this weekend for Miami, too.
Instead, the league decided to shut down the Marlins until at least Sunday. There will be no weekend series.
“Given the current circumstances, MLB believes that it is most prudent to allow the Marlins time to focus on providing care for their players and planning their Baseball Operations for resumption early next week,” the league said in a statement.
The Nationals expect to schedule workouts over the weekend. They will finish the opening week-plus with seven games in Nationals Park. Monday, Aug. 3, is also an off-day, which means the Nationals will not play a game for four consecutive days. They host the New York Mets for two games Aug. 4 and 5. Then, another off-day hits before a three-game home series with the Baltimore Orioles. Washington’s first road trip of the 2020 season is now slated for Aug. 10, when it goes to Citi Field.
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Martinez said he does not know if the games against the Marlins will be made up.
Tuesday’s chaos is in keeping with the theme since baseball resumed July 23. In particular, the Nationals have been caught up in the fluid situations across the league. First, they had to resolve the schedule situation with Toronto. Then came Juan Soto’s last-second removal before the home opener because of a positive coronavirus test. Next was Stephen Strasburg’s scratch from his opening start because of a nerve problem in his hand. The Marlins situation hit to start the week, percolating Sunday, taking hold Monday and running its influence through Tuesday.
“There's obviously a lot of concerns,” Martinez said. “I talk about this: Not only do we have to compete on the field but it's almost like we've got to compete off the field, too. We have to follow all the protocols. I'm constantly on the players to wear masks, washing hands. We're doing all these things to try to stay safe. But it's tough. We're in tough times. We're trying to play through a pandemic. What happened to the Marlins, I don't wish that on anybody. But it happened and it's real. I told the players: Just stay in the moment and focus on the here and now. That's all we can do.”
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