Marlins' coronavirus outbreak hits Brewers manager Craig Counsell hard

Milwaukee Brewers manager Craig Counsell said it felt like a “punch to the face” upon hearing about the coronavirus outbreak among Miami Marlins players.

“This was probably harsher than we thought we’d get at this point,” Counsell said during a video conference with reporters ahead of the Brewers’ game Monday at Pittsburgh. “There’s a realization that we have to be perfect and that’s what we’re trying to do.

“It feels like a tough task, but we’re going to try and get it right.”

The Brewers held a team meeting to discuss the situation upon arriving at PNC Park. During the meeting, Counsell reiterated the importance of social distancing and adhering to the rules, protocols and procedures put in place by Major League Baseball.

He also opened the floor to the players to get their thoughts, concerns and suggestions on ways to improve the situation as the Brewers and MLB as a whole try to play out their 2020 season despite the ongoing threat from the pandemic.

“We’re working together to achieve best practices and everybody’s input has been welcome,” Counsell said. “We’ve had good discussion about it. Certainly, you start out someplace and as you go through it, you have better ideas and get to a better place. That of course has happened. This is about everybody taking care of each other. We’re always trying to find ways to do that a little bit better.”

Counsell pointed to the season-opening series in Chicago as an example. Those watching on television might have seen things that constitute “bad habits,” at least in terms of baseball’s protection and prevention guidelines, but it’s all part of the process.

And while perfection may be impossible, efforts to improve on a daily basis will be the key to success.

“There’s room for improvement in everything we do,” Counsell said. “Look, we’re going to do things that don’t look good because we’re human and we’re not perfect. We’ve talked about it. It was really hot in the dugout (in Chicago) and that didn’t make it any easier. It’s not an excuse, it’s just facts. But we can always do everything better, there’s no question about it.”

Monday’s game did not end in time for this edition due to a 1 hour, 42-minute rain delay starting in the second inning.

Homecoming for Lindblom

Josh Lindblom will throw his first big league pitch in more than three years Tuesday night when he gets the start for the Brewers.

And thanks to the delay in starting the 2020 season, it just so happens he’ll throw that pitch in the exact same place he threw his last — and against the team for which he threw it.

Lindblom has not pitched in the majors since 2017, when he appeared in four games for the Pirates. He’d actually already logged two seasons in Korea but returned to the states when his daughter, Monroe, was born with a condition that required open-heart surgery shortly after her birth.

His time with the Pirates was short but marked a significant turning point in his career that would lead him to become the most dominant pitcher in the Korean Baseball Organization and, ultimately, a return to MLB.

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A third-round pick by the Astros in the 2005 MLB Draft, Lindblom went 5-8 with a 3.82 ERA in 110 appearances for the Dodgers, Phillies, Rangers and A’s when he made the decision to go to Korea and play for guaranteed money that would help support his growing family.

By Lindblom’s own admission, his first two seasons there weren’t overly impressive. He’d gone 23-24 with a 4.43 ERA in 62 starts for Lotte when he returned to the Pirates, but a simple question from pitching coach Ray Searage sparked Lindblom’s turnaround.

“He (asked), ‘When were you your best?’” Lindblom recalled. “We sat down and watched some video and I told him I was pretty good in 2015, and he said, ‘All right well let’s get back there.’”

Lindblom did, going 35-7 with a 2.68 ERA over his next two seasons in Korea, winning that league’s equivalent of the Cy Young Award both times and earning league MVP honors last season after going 20-3 with a 2.50 ERA in 30 starts,

That caught the attention of the Brewers, who brought Lindblom back to the United States with a three-year, $9.125 million contract in December.

Now, Lindblom gets a chance to pick up where he left off ... literally.

“My full intention was to finish my career in Asia,” Lindblom said. “If you had told me five years ago that I’d be sitting here right now talking to you (reporters), I’d say you were nuts.”

New faces

Catcher Manny Pina and infielder Jedd Gyorko got their first starts of the season as Counsell packed his lineup with right-handed batters against Pittsburgh left-hander Steven Brault and will likely do the same again Tuesday when the Pirates start left-hander Derek Holland.

The ability to make such wholesale changes a day-by-day and even an inning-by-inning basis is a reflection of how the Brewers’ roster was designed.

“We may have some different players finishing the game than started the game but that’s how we’re built,” Counsell said. “To get good matchups against pitchers and to take advantage of that.”

Braun returns, 1B still possible

Ryan Braun was back in the starting lineup, batting cleanup as the designated hitter after sitting out the final two games of the Cubs series.

While Braun didn’t see game action over the weekend in Chicago, he did get some pregame work in at first base — a process the Brewers had started with him before spring training was halted.

Counsell said the oblique injury that kept Braun out for most of the Brewers’ series of intrasquad scrimmages kept him from getting work in at the position during summer camp, but it’s likely Braun will get some action at first base as the season goes on.

“I don’t know when, but I do think you’ll see him at first base,” Counsell said.