Walking into PNC Park on this steamy, soggy Thursday afternoon, I was struck by the sight of new black-mesh fencing being erected on the main concourse behind home plate. This a day after temporary tents popped up closer to the field.
Should've guessed: More safety.
Inside the fencing, as seen in the pic I snapped above, the Pirates' strength and conditioning coaches were setting up exercise bikes. Maybe a dozen of them. Stretching all the way down the first base line. Right where ushers would typically be taking fans' tickets. Right where vendors would typically be selling beer, peanuts and stuffed Potato Pete toys.
This setup, plus the tents, are part of the plan to keep players, coaches and other team personnel and participants more socially distanced once the real games begin a week from now.
Yeah, they're all tested every other day. Yeah, there's a Purell dispenser every few feet throughout the place. And yeah, there was a worker spraying seats in the upper deck as the team scrimmaged far below ...
... which I still can't believe I witnessed.
But then, consider this assessment afterward from Derek Shelton, the new field manager who often steps way out into the seating areas to watch his players: "There’s things that happen that we don’t discuss, whether they're injury-wise or test-wise. And the biggest part of it -- I think we talked about it the first day we met -- is we just have to adapt and adjust to what's put in front of us. And that’s what we’re doing every day. We’re going with what we have."
They really are.
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