Justin Turner getting pulled from the Dodgers lineup in the eighth inning of World Series Game 6 was strange. Finding out Turner received confirmation of a positive COVID-19 test mid-game was categorized as “that’s so 2020” and seeing the third baseman return to the field without a mask was poor judgement.
Turner was vilified by baseball fans and the media for disobeying coronavirus protocols, but Chris Russo took a different approach during his Wednesday afternoon show on SiriusXM’s Mad Dog Sports Radio.
“I know everybody wants to pile on,” Russo said near the top of his show. “All the sanctimonious media guys all over America, writing from their living rooms in their homes, most of them not even in Arlington. They want to pile on. Go ahead, pile on, I’m not going to do it.”
“The Dodgers don’t care. Dave Roberts does not care,” said a fired up Mad Dog. “So if Dave Roberts doesn’t care, why should I do the bidding? Why should I scream at the top of my lungs? Roberts is a cancer survivor! He doesn’t care!”
Russo acknowledged it was poor judgement by Turner to not wear a mask, but he also wants everyone to remember that winning a championship is life’s work for an athlete. According to Russo, if the Dodgers were aware of Turner’s positive test and still wanted him out on the field, then that’s their choice.
“It wasn’t like Justin Turner went on the Long Island Railroad, on a packed car, [knowingly sick], shaking hands with everybody and spreading it to 3,000 Long Islanders commuting into the city,” Russo continued.
Turner did not come out of isolated quarantine to celebrate with the Dodgers, he was already with them in the clubhouse, dugout and field all day. If he did spread COVID-19 to any team personnel, the damage was likely already done prior to their few minutes of celebrating on the field.
Russo also noted that had the Rays won Tuesday night, finding a time to reschedule Game 7 of the World Series would have been interesting. The entire scope of the series could have been altered depending on how long Major League Baseball would have been willing to push the game back for further testing, giving pitchers an unprecedented amount of rest.
