The Rockies are seemingly a long way from the COVID-19 pandemic that has paused the Marlins’ season and disrupted the schedules of several teams in the East divisions, but Rockies manager Bud Black said that preventive measures against the coronavirus are at the front of everyone’s minds.

Black noted that Nationals manager Dave Martinez, who has had heart issues and expressed his fears -- his team will not play an originally scheduled weekend series at Miami -- was a teammate of Black's with the Giants from 1993-94, and he feels close to him.

“We’re concerned about our entire group, even when we get back to Denver, with special emphasis on the older guys who are part of our traveling party and part of our team,” Black said. “I know that our medical staff, led by [head athletic trainer] Keith Dugger, is doing a great job of watching everybody, young and old.

“The mindset of our group is to keep going forward, do what we need to do as far as mask-wearing, social distancing, cleanliness. We’re doing what we need to do.

“Our medical team and in my position, we’re watching out for each other -- some of the guys who are older. But we’re going to continue to go through with a positive mindset that we’re going to keep playing, keep moving forward.”

Genuine appreciation
Two players with Rockies ties were so emotional Sunday, they could be forgiven for briefly ignoring physical distancing guidelines.

Braves lefty reliever Tyler Matzek struck out two Mets in a scoreless inning -- his first Major League appearance May 6, 2015, when a rough start for the Rockies against the D-backs derailed his promising career. Braves bench coach Walt Weiss, who was the Rockies’ manager when Matzek was deep in his struggles, knew just how far the pitcher had come.

“I was like a kid in a candy store,” Matzek told reporters. “After the game, [Weiss] came in the clubhouse. I know we’re supposed to be social distancing, but he gave me a hug. I just appreciate everything he has ever done for me. He’s always had my back.”

Matzek also has a connection to a pitcher who has gone through similar issues: Rockies righty reliever Daniel Bard, whose strong 1 1/3 innings Saturday at Texas marked his first Major League appearance in seven years and his first win in eight years -- after his own bout with control issues.

Matzek spent last spring with the D-backs. Bard was working as a mental skills coach for that team, and part of his technique was throwing with players while talking to them. Bard’s delivery showed up that way.

“He’s just a great dude,” Matzek said. “We have a lot in common with our baseball experiences. We were able to talk, and I wouldn’t say figure it out together, but I definitely picked up some things he said, and I hope he picked up some things I said. He’s got a great story, and the man is electric.”

Couldn’t find it in Denver
During Summer Camp, the Rockies released righty reliever Bryan Shaw before the final year of a three-year, $27 million contract. (They also parted with lefty reliever Jake McGee, who signed for the same years and money). Shaw has hooked on with the Mariners, and said that his stuff didn’t work in Denver.

“I got there and the sliders didn’t work,” Shaw said. “It didn’t matter what we did. We tried to tinker with it. We tried to change it. We tried to do different stuff and it just basically fell by the wayside. So, basically, I became a cutter-primary [pitcher] with kind of a little cement-mixer slider that didn’t really do anything. I think that attributed a lot to the adverse results that I had.”

Shaw made several offseason trips to Driveline, a baseball performance business in the Seattle area to try to find something that would work in Denver. But now he’ll be throwing sliders in Seattle.

Black said Shaw was professional through his struggles.

“I thought it was a great fit with us, that there were moments and there were there were spurts where Bryan threw the ball great,” Black said. “He didn't lose any velocity, you know, the movement on his pitches was still comparable. He just had a hard time consistently locating the ball, getting the ball in good spots. But Bryan never wavered in his competitiveness."