MIAMI _ Wearing jerseys with their own names and their own numbers, the Miami Marlins on Tuesday took to the field for their pregame stretch to up-beat pop music playing loudly over the Marlins Park PA system. The frequency of their smiles and laughs increased. Their eyes held a normal amount of moisture.
Normalcy has not set in for the Marlins, not so soon after the weekend death of Jose Fernandez. But Tuesday brought something closer to it.
"The routine of the game is good for you, honestly," manager Don Mattingly said. "Because when you're out there, if you've been doing this almost the whole season, you get out on the field and it's almost like autopilot. Taking ground balls, swinging the bat. It's almost mindless, right? So it does feel good to be on the field. It feels good when you actually get to prepare for a game and things like that, because you forget for a minute."
For Mattingly, the threads of a normal routine come and go. Early Tuesday, as he woke up and eventually drove to work, felt OK. Then he walked in.
"Once you get to the building, and the building kind of brought up the emotion again," Mattingly said. "As soon as I walked inside the door and seeing the guard there, it kind of rushes back in to you."
Normalcy, too, comes in the form of practical details and logistics. The Marlins on Tuesday announced plans for Fernandez's memorial services. Fans are invited to gather Wednesday at Marlins Park's West Plaza _ outside the main entrance, where the makeshift shrine to Fernandez formed in recent days _ at 2 p.m. The funeral motorcade will depart from the stadium at 2:16 p.m.
There will also be a public viewing at St. Brendan Catholic Church in Miami. Guests can visit between 5-11 p.m. Wednesday.
On Thursday, Fernandez's family and team will hold a private mass.
"There's still more stuff going on for us that we'll be dealing with and dealing with as a group," Mattingly said.
Outfielder Giancarlo Stanton spent parts of Tuesday reliving the day prior, when the Marlins beat the Mets on a night that was part game, part wake. He has helped lead his teammates in being strong _ not being OK, necessarily, but being OK enough.
"When you know everyone is watching you and you still can't stop the tears, it's a feeling that is unbelievable," Stanton said of Monday night. "You look to your left, everyone is crying. To your right, everyone is crying. It's something special, something that will always stick with me forever.
"I didn't think a team could be tighter than we were before this. I was definitely wrong. The way we're all carrying each other and picking each other up. I love it. As sad of a situation as this is, we're making it as good as possible."
