Right when it seemed like the COVID-19 pandemic was winding down, the Delta Variant came about and has resulted in another surge and people taking more precautions again. A reporter at Wrigley Field was wearing a mask up in the press box, and this apparently irked struggling Chicago Cubs pitcher Jake Arrieta during his video call on Wednesday night.

Via The Athletic's Patrick Mooney:

Jake Arrieta sat in the Wrigley Field interview room late Wednesday night for a video conference after a 10-0 loss to the Brewers. While giving an answer about hoping to mentor young pitchers, Arrieta looked at the screen and told a reporter up in the press box: “I’d love you to take your mask off. I don’t think anybody’s around you.”

This isn't a good look given the circumstances, though it's not all that surprising coming from Arrieta. The Cubs pitcher has publicly expressed skepticism about the COVID-19 vaccines and seems like a dude who doesn't think any of this is a big deal. There's a lot of that going around, which has led to some disastrous results around the country.

Meanwhile, Arrieta's pitching has also been disastrous this season. After a decent start, he has fallen off a cliff. He recently returned from the IL and has only continued to get rocked, including in Wednesday's start against the Milwaukee Brewers. The veteran righty gave up a whopping seven runs in the first inning before settling down to give up eight runs total in four innings. He has an ERA of 6.88 this season.

The Cubs are in a state of transition after trading away a number of their stars from their 2016 World Series team. Arrieta was also on that squad, but at this point, there's not much reason to keep him around much longer.