Xander Bogaerts has some things he'd like to do differently after a trying 2017.
Personally, that means maybe not playing through an injury that clearly limited his play. Team-wise, it means putting . . . something . . . behind them.
"I mean we all know. We all know what was going on," Bogaerts told reporters in Fort Myers on Thursday, including WEEI.com's Rob Bradford. "I don't think I really want to get into details. . . . The quicker we move on is the better for all of us. We should look forward to this year, this is a new year. New expectations. Try to reach the playoffs again and get over that first round."
Whether Bogaerts was talking about the controversy surrounding David Price and Dennis Eckersley, or the Dustin Pedroia-Manny Machado dustup, or former manager John Farrell's hold on the clubhouse is unclear. But he's ready to move forward.
"It's a long season," Bogaerts said. "Whenever there are a lot of men in a room, there will always be some kind of headbutts, disagreements. But in the end we came out on top, division leaders, division champs, so we had to be doing something right. As grown men, we get past all those issues, problems and move forward.
"We're all grown men. I definitely believe we all learn from last year. We had a lot of stuff going on last year, to be honest. We all live learn and move forward."
And personally?
"It was an up and down year," Bogaerts said. "I learned a lot about myself while dealing with some stuff. I look forward to this year, taking those experiences and learning from them."
First lesson: don't play hurt if it means you can't play well.
Bogaerts injured his hand after being hit by a pitch on July 6 and he played through it, but by the time the All-Star break rolled around, he couldn't even swing at an inside fastball.
"It's not always you've got to force something," he said. "If you can play through something to a certain extent, you can do that. But don't always force it. Sometimes forcing it is not the best thing."
Does Bogaerts regret not taking a break?
"Honestly, a little bit," he said. "A little bit, honestly. But that's just who I am. I enjoy playing baseball. If I have something broken, that's probably the only way I won't be in the lineup. To a point, I do regret it, but it's over with. You live and you learn. It's a new year, so now you can deal with stuff better."
