Everybody is trying to figure this out. That includes reporters.
Sunday afternoon Jason Mastrodonato joined the rest of the Red Sox beat writers in covering what would be the team's 20th loss of a season -- a 5-4 defeat to the Orioles. The Boston Herald beat guy took what access was available, in this case having to swap out watching the game from the press box at Camden Yards for viewing it on television. And when the game was over there was no rush to the clubhouse, but only the quest to find a quiet place in his brother's apartment for the postgame Zoom calls. (For a complete box score of the latest loss, click here.)
All of it -- on the field, off the field, in the bedrooms -- is an odd dynamic. That was only highlighted thanks to one quick compliment from Kevin Pillar.
It's different for everybody, with life as a member of the 22-8 Dodgers certainly not the same as those wearing Red Sox uniforms, as Mookie Betts -- who hit two more home runs Sunday and now has 11 on the season -- can attest. But with Tuesday representing the halfway point, we can agree this is very different, nonetheless. And the coming days are going to most likely represent the most idiosyncratic week to date ... with the hospital-corner compliment kicking things off.
For starters, after Pillar and Co. finished their postgame in Baltimore they boarded a plane for Buffalo, of all places. And not only do the Red Sox have to play their next three games in the Northern New York city but it will be the first off-day where an entire Major League Baseball team is confined to Erie County hotel rooms.
And that is just the jumping-off point for what could be a career-altering few days for some on this team.
Take Jackie Bradley Jr., for instance. Up until just the other day, the outfielder's existence was being defined by 23 games. Twenty-three games! The reputation that Bradley Jr. built over his career had been dented thanks to a less-than-one-month run that saw his OPS sitting at .593. Ironically, it was actually better than his first 23 games in 2019 which saw the lefty hitter's average sit at .143 with a .399 OPS and no home runs.
But in the case of that 2019 start, Bradley Jr. had five more months to straighten things out. This time? He had one more week before the fate of the free-agent-to-be would be determined at the trade deadline.
Now, two days later, Bradley Jr. has his first two home runs of the season and his OPS is creeping back up to a career average of .725. But how will he do in Buffalo? Welcome to the wonderful world of weird questions we have to ask during this MLB season.
This isn't just a big week for Bradley Jr. There will be a long list of players on this first-to-20-losses roster that won't be around in eight days. That was a reminder they all received Friday night with the trade of Brandon Workman and Heath Hembree.
"It’s hard when you have two guys get traded who are a big part of this team," Pillar noted. "A guy like Brandon Workman, who has been the closer for this team the last couple years. Two guys who have been a part of helping this organization win a World Series get traded yesterday, it’s obviously a gut punch. It’s obviously a reality of where we put ourselves as a team allowing the front office to make the moves they made. Ultimately it’s our job as professionals to compete every day on the field."
But it continues to be more and more difficult not to view this Red Sox season with most of the attention placed on individual parts instead of the team's daily outcomes.
Alex Verdugo has had an impressive introductory month, as has Martin Perez and Pillar. If Mitch Moreland played more he would be considered a Top 5 MVP candidate. Zack Godley? Well, he represents the group of newcomers brought in by Chaim Bloom that has been more of the problem than the solution, with the righty's latest start lasting just 2 2/3 innings after throwing 70 pitches and giving up three runs.
It will be odd to look back at some of these players' tenures with the Red Sox, having to define their existences and as little time as five weeks in some cases. Fair? Probably not. Just ask Brock Holt who came back to play with the Brewers despite the impending birth of his second child for the sole reason of trying to keep his career going in the right direction. But after going 2-for-30 and being designated for assignment by Milwaukee, the infielder is probably worse off than if he didn't play.