Since arriving with the Red Sox in 2013 Xander Bogaerts has certainly gone through his fair share of three-game losing streaks.
This one, however, must feel different.
Sitting in the team's interview room while participating in the always somewhat-awkward postgame Zoom call with the media following the Red Sox' 7-4 loss to the Mets Monday night, Bogaerts exhibited the kind of emotional exhaustion four games of a season usually doesn't bring on.
But this year is different and this team is different.
When the 2013 or 2018 Red Sox were eliminating all losing streaks beyond three games a big part of it was getting together and figuring out what ailed them. This time around? The Red Sox can't even get together as a group nevermind hash out their issues.
A guy like Bogaerts is left sore and forlorn, having been bounced around on a tag play in the top of the first inning and then later feeling the effects as the game went on. The leadership that so many were looking forward to from the likes of the shortstop and Mitch Moreland remains diluted thanks to this current dynamic. Instead, you have players simply sitting outside their suites staring out onto an empty ballpark.
And then there is the void of energy while these holes are being dug.
Typically, the Fenway fans would have supplied somewhat of a push up out of the abyss during those late-inning last gasps. Not this time, as was evident with the Red Sox' one hit in eight at-bats with runners in scoring position.
"This whole thing is strange," Bogaerts said. "It’s what we signed up for this year and hopefully things get back to normal as soon as possible. We can’t be whining about this type of stuff. We’re the ones out there controlling our game. Obviously, we don’t have no fans behind us to cheer us on and give us some of that adrenaline that sometimes you need the pep up that we need. We’ve got to do it by ourselves, man, and just got to play better baseball."
No Rudy-on-a-stool speeches. No fans. And also very little pitching. And it is the final piece of that puzzle that might be leaving Bogaerts with the most angst.
This is a player who has lived his big-league life with proven major league starters in real-life major league starting rotations. Even after Nathan Eovaldi's stellar six-inning Opening Day outing, the Red Sox starting pitchers carry the majors' third-worst ERA (7.02), with the next man up (Matt Hall) someone who has never started a big-league game.
There are pieces here and there that may offer bits of hope. Zack Godley, for instance, looked like a legitimate starter when coming in for four innings, striking out seven and not allowing a run. Phillips Valdez has been an interesting arm out of the bullpen. And Brian Johnson, who would seem to be an upgrade over at least some of those we've been witnessing, is still in the organization.
But for the time being Chris Sale, Eduardo Rodriguez or anyone close to their cache aren't walking through that door and that presents a problem.
"Man, it’s rough, bro," he said. "To be honest, (expletive), it’s tough, it’s tough. Obviously it’s not just like one run. It’s a couple of runs and then they just find a way to add on before we can get something going. It kind of separated pretty quick by a couple of runs and it gets tough.”
This was not an upbeat Xander Bogaerts ... pic.twitter.com/URg10sprv6
— Rob Bradford (@bradfo) July 28, 2020
