There are no easy answers these days.
It's a realty that has been front and center throughout the important social justice conversations over the past few days. And now it is taking root in something not nearly as important -- yet suddenly top-of-mind -- the Major League Baseball trade deadline.
For starters, Martin Perez couldn't have complicated the situation any more than he did with this start against the Nationals.
Coming into Friday night this was a pitcher who had defined himself as one of potentially the best starting pitching pieces on the trade market, carrying a 3.45 ERA through six starts. He was so good that the debate had bubbled up into whether or not the Red Sox should actually trade him or view Perez as a fairly inexpensive piece of their rotation for 2021, with the team holding a $6.5 million club option on the lefty for next year.
The Blue Jays had surrendered a valued prospect for free-agent-to-be Taijuan Walker earlier in the week, and Perez was placing himself up there with the Angels' Dylan Bundy as a very logical starting pitching target for contending teams. (It appears Trevor Bauer, the premier pitcher in the upcoming free-agent class, will not be made available by a Reds team that is still going to try and make the postseason.)
The only uncertainty when it came to Perez's performance was what happened in 2019 when he dominated for his first eight starts before falling off a cliff.
But this time it appeared as though the 29-year-old had figured things out, getting better which each outing. That was until his latest go-round.
Perez allowed six runs over four innings to the defending world champs, boosting his ERA to 4.58. And to top it all off, now he has a blister.
"I think in the third inning, I was throwing pitches around the zone, just behind the count," he explained. "I changed the way I’d pitched from the first two innings. I have a blister on my finger, too. That was bothering me a little bit finishing my pitches, especially the breaking pitch. I think that’s what happened tonight."
What it means is that Perez has probably secured his lot in life as a member of the Red Sox for longer than many initially thought.
"I think I have more experience and one thing I’ve been talking with my agent is that I feel like I’m at home. I feel great here," he said. "I feel comfortable. I think the fans give me a lot of support too. I appreciate that. I feel good. And they trust me. They signed me here for one reason, that’s what I got, the mentality every five days to compete and do my job. I want to make a good performance every five days and help the team win. I know this is a bad outing, one bad inning, but that’s part of the game. Just come back tomorrow and be ready to go out there when they give me the ball again and compete."
Then there are some of the other guys.
J.D. Martinez? After going 0-for-4 he is now hitting .205. Kevin Pillar, once thought to be perhaps one of the Red Sox' most valued trade chips, did have one hit but is down to .257. Jackie Bradley Jr. also had a hit but also fanned twice, slightly drawing away attention from his recent hot streak.
There is obviously a lot on a lot of minds these days. As we were reminded Friday night, Monday's deadline is just adding to the issues.