Off-field challenges adding to difficulty for Red Sox

The actual games themselves have always been challenging enough.

Major League Baseball is a difficult place to remain for an extended period of time. Players who enjoy extended careers are truly the best of the best. There is always someone around the corner waiting to take your place on one of the game’s 30 rosters.

Playing the sport in the midst of a pandemic has added a host of new challenges, and the Red Sox have yet to fully adjust through the first two weeks. [...]

The actual games themselves have always been challenging enough.

Major League Baseball is a difficult place to remain for an extended period of time. Players who enjoy extended careers are truly the best of the best. There is always someone around the corner waiting to take your place on one of the game’s 30 rosters.

Playing the sport in the midst of a pandemic has added a host of new challenges, and the Red Sox have yet to fully adjust through the first two weeks. They entered Sunday night’s series finale with the Yankees at just 3-6 and searching for some traction.

"You’ve got to have trust in yourself this year more than any other year," Boston shortstop Xander Bogaerts said. "There are no fans out there cheering for you. When you’re hitting it feels like you’re even more by yourself in that box.

"It’s hard. This is difficult. You’ve just got to grind through it."

Saturday brought a sobering reminder to the club of just how serious COVID-19 and its impact have been across the nation. Eduardo Rodriguez will not pitch for the Red Sox in 2020 as he recovers from myocarditis, an inflammation of the heart muscle developed by up to 20% of patients diagnosed with the virus. Boston chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom made the news official prior to a 5-2 defeat against New York.

"I think it kind of opens everybody’s eyes up – the guys who were doubting this thing," Red Sox pitcher Nathan Eovaldi said. "You have it happen to one of our own and it really opens your eyes.

"When it is your heart you have to take it serious. It’s not just a small injury. You’ve got to trust the process and trust the doctors. Hopefully him having some time to recover is going to be all he needs."

Rodriguez’s health is for more important than smaller things like no access to in-game video or being confined to hotel rooms on off days, but there is certainly a cumulative effect being felt by those in the Boston clubhouse. The Red Sox will travel Monday for their two-game series at Tampa Bay this week, flying straight into one of the nation’s virus hot spots in Florida.

"Fine with the travel there," Boston manager Ron Roenicke said. "I think we’re doing the right things as far as the plane flight. But it is concerning going there and getting to the hotel. And it’s concerning with an off day.

"You want guys to go out and relax and do some things they enjoy, and we know that’s probably not a good idea. We’ve talked to all of them. Some of them have come in and talked to us and asked us for an opinion on doing some things. We give them what we think.

"You hate to restrict them and say, ‘Hey, you need to spend the whole day in your room for the 24 hours.’ But the pool is probably not a good idea. It’s tough."

Certain concerns at the ballpark have hitters like Bogaerts and J.D. Martinez struggling to find new routines. Squeezing multiple people into confined spaces is discouraged, and that’s led MLB to close video rooms located just off dugouts in most ballparks. Martinez is among the most diligent students in the game when it comes to studying both his own swing and opposing pitchers.

"Not being able to see videos, in-game at-bats, is something that’s hurt a lot of us on the team," Bogaerts said. "I’m one of them. After an at-bat I’d go straight to the video room to see if it was a strike or what I’m doing wrong. Now it’s show up and play."

bkoch@providencejournal.com

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On Twitter: @BillKoch25