We’re in that time of the season when everything counts. It’s hard to watch other teams doing what they do while we feel stuck, or even feel like we’re going backwards. The injury bug has bitten us recently, with Roman Anthony’s oblique injury making the deepest cut—to hopes of a well-rounded roster, possibly to our playoff dreams, and maybe especially, to our hearts.
It’s too early to know much, starting with how long he’ll really be out of the lineup. Some have speculated that since he’s so young,
he might be able to bounce back more quickly. As for our playoff hopes, Alex Cora has said it: “We keep going.”
Personally, I think the Red Sox will still make it. The playoff picture is anything but locked up, especially in the American League, so who knows…but Cora smartly handled the rotation earlier this week by giving Payton Tolle his rest. He’s managing for the stretch run. Losing the bullpen game on September 3 was dispiriting but when you’re looking at the big picture, sometimes you have to let some go. It’s time to regroup, “keep going,” see what happens.
I’m rooting for Anthony from my own sickbed after experiencing a significant setback.
In my physical therapist’s office this morning, I broke down in tears of despair and frustration. Over what? Over every freakin’ thing! Over the return of my huge limp, over being forced to downgrade to exercises I thought I’d graduated from a long time ago. Over feeling like all my hard work has been wasted. Over the summer that never happened at all for me.
My PT is pretty unflappable. She said, “Don’t compare yourself to what you used to be able to do, or to what other people are doing. You’re here right now and that’s what matters. How can you get better from here?”
Like me, the Red Sox have put in good, hard work, and we’re not ready to give up, so we have to do what we can. I have an idea of what Roman Anthony—and other players on the IL—may be feeling like on the sidelines. As for the rest of the team, I’m sure they don’t want to seem to let their injured teammate down. They want to keep going until he’s ready to return (which we all hope will be in time for a Red Sox postseason appearance). But it can’t be rushed, unfortunately. Ask me how I know.
Meanwhile, the front office simultaneously needs to think about the offseason and next year. Some recent extensions (Anthony himself, Aroldis Chapman) show that’s a priority. Good. Let’s hope Alex Bregman and Trevor Story don’t opt out. But what if they do? What if something else goes wrong? [Knock on wood.] Let’s let Craig Breslow worry about that while we keep playing down the stretch with all the best intentions, and all the rest that’s needed.
If that doesn’t work? Here’s an idea we might steal from the Dorking Wanderers, a pro football team in Surrey, England: they’re so decimated by injuries that they just signed a 54-year-old fan to play goalie. I’d volunteer, but I’m on the IL myself.
We’ll keep going.
