BOSTON -- Let’s face it. In his first season as manager of the Red Sox, Ron Roenicke really didn’t have much of a shot to win.
Before the games even started, he lost his two best starting pitchers for the season in Chris Sale and Eduardo Rodriguez.
And the pitching rotation was thin even before those two guys went down. Since then, there have been additional injuries and also four veteran players who got traded.
In a somewhat humorous moment, a reporter asked Roenicke before Wednesday’s game against the Braves how he has kept his sanity.
Truth be told, Roenicke has earned respect throughout the clubhouse for the way he’s managed a tough situation.
“Ron cares. Ron truly cares,” said Red Sox center fielder Jackie Bradley Jr. “He gets it in the sense of, he’s not just a manager. He’s someone you can come to and speak to on a personal level. My hat’s off to him, with everything that’s transpired over this offseason and all of the stuff that went down.
“Ron has an unbelievably hard job right now and he’s stepped up to the plate and he’s done a tremendous job with the hand he has been dealt. I have so much respect for him. This has been a tough year with everything going on and I believe he was the right man to do this job.”
At the ballpark, Roenicke never gets visibly down, despite the tough situation for his team. Perhaps that’s because he knows how to compartmentalize when he leaves the ballpark.
“And when I go home, instead of dwelling on this, I jump into a book and I read,” said Roenicke. “I’ve read more this year than I’ve ever read in my life. And I like to read a lot. So it shows you how much I’ve read. I’m going through so many books I can’t tell you. That keeps me sane.”
What will you find in Roenicke’s home library?
“I’m all over the map,” said Roenicke. “But my favorite author is Vince Flynn, who passed away probably about three years ago now. Louis L’Amour, I love Westerns, I’ve read every one of his. He’s got about 110 books. I’ve probably read every one of his two or three times. I love, right now, Nick Petrie, I’m kind of all over the place. If you have any suggestions, you guys, let me know, I’m looking for authors.”
Finding his next book is much easier for Roenicke than trying to manage games with precious few solid pitching options.
“I think the easy way to do this is [to] focus on trying to get people better. As long as I focus on that, then the wins and losses don’t get to me as much,” said Roenicke. “I’m not somebody who likes to lose a lot. If you’re playing really good baseball and you’re losing, I’m a little better with that. But it gets to you after a while.
“Unfortunately, I have to look out there every day, I stare straight across the pitcher and I look out to the left field line, and I see us sitting in last place. And every day that bothers me. So I don’t like that at all.”
JBJ ready for free agency
Bradley will be the team’s most significant free agent this offseason, and he looks forward to seeing how that process will unfold.
Chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom mentioned in the hours after Monday’s Trade Deadline passed that the Red Sox have interest in keeping Bradley beyond this season. However, there have been no negotiations.
“I think that’s just something they communicated with y’all at this point. I’ll be a free agent in a couple [months],” said Bradley. “That’s the cool thing about free agency -- you get to weigh out your options.”
One thing Bradley is enthused about is that his wife, Erin, and daughter, Emerson, will come to Boston for the first time this season on Thursday.
“I’ll get home once the season’s done,” Bradley said. “You don’t leave until your job is done. That’s what I plan on doing. Good thing about family is they can always come to you. So I’ll see them tomorrow.”
Pérez eager for 2021
Despite the struggles the Red Sox have had as a team this season, lefty starter Martín Pérez has no regrets about signing with Boston. And he’s hopeful the club picks up his $6.25 million option for the 2021 season.
“I’m enjoying being in this organization, the way they help me and train me,” said Pérez. “I believe in the Boston Red Sox. It’s a tough year for everybody, but we just need to continue to believe and next year is going to be a different year.”
Pérez, who was bothered by a blister in his last start, will take the ball on Thursday, one day later than originally scheduled. He said he feels much better.
Roster move
Lefty Kyle Hart, who has struggled mightily in his first four Major League appearances, was placed on the injured list prior to Wednesday’s game with a left hip impingement. Hart suffered the injury while making a nice play in Tuesday’s game.
To replace Hart on the roster, the Red Sox have recalled righty Andrew Triggs from the alternate training site in Pawtucket, R.I. Boston claimed the 31-year-old on waivers from the Giants on Aug. 19.