I’m a lifelong procrastinator. In center college I often did homework on the bus within the morning, sheepishly handing in assignments that had been lined with scribbles and pencil holes as a result of, because it seems, doing lengthy division on a shifting bus because it rumbles over potholes and railroad tracks isn’t an excellent concept. In school I by no means left for sophistication till the final minute — or what I believed was the final minute — and was invariably late. At the same time as an grownup and the daddy of three kids I nonetheless procrastinate. Have I finished my taxes but? Booked that worldwide flight for subsequent month? Scheduled that physician’s appointment as a result of my jaw’s been making clicking noises within the morning? No, no, and no. However I’ll get to all that. Ultimately.
As fellow procrastinators know, what triggers procrastination isn’t the issue of no matter process you’re pushing aside, and it isn’t laziness. No, procrastination is a psychological and emotional concern. It’s about pushing aside sure troublesome selections or actions as a result of, as soon as these selections are made, you’ve created a brand new actuality that you just now must dwell in, no backsies. What for those who make the flawed resolution? What for those who hate the brand new actuality you’ve created? What if that call simply forces you into even more durable selections? We don’t wish to face these uncertainties, so we don’t. We ignore no matter dilemma we’re presently going through and hope it by some means goes away by itself.
Generally that works! Generally you get a momentary reprieve from the stress to behave. You stroll into the classroom nonetheless scrambling to complete your homework and discover there’s a substitute trainer. You get up at some point and your jaw feels regular once more. April 15 comes and it doesn’t matter that you just didn’t end your taxes, as a result of all the federal authorities has been dismantled and the IRS has been changed by a single 22-year-old school dropout auditing individuals on a Google Spreadsheet that he forgot to password-protect. Nothing — and I imply nothing — feels higher than these non permanent stays of execution. However sadly, they are non permanent. Ultimately the axe falls.
All of that is to say: Craig Breslow, I see you.
It’s been virtually a month because the Red Sox signed Alex Bregman to an enormous three-year free agent deal. As I wrote then, whereas including expertise to the roster is rarely a nasty concept, the deal raised quite a lot of questions given Bregman’s awkward positional match. Actually, as I later stated on The Monsters of Sox podcast, I felt that I couldn’t totally consider the deal on the time as a result of absolutely there can be a corresponding transfer to clear the positional logjam the Pink Sox created for themselves by signing a 3rd baseman whereas already having a 3rd baseman. Somebody can be traded, or designated for task or shuffled across the diamond. Proper? Proper?? As soon as that occurred, then we’d be capable of view the deal in its totality and cross judgment on it, with all its supposed or unintended penalties.
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Picture by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Pink Sox/Getty Pictures
Properly, we’re now lower than three weeks away from Opening Day and no corresponding transfer has been made. We nonetheless don’t know the place Alex Bregman, Rafael Devers, Vaughn Grissom, Kristian Campbell, or Masataka Yoshida will likely be taking part in. And, regardless of an preliminary announcement that Bregman would play second, he has but to play a single inning of spring ball on that aspect of the bag and, according to reports, is just not even doing a lot work over there. So what does Breslow must say about this now?
“Yeah, I imply, there’s an excellent likelihood that we’d wish to have him taking extra reps [at second]. But in addition, it’s March 6, so I don’t wish to say something conclusively exterior of, there are a selection of younger guys that we’re additionally actually enthusiastic about, and there are solely so many second base reps, third base reps, shortstop reps to go round.
“We have now a reasonably good concept of what sure guys are in a position to do, and we’re nonetheless making an attempt to know what others are. Clearly, sooner or later right here quickly, we’re going to wish to make some extra definitive selections.”
Hi there, fellow procrastinator! What’s up, man! We must always hang around a while —not as we speak, or tomorrow, or subsequent week, however, you recognize a while sooner or later. No must decide to something now!
Truthfully, I’ve by no means associated to the Pink Sox entrance workplace extra. Craig Breslow and the Pink Sox nonetheless haven’t made the choice about the place Bregman, Devers, and Yoshida are going to play as a result of they haven’t been pressured to. Devers’ mysterious and lingering shoulder damage has given them their momentary reprieve. As Breslow alludes to, it’s even given them a chance to get an prolonged have a look at Mikey Romero at second and Marcelo Mayer at third. No issues over right here! One way or the other, an damage to the most effective participant on the Pink Sox has been an excellent factor for the Pink Sox. Or it’s been good for the Pink Sox’ procrastinating entrance workplace, not less than.
However, as Craig Breslow says, they received’t be capable of postpone the choice endlessly. There’ll come a time limit when all of Devers, Bregman, and Yoshida are wholesome and able to produce for the large league staff, to say nothing of Grissom, Campbell, Mayer, and David Hamilton, who proved himself to be a viable Main Leaguer final 12 months and now has no concept the place he sits on the second base depth chart. And I already forgot about Mikey Romero, regardless of having simply talked about him within the earlier paragraph!
This stuff work themselves out, some will say. And there could be some reality to that, not less than within the short-run. Kristian Campbell is just not presently forcing himself into the Pink Sox lineup. And with Devers’ damage delaying his preparation and probably hampering his potential to throw, the Opening Day lineup card might write itself: Devers at DH, Bregman at third, and Vaughn Grissom at second. However that also leaves the 26-man roster with two left-handed DHs, one in every of whom will grow to be the world’s costliest pinch-hitter. That also leaves 5 gamers (Yoshida, Hamilton, Romy Gonzalez, Rob Refsnyder, and the TBD backup catcher) for 4 bench spots. That also leaves the Sox with no clear plan of what to do when the roster will get much more crowded as their prime prospects pressure themselves as much as the large leagues.
And, oh yeah: Alex Bregman may opt-out on the finish of the season, at which level we’ll must determine this out over again.
However that’s a very long time away — eight-to-nine months away not less than. No must rush into something, proper Craig?
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