For more than two months, Ron Roenicke has waited for the day of his first regular-season game as manager of the Red Sox.
Today, given the precarious state of the labor negotiations, there's no guarantee that day is any closer. In fact, there's no guarantee that the 2020 season will take place at all. And that uncertainty and the continued precautions being taken in the midst of the pandemic eat away at Roenicke.
"I'm still not comfortable being home,'' he said from his home in southern California. ''Even though this has been going on a while, I haven't gotten used to all of this stuff going on. And along with that, I still know this is May and I'm not supposed to be at home.''
So Roenicke has turned away some visits from friends, focusing on a season that he hopes will still happen.
"I'm not on vacation. That's not where I am,'' said Roenicke. "We're still trying to figure out how to do things and if we get going, a second training camp and the (regular) season. So I'm not shutdown. I'm still thinking about things every day, having conversation every day with Chaim (Bloom, chief baseball officer) or Brad (Pearson, head athletic trainer) on the medical end and physically getting guys ready or with the players.''
In a wide-ranging interview with BostonSportsJournal.com, Roenicke addressed a long list of topics:
- On the many health and safety protocols that will have to be observed:
- On the keys to succeeding in a shortened season:
- On the challenges associated with a shortened second spring training:
- On the difficulties of conducting spring training in Florida in June:
- On how a shorter season could impact strategy and aggressiveness:
- On debating the makeup of the 30-man roster:
- On developing a working relationship with new pitching coach Dave Bush at a time when managing pitching will be more critical than ever:
- On transitioning from bench coach to manager:
