This will probably get about 4 views because the title says it all. And I dont want focus on the loss here. It doesn’t matter. Any loss now and any win doesn’t really matter.
When the Sox hit 12 games out after that Yankees sweep, the AL pennant race was officially dead. And now that the boys of summer are 8 back of the wild card, those hopes are pretty much dead.
It’s a giant punch to the gut seeing as this team went to immeasurable heights last season when setting a franshise win record and then obviously cruising to a WS title. But the worst part of all this is seeing how well the offense is producing. This Red Sox team is hitting better at the plate, top to bottom, than they were last year. JD and Mookie aren’t putting up the same homerun stats, but their BA and OPS are basically similar. And not just that, the entire team’s slash line (.274/.344/.818) is currently higher than what it was last year (.268/.339/.792). Shouts out Baseball Reference.
Now granted, this 2019 team still hasn’t played as many games as last year’s meaning there is plently of time for this to change. But, this team still ranks in the top 5 amoung team BA/OBP/OPS for all 30 MLB teams. We have guys at the middle and bottom of the order absolutely raking and it is flat out fun to watch. Devers is 100% surpassing everyone’s expectations at the plate, and Bogaerts continues to be the best MLB shortstop on both sides of the field.
It’s just this damn pitching getting in the way of a successful season. Ya, Dombrowski didn’t go out and do his job to self correct the issue. But at the end of the day, all of us didn’t expect this rotation and bullpen to be as bad as they are right now. I’m sure even Mookie and Brock are shocked by how terrible these guys have been. I’m not sure if a breaking point has hit yet, but it’s bound to happen. Someone in that club house has to blow a fuse soon on the pitchers, because the Sox are currently scoring 5.7 runs a game yet continue to fall flat.
And if you think these players are too even keeled to explode on a teammate, then I suggest you watch tonight’s Red Sox post game. Xander, who had a game tying double in the ninth, looked about as frustrated as Bo Burnham trying to get Pringles from the bottom of a Pringles can. Kudos to him becasue he kept that anger on lock down like gold in Fort Hood, but you can only hold back on co-workers for so long before they start costing you money down the line.
Anything But E 