Alex Cora's Red Sox are underperforming, and there's no sugarcoating it. (Photo by Duane Burleson/Getty Images)Getty Images
The Red Sox didn’t make Alex Cora the highest-paid manager in baseball history for moral victories.
They didn’t sell off an important fraction of their farm system to acquire Garrett Crochet — or pay him $170 million — for them either. And they didn’t hand Alex Bregman a $40 million check, on what’s effectively a one-year deal, so they could hold their heads high and say “Good try!” after big series like the one this week in Detroit, where they were swept in three games.
These Red Sox expected better. They should be playing better. Moral victories and strong efforts were cute in 2023 and 2024, when player development was the North Star and the postseason, quietly, would be fun-but-not-necessary. But not now, with a team built to contend after an off-season that, 12 months later than promised, was finally “full-throttle.”
On Wednesday, after Boston’s second straight walk-off loss to the Tigers, Cora offered a big-picture view that was measured, not apoplectic, and frankly, not urgent enough.
“To be honest with you, this one wasn’t as tough as yesterday,” Cora said. “I think we competed the right way. We did a good job against the best pitcher in the big leagues. It just happened we ran out of time. They scored in the ninth. But I’m pleased with the effort and the way we went about it.
“Obviously, we got swept here. It sucks. But I’m not even thinking about that. I thought the last two days, we competed.”
The Red Sox have “competed” a lot this year. So much so, in fact, that 16 of their 45 games have been decided by a lone run. Twelve of those (75%) have been won by the opponent. That sounds like a team that has turned wins into losses like it did Wednesday, when after a sound approach against ace Tarik Skubal and a furious, bottom-of-the-lineup-fueled comeback, a once-in-a-lifetime catch, not just one, but two, big chances to score the go-ahead run slip away in the late innings. One night after Garrett Whitlock and Greg Weissert combined to blow three leads, Aroldis Chapman was the bullpen culprit when he issued a leadoff walk that led to the game-winning run.
The record in close games should even out at some point. But the intangible feel around this team is one of unfulfilled promise. The Red Sox are now 0-16 when trailing after six innings. They’ve been walked off five times in 25 road games. They haven’t won or lost more than three games in a row since Patriots Day, a stretch in which they’re 10-12. A team that had a tad of momentum after two straight wins over a talented Rangers team and salvaged a 3-3 homestand was walked off three times on its six-game Midwest road trip and laughably blown out once.
“We cannot get games back, but we’re not that far off,” mused the manager. “It’s 4-12 in one-run games. We’ve been playing close games. I’m pleased with the effort. Obviously, not with the results. But it seems like in the American League, everybody’s playing .500 too.”
That part he’s right about. The Red Sox, even at 22-23, are just four games back of first-place in their division after play Wednesday. With less than two weeks to go before the all-important Memorial Day checkpoint, they haven’t even faced the Yankees yet. They’re two games out of a playoff spot in a league in which eight wild card contenders are separated by four games. They haven’t fallen too far back in the standings to panic, but they haven’t separated themselves from the pack, either. And that’s a concerning reality.
Tell any Red Sox fan on Opening Day that Crochet would have a 1.93 ERA through nine starts, Bregman would have a .981 OPS on May 15, Wilyer Abreu would have 11 homers, Chapman wouldn’t have a blown save, Campbell would have been the AL Rookie of the Month and Devers would be the hottest hitter in baseball for stretches and a really, really good record would be squarely in play. But Tanner Houck’s struggles, a downturn from Jarren Duran (.674 OPS), 11 blown saves from non-Chapman types and Triston Casas’ season-ending injury as well as the ensuing Devers drama have simply told the story of a team that — stop us if you’ve heard this before — whose lows have been lower than its highs have been high.
At least reliever Liam Hendriks, who is patently incapable of sugarcoating, can tell it how it is.
“We’re definitely underperforming what we think we can do,” Hendriks said. “There has been a lot of games we think we should have been able to take. Now, it’s a matter of turning those games we’re not supposed to win into wins. That’ll flip the script.
“There’s a lot of room for improvement with the entire group. As long as we keep coming to the field every day, there’s a lot of talent in this clubhouse.”
After a quick flight home from Detroit, the Red Sox have some time to think about how they want to flip that script. They have an off day Thursday and 24 hours to regroup before a long — but very tough — homestand that includes visits from the talented Braves, Mets and Orioles. The task starts with a marquee Chris Sale vs. Crochet matchup under the Fenway lights Friday night.
“I think we can really make a push,” Hendriks said. “The good thing is we’re still in striking distance in the East, which is the big thing.”
