Red Sox: A sinking ship

    

    Times are tough in the city! The once great Boston Red Sox are a team struggling to maintain mediocrity at the moment. Early in the season through the month of May the Boston Red Sox looked like flawed but fun team that could be a fringe playoff team that could challenge for a wild card. They had a high flying offense! A team that had a deep pen that once the starters got into the right groove they would be a top contender in the AL East challenging the likes of Baltimore and Tampa. 

    Fast forward to June and the rails are just coming off the track. The plane is nose diving the ship is sinking... its not good. Chris Sale goes down to the 60 day IL with a stress reaction in his left shoulder blade. So your ace goes down, after carrying the team in his last 4 starts. Then Devers starts to go into a real slump I mentioned these in my last posts. Lately though the defense has just gotten worse. The team just lacks discipline and it is costing them wins.

    So far through 68 games the 2022 Boston Red Sox were 37-31, the current 2023 Boston Red Sox through are 33-35. The team is going in the wrong direction, and the sad truth is... of course they are! Just look at the off season moves! You lose your star homegrown talent to free agency, your rock in the infield you lost Xander Boagaerts, who really plugged lots of wholes in this ship. A captain in the field and a consistent glove in the infield. Now the holes are exposed and this ship is going under. You lost JD Martinez to the Los Angeles Dodgers who is having a career year, he will be in the all star game. Don't even get me started on Mookie Betts who is having an MVP year and is in the running for the most valuable player! 

    Every single player except Connor Wong in the field is an offensive minded player they got to the big leagues off of they're bat so coaching can really only do so much. Paraphrasing Lou Merloni from the Gresh and Fauria show on WEEI "you can have them work harder but it will only go so far, it will never be as good as a defensive player" Despite offense being they're strength the Red Sox can't even get they're bats going now, so it really all is just falling apart at the seams. Now that the Celtics and Bruins are eliminated as well it is all being highlighted in the city, the team is under the microscope and they are falling apart. 

    Looking at it now it looks like the Red Sox will end up as sellers at the deadline. They're was a glimpse early in the season of what they could be, but the reality is they came back to earth. In terms of selling I wouldn't be surprised if the Sox went with Paxton he has been a great player for them, I'd hate to see such a reliable arm leave but trying to get a package from him could help in the long term. Other players on the sell list for the Sox could be Justin Turner, Adam Duvall, or Nick Pivetta. These are pieces that a contending teams could put a package together to acquire to help contend in the playoffs.