Red Sox through the month of August

     

    The August first trade deadline has come and gone... and oh boy this team responded. The Boston Red Sox throughout the month of August have gone 13-15, going from 2.5 games out of the wild card on July 31st to now here on August 31st, 6.5 games out. Going into the August 1st trade deadline the Boston Red Sox front office informed the team and the fans that their big acquisitions at the trade deadline would be the return of players currently on the roster coming off of injury. Those being Chris Sale, Trevor Story, Garret Whitlock, and Tanner Houck. 3 of 4 of the players were starting pitchers in the rotation and the 4th was the defensive glove at short stop and versatile bat the club signed from Coors Field Colorado in free agency.  To be noted Chaim did make a minor move trading for Luis Urias who has been a decent glove in the infield and brought in 2 grand slams. He has been solid but it has not been enough to address the glaring issues with the club, reliable starting pitching.

    Post deadline the team had a pivotal weekend 3 game series with the Toronto Blue Jays, the one other wild card team in their way. The series took place in Fenway Park, the Red Sox had swept the Jays in the both of the prior series that season between the two clubs. The Red Sox in a massive series at home to put themselves in the wild card and finally put themselves in the conversation for a playoff berth... got swept, in embarrassing fashion. Losing the final game 13-1 where they ran one of their infamous opener full bullpen games.

    Fast-forward to the end of the month, the Red Sox had a decent spot to set up a cushion against the Kansas City Royals, Detroit Tigers, Washington Nationals, and New York Yankees. The Red Sox would drop 4 games in the 13 game stretch not horrible but not good enough previewing the following stretch. The Red Sox would have to travel to minute maid park to play the reigning World Series Champions. The stacked Space City Houston Astros. Following them the Sox had the NL West favorite and top contender the Los Angeles Dodgers. Followed by a final round with the Houston Astros at home. The Sox most definitely did not build a good enough cushion when they had the shot. In the gauntlet part of the schedule the Red Sox went 3-7. The Red Sox would fall to 69-65, and 6.5 games out of the 3rd wild card spot.

    Going into September the Boston Red Sox look to be very much out of the Wild Card Race. 6.5 games back is a big enough hole as it is. Never mind losing the Head to Head matchup with the one team you could have caught in terrific fashion. The Houston Astros had fallen out of the 2nd slot in the wild card all the way to the contention slot, partly do to the likes of the Seattle Mariners souring in the month of August not just getting into the Wild Card race but taking over the entire AL West Division. The Boston Red Sox were behind the Toronto Blue Jays and Houston Astros to clinch a playoff berth. They had a set of 7 games against the Houston Astros and went 2-5. Not enough to get the job done, not even close.

    Looking back on this season in the future the August 1st trade deadline will be the story of the entire season. Once Chaim Bloom made a non move the team checked out. Yes their arms came back from injury but their still not close to where they were prior to injury. Adjusting back to the MLB level takes lots of time. Trevor Story is batting .195, Chris Sale has an ERA of 4.78 and cant go longer than 4 innings. Garret Whitlock is running a bolstering 5.51 ERA and Tanner Houck has a 4.96 ERA. These guys are not the same guys that Bloom, Kennedy, and O'halloran promised they are shells of their past selves. In the first game of the second round with the Houston Astros Alex Cora in a statement of Protest left Kyle Barraclough to go out and die on the mound in a winnable must win at home. Appearing to make the statement that you did not get us an arm so this is all we've got, "the roster is the roster (Cora 7/19) Following this game the Red Sox would be swept on their home field completely checked out on the remainder of the 2023 season. One can only wonder how much longer will we need to deal with this, how much longer can Chaim Bloom sell the front office on working for "Next Year" how much longer until Henry is willing to sell the franchise.