{"id":58263,"date":"2025-05-29T07:37:01","date_gmt":"2025-05-29T07:37:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=58263"},"modified":"2025-05-29T07:37:01","modified_gmt":"2025-05-29T07:37:01","slug":"its-not-early-anymore-the-red-sox-are-mediocre-and-there-may-be-no-way-out-of-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=58263","title":{"rendered":"It\u2019s not early anymore. The Red Sox are mediocre, and there may be no way out of it."},"content":{"rendered":"
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Red Sox <\/span><\/p>\n

They have talent, and more than 100 games remain. But make no mistake, it is not early.<\/h2>\n
\"It\u2019s
Red Sox pitcher Walker Buehler remains a work in progress. Danielle Parhizkaran\/Globe Staff<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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By Chad Finn, The Boston Globe<\/p>\n

4 minutes to read<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/header>\n

Oh, yeah, I bought it. I figured those high hopes that accompanied the start of the Red Sox season would lead to a memorable summer. Perhaps, with good health and a few breaks, even a fulfilling fall.<\/p>\n

Maybe you bought it, too. Those hopes \u2014 with Garrett Crochet and Alex Bregman arriving, a capable core of holdover talent remaining, and a trio of super prospects on Fenway\u2019s doorstep \u2014 were legitimate.<\/p>\n

The validity of those early spring hopes is one reason why there\u2019s no satisfaction to be found in acknowledging the blunt reality of the present:<\/p>\n

The 2025 Red Sox \u2014 with their 27 wins, 30 losses, ongoing battles of attrition, and square pegs pounded into round holes all over the roster \u2014 probably are not escaping this malaise.<\/p>\n

This maddening, undisciplined mediocrity is who they are. Barring a sudden urgency on the field and off \u2014 something that has been annoyingly absent on all fronts \u2014 this is who they will continue to be.<\/p>\n

That may seem crazy to declare now, with more than 100 games remaining. But the grimness of the Red Sox\u2019 circumstances hit me over the long weekend, particularly during Monday\u2019s 3-2 loss to the Brewers.<\/p>\n

The moment that sticks with me \u2014 an innocuous one, and yet encapsulating \u2014 occurred early in that game with the Red Sox trailing, 1-0, in the second inning. A one-out single by Marcelo Mayer put runners on the corners, bringing the floundering Trevor Story to the plate.<\/p>\n

On the Red Sox radio broadcast, Will Flemming noted that it was Story\u2019s 200th at-bat of the season. \u201cIt\u2019s not early anymore,\u201d observed Flemming.<\/p>\n

Story, who through Monday was hitting .163 with a .424 OPS in May, failed to get the runner in, popping up. The only surprise was that he did not strike out, something he already has done 65 times this season.<\/p>\n

There is so much going on with this team that does not look fixable. Repairs, and on-field rejuvenation, will require bold action that I\u2019m not sure the people in charge have the stomach for.<\/p>\n

The biggest issue is their starting pitching beyond Crochet. The projected rotation has gone haywire \u2014 Brayan Bello\u2019s stuff and command are betraying him, Tanner Houck has an 8.04 ERA and still<\/i> leads the majors in earned runs despite having last pitched May 12, and Walker Buehler and Lucas Giolito are works in progress as they pitch through their scars.<\/p>\n

Pitching coach Andrew Bailey, who seemed somewhere between savant and savior at this point a year ago, now seems to have a chronic shortage of solutions.<\/p>\n

The staff has endured more than the usual quota of injuries, which has led to the premature draining of organizational depth. A trade for an established starter will cost steep prospect capital, but it\u2019s a necessity if they remain serious about fixing this mess and not cooking every functional arm in the bullpen before July.<\/p>\n

And yet the achy, shaky rotation isn\u2019t even the most frustrating aspect of this team. That would be the lineup, and the convoluted ways manager Alex Cora and\/or chief baseball officer Craig Breslow have avoided putting their best team on the field in order to placate egos.<\/p>\n

What should<\/i> the Red Sox do? Seems obvious. Call up Roman Anthony, who has not a damn thing left to prove in Triple A, to play left field. Move Jarren Duran to center field. Ceddanne Rafaela, who through Monday had 29 walks, 215 strikeouts, and a .651 career OPS, isn\u2019t going to learn patience in the big leagues. He becomes the super sub in the outfield and at shortstop.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s not all. In the wake of Bregman\u2019s injury, Rafael Devers needs to be told to pick a corner \u2014 your choice, Raffy, third or first, but circumstances have changed, and you need to grab a mitt. Take it up with the Players Association if you don\u2019t like being told to do so by your employer.<\/p>\n

Also, it\u2019s time to give some stability to the kids. Mayer plays shortstop, not second or third, even if that means designating Story for assignment. It\u2019s sad, but it\u2019s time to stop trying to wring something out of him that is no longer there, and perhaps never was in states other than Colorado.<\/p>\n

While they\u2019re at it, stop taking advantage of Kristian Campbell\u2019s earnestness and end this first base experiment. The kid was hitting .172 over his last 129 plate appearances through Monday. He probably would be best served by going back to Worcester, catching his breath, and hammering some Triple A pitching for a few weeks. If they\u2019re going to let him make his adjustments in the majors \u2014 hey, maybe Jim Rice has some advice \u2014 the least they can do is stop trying to shoehorn him into a new position on top of everything else. It\u2019s ridiculous.<\/p>\n

But then, so much of this season has been ridiculous. We\u2019re not in the Jobs In Danger phase just yet, but it must be acknowledged that for a proven manager, Cora sure ends up with some sloppy, undisciplined teams.<\/p>\n

The Red Sox entered Tuesday in fourth place in the American League East, already 7.5 games back of the Yankees. They had the 10th-best record in the AL, and 20th-best in baseball. They have talent, and more than 100 games remain. But make no mistake, it is not early.<\/p>\n

If common sense doesn\u2019t start to prevail with who this team puts on the field and where, there\u2019s no reason to believe the promise of the spring will come close to being fulfilled.<\/p>\n

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Get the latest Boston sports news<\/h3>\n

Receive updates on your favorite Boston teams, straight from our newsroom to your inbox.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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\"It\u2019s<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n<\/section>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Red Sox entered Tuesday in fourth place in the American League East, already 7\u00bd games back of the Yankees.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":58264,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-58263","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-mlb"],"yoast_head":"\nIt\u2019s not early anymore. The Red Sox are mediocre, and there may be no way out of it. - NEWS USA<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sportnews.azontree.com\/?p=58263\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"It\u2019s not early anymore. 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