It has been an interesting season to say the least for the Boston Red Sox. Despite playing in one of the largest markets in baseball, the Red Sox were no shoo-in to reach the postseason in 2024. After all, they didn’t make it the previous two years with back-to-back last-place finishes in the AL East unfolding instead.
Still, there was optimism Boston could stay in the hunt and contend down the stretch. In a way, that has happened, but as the action begins Friday across Major League Baseball, the Red Sox's playoff hopes are dwindling by the day.
The Sox are amid an incredibly untimely skid following their fifth straight loss Wednesday night. Their offense is in its worst slump of the season, averaging 1.6 runs per game during this losing streak.
It's dropped the Red Sox further down the standings and into a place they might be unable to dig themselves out of. Boston sits 5 1/2 games out of the final Wild Card spot in the American League with two non-playoff teams ahead.
The Red Sox had a blistering end to the first half, entering the All-Star break only five games back of first place in the AL East. They held the final Wild Card position in the league for much of August. With just over three weeks remaining in the regular season, Boston's odds of finishing with a losing record are higher than their playoff chances.
While the offense slumping has been a brutal development, a season-long issue has been looming over the Red Sox since Opening Day. Even if they overcome it, their opportunity to punch a postseason berth is likely out the window. If they don’t improve it at all, the Sox might as well book their tee times already.
Sox defense hurting more than helping
There's an adage in sports that defense wins championships. That gets slightly tweaked in baseball, where pitching is seen as a major factor in capturing a World Series title. Still, defense is an important element of the game that is often overlooked in the glitz and glam of long balls and flamethrowing arms.
To put it lightly, the Red Sox defense is bad. Boston ranks dead last in fielding percentage and leads MLB in errors and unearned runs. Those rankings have followed the Sox for much of the season and won’t change barring a total lack of effort from teams immediately trailing them in those categories.
In their 138th game of the season, the Red Sox committed two errors. Both came in the fourth inning of Monday's game against the New York Mets. While the first one – a dropped foul ball pop-up by catcher Connor Wong – didn’t come back to hurt Boston, the second error of the inning led to a run that gave the Mets a 2-1 lead. The Sox did not score after that, losing the game 4-1.
Was the costly error the reason Boston couldn’t scratch another run across with 15 outs to work with? Maybe not, but the game's complexion could have changed had the play been made. Some hitters have a different mindset at the plate depending on the score and situation of the game.
Not since the Los Angeles Dodgers in 2018 has a team reached the World Series after finishing in the top 10 in errors for the regular season. It'd be asinine to call the Red Sox a title contender at any point this season, but less talented teams have made a run before.
Regardless, Boston's level of play defensively can’t be sustained if they expect to win. What's even worse is this is not a one-year thing. The Sox finished top three in errors in three of the past four seasons. Extending that to four in five is on the horizon.
Boston leaving 2024 with more questions than answers
The season is not over and MLB teams have overcome larger deficits in a shorter time to make a miracle run to the postseason. The cards are heavily stacked against the Red Sox and each loss drives them further toward elimination.
That already leads to questions regarding the offseason and where Boston goes from here. Sox fans might not like what they'll see on the field in the foreseeable future. While they have talented players who can act as cornerstones along with Rafael Devers, the overall body of work isn’t cutting it.
This is the Boston Red Sox, not the Pittsburgh Pirates. One of the most storied franchises in baseball and among the most successful in the 21st century, the Sox aren’t supposed to be known as losers. Yet they're staring down a third consecutive season without a trip to the playoffs.
Maybe all of this will be mute in eight weeks after Boston goes on one of the most improbable runs MLB has ever seen. The more likely scenario is more disappointment for fans, and more pressure on ownership to build a consistent winner in Beantown.