Was expecting so much more from these Red Sox, but they've been frustratingly bad so far
After five years of abject neglect, I was convinced that Boston's absentee owners were back in the hard-chargin', Lucchino-driven, contest-living that was the trademark of the first decade of John Henry and the vaunted Fenway Sports Group.
It was therefore, wildly embarrassing to witness the pitiful performance of the Boston ballclub's first 18 games.
Seriously. You all know what I am talking about. The Sox staggered through Texas, Baltimore, Chicago, and Tampa at the start of this season.
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There have been some good wins for Red Sox manager Alex Cora in this early season, but there have also been a lot of bad losses.
Chris O'Meara/Associated Press
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Last Friday in Chicago, the Sox committed five errors
the worst team in the history of baseball
. This is not hyperbole. The White Sox of 2024 lost more games than any team ever, and had dropped eight straight when the Bostons arrived in the Windy City.
The Red Sox responded the next day by
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So what happened Monday?
the worst start in the history of the 125-year-old Boston franchise
. Getting no help from manager Alex Cora, Houck was left on the mound to surrender 10 hits, two walks and 12 runs (11 earned) in 2⅓ innings.
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Worst ever. Worse than Fritz Ostermueller, Ike Delock, Johnny Way-Back Wasdin, or Darrell 'Bucky' Brandon.
Not all of it was Houck's fault, of course. The Red Sox lead the major leagues in errors in 2025 and, in Tampa's nine-run third inning Monday, vaunted Bregman made his fourth error of the season, and the overrated Trevor Story missed two obvious chances to end the inning with clean fielding on potential double-play grounders. Boston's defense has been so bad, the NESN broadcast booth Tuesday spoke of 'errorless baseball' and celebrated a routine Cedanne Rafaela snag as if it was Willie Mays running down Vic Wertz' centerfield blast in the 1954 World Series.
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Whatever. The Red Sox are the worst fielders in MLB. Surely, they can make that up with their bats, right?
Wrong. The Sox don't hit many homers and strike out more than any team in baseball. In Monday's 16-1 loss to the mediocre Rays, Boston batters struck out 14 times and walked zero times.
That's quitting. That's mailing it in. Have some pride in the craft.
There was a steady stream of Rays coming home past Red Sox catcher Carlos Narváez on Monday, as Jake Mangum (28) and his Tampa Bay mates poured it on in a 16-1 victory.
Chris O'Meara/Associated Press
It's particularly galling given Boston management's haughty 'we're smarter than anyone in the history of baseball' approach to hitting. The Red Sox young Driveline geniuses ('We never played, but we have all the answers') are
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Triston Casas? It's time to worry.
Rafaela? Maybe the Sox were too quick to give him the security and big bucks. He strikes out a ton and
never
walks.
Fixable, right?
Maybe not when you have a smarty-pants staff and an entitled clubhouse.
Oh, and we haven't gotten to the starting rotation. Walker Buehler submitted a professional five innings in Tampa Tuesday, but after Crochet it's been a murderers row of Bombinos. The Sox vaunted pitching depth had been Lady Gaga/Bradley Cooper Shallow. Brayan Bello, Lucas Giolito, and Kutter Crawford can't get here fast enough.
Cora wore the humiliating defeat Monday, stating, 'I'll take the blame because it seemed like our team wasn't ready to go.'
He had them ready Tuesday. Buehler delivered a solid effort, Bregman had a career-high five hits, and the Sox beat the Rays to improve to 9-10.
The good news, of course, is that it's early. Eighteen or 20 games is a small sample in a 162-game baseball season. The American League East is wildly mediocre and it's going to be impossible to play yourself out of contention.
But I was expecting improved defense and a wrecking ball lineup. I was expecting so much more.
Weren't you?
Dan Shaughnessy is a Globe columnist. He can be reached at
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