Mazz: Three games in, the Red Sox are already spiraling

Author Tony Massarotti

April 5th, 2021 9:58 AM

So is this what it’s going to be? Is this all they’ve got? Are the Red Sox already dead – or well on their way there – thanks to bad defense, an impotent offense and a free-agent signing who already looks like a bust?

I know, I know … it’s only been three games. Only it hasn’t been. In their final 56 games of the 2019 season, the Red Sox went 25-31. Last year, pandemic or no pandemic, they went 24-36. Now they’re 0-3, which brings their aggregate record over the last 119 games to a positive dreadful 49-70. That translates into 67 wins over a 162-game schedule, which means Boston has witnessed an awful lot of bad baseball over the last three seasons.

And make no mistake, Alex Cora knows it.

“We’re not proud of what happened this weekend,” Cora told reporters yesterday, after his team got swept by the Baltimore Orioles in the weekend’s season-opening series.

Should you be worried, angry or a combination of both? Hell yes, starting with …

• The disaster that was Garrett Richards

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  The Red Sox were in on Charlie Morton. They were in on Corey Kluber. They ended up with Richards, who took the mound yesterday in a big spot, his team needing a win to avoid a series sweep. By the third inning he whiffed of Irish Spring, having allowed seven hits and six earned runs while walking two. His body language was bad. His control and command were worse.
  
  “It’s three games in a season,” Richards said. “It’s kind of early panic button.”
  
  Earth to Richards, who signed a one-year, $10 million contract with the Sox during the offseason: the team needed you yesterday. You threw first-pitch strikes to only six of the 15 batters you faced. Frankly, you looked like you were playing pin-the-tail-on-the-donkey.
  
  Presumably, Richards will get another start. His spring started horrifically and then got better. But if I’m Cora, I have a short leash. Both Tanner Houck and Garrett Whitlock might deserve a chance before Richards.

• Did we mention that the defense was a train wreck?

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  On Opening Day, after failing to turn a double play that sparked the game’s decisive rally, the Sox dropped a 3-0 decision. On Saturday, Baltimore opened the scoring when Sox third baseman (for now) Rafael Devers threw what could have been the third out into right field. The Sox lost 4-2. For a team with a small margin of error, the Sox are making too many mistakes and playing defense like they have no fingers.
  
  “There’s nothing else you can say,” Cora concluded. “We got beat in every aspect of the game. And the first few games, we didn’t play good defense. We didn’t swing the bat. Today, we didn’t pitch. We’re off to a rough start.”
  
  I’ll say.
  
  Which brings us to …

• The concerns about the lineup

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  To be fair, Xander Bogaerts and Devers, along with J.D. Martinez, have a track record of success in the big leagues. We’ll even give you Alex Verdugo and Marwin Gonzalez. But other than the catchers, everyone else comes with serious questions about an ability to produce regularly in the majors. So far, to start the season, Enrique Hernandez (1-for-10, one strikeout), Bobby Dalbec (0-for-10, five strikeouts), Hunter Renfroe (0-for-7, three strikeouts) and Franchy Cordero (0-for-5, three strikeouts) are 1-for-32 with 12 strikeouts.
  
  Too bad they can’t face Richards.

You can hear Tony Massarotti weekdays from 2-6 p.m. EST on the Felger & Massarotti program. Follow him on Twitter @TonyMassarotti.

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Author Tony Massarotti

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Alex Cora,Bobby Dalbec,Franchy Cordero,Garrett Richards,Hunter Renfroe,Kike Hernandez,MLB,rafael devers,red sox,Tony Massarotti