Mazz: The Red Sox might stink again
There’s really no nice way to say this: the Red Sox might stink again. We know, we know … it’s early. But at this stage, even Alex Cora seems concerned….
TAMPA, FLORIDA – APRIL 14: Tanner Houck #89 of the Boston Red Sox is taken out of the game by manager Alex Cora #13 in the third inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field on April 14, 2025 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
There's really no nice way to say this: the Red Sox might stink again.
We know, we know ... it's early. But at this stage, even Alex Cora seems concerned. After dropping 2-of-3 to the laughingstock Chicago White Sox over the weekend, the Red Sox showed up (sort of) for a series opener with the Tampa Bay Rays last night, a three-game series that is being played (appropriately) at the New York Yankees' spring training facility in Tampa. Lest you forget, the Rays are plying their home games at Steinbrenner Field this season while their dome is being repaired following hurricane damage.
The result of last night's affair? Another unsightly beatdown, this one a 16-1 pasting at the hands of the Rays. Then Sox are now 2-6 in their last eight games while scoring a total of 15 runs. They also lost by an 11-1 score to the White Sox on Friday.
Said manager Alex Cora to reporters after the game: "The defense has been bad, the offense has been bad and we’ve been inconsistent pitching-wise. So those are the three pillars of baseball and we haven’t been good.”
To be honest, they've sucked. And their won lost record (8-10) doesn't remotely begin to tell the story.
These are the facts:
- Minus a three-game sweep of the St. Louis Cardinals at Fenway Park, the Sox are 5-10 in their remaining 15 games. Even with the St. Louis series, they are now -15 in run differential for the season, which ranks fifth-worst in baseball. Excluding the St. Louis series, the Sox have been outscored 73-38 in their other 15 games, a run differential of -35 that would be second-worst in the game to only the Colorado Rockies.
- Last night, the Sox struck out 14 more times (with no walks), bringing their season total to a Major League-leading 179 strikeouts in 18 games, an average of almost exactly 10 strikeouts per contest. (Last night's biggest culprit was Wilyer Abreu, who whiffed three times.) In their 10 losses this season, the Sox have struck out 14, 14, 13, 12, 11, 11, 11, 11, seven and four times - 108 total.
TAMPA, FLORIDA - APRIL 14: Wilyer Abreu #52 of the Boston Red Sox reacts to a called strike out in the second inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field on April 14, 2025 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
- By contrast, Tampa - which ranks tied for 22nd in the majors in strikeouts - belted out 16 hits, including eight in the third alone, when the Rays scored nine times and blew the game open. All in all, 11 of Tampa's 16 hits were singles and six of them game in that third inning, when the Rays slapped the ball all over the field an exploited the Sox continued shoddy defense.
- Yes, that's right - we said continued shoddy defense. Sox third baseman Alex Bregman - who was supposed to help anchor the Boston infield - made his fourth error, second-most among all major leaguers (any position) and second-most among all third baseman, both behind only Cleveland's Jose Ramirez. While Bregman's fielding mistake was the Sox' only official error of the game, the Sox failed to convey a number of other opportunities in the third that helped contribute to the avalanche. Boston's 13 errors for the season also ranked worst in baseball.
- The pitching? That also leaves something to be desired. Statistically, 2024 All-Star Tanner Houck turned in the worst starting performance in Red Sox history, allowing 10 hits, 12 runs, two homers and a walk in 2.1 innings, which isn't easy to do. Houck is now 0-2 with a 9.16 ERA in four starts after a poor spring. Outside of Garret Crochet, Sox starters are 2-7 with a 6.93 ERA for the season.
TAMPA, FLORIDA - APRIL 14: Tanner Houck #89 of the Boston Red Sox walks off the field following the second inning against the Tampa Bay Rays at George M. Steinbrenner Field on April 14, 2025 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Julio Aguilar/Getty Images)
While Cora took the blame for the defeat, the Sox' problems seem to run a good deal deeper. The team didn't really improve the defense on the right side of the infield during the offseason, the catching (four interference calls so far) has been positively horrid and the team has demonstrated an inability to do the most fundamental things - like fielding, throwing and making contact.
“It seems like there was a team that was prepared for the other one and the other one wasn’t prepared for them,” Cora told reporters. “That goes from top all the way to the bottom. That wasn’t a good night for us. I’ll take the blame because it seemed like our team wasn’t ready to go.”
He meant last night, of course.
But the same problems have existed all season so far - as has been the case in recent years - and the issues seem to run much, much deeper.
