The Jackson Holliday press conference
The Red Sox are trying to keep up.
They announced an eight-year contract extension for one of their young players, Ceddanne Rafaela, immediately identifying the outfielder as a piece of their plan for years to come. It was something.
But when the dust settled in the Red Sox' demoralizing 7-5 loss to the Orioles Wednesday night - in which the Sox blew a 5-0 lead - the home team was unavoidable left with a bit of jealousy.
Why couldn't they have the kind of nice things that team in orange and black were trotting out all over the place?
The obvious trophy being carted out was Jackson Holliday, the 20-year-old top prospect in baseball who became the center of the baseball world's attention due to his major league debut. He is the kind of can't-miss-kid that actually elicited applause from the opposition's crowd upon stepping into the batter's box for the first time.
But that was just part of the picture.
The guy who put the Orioles up for good with a three-run, seventh-inning home runs, Jordan Westburg, was Baltimore's second first-round pick of 2020, with the team selecting budding outfield star Heston Kjerstad with the second overall pick that year.
The year before that Draft, not only hit on their first-rounder, taking Adley Rutschman with the first overall selection, but got reigning Rookie of the Year Gunnar Henderson in the second round. And in the round the O's picked Joey Ortiz, who helped secure the services of current ace Corbin Burnes.
Then there is Colton Cowser, the outfielder who absolutely tortured the Red Sox in the first two games of this series and was taken one spot after the Sox' pick in 2021 with the fifth overall selection.
And on the pitching side, the Orioles possess their ace-in-waiting in 2018 first-rounder Grayson Rodriguez, who gets the start in the series opener.
So, when can the Red Sox revel in these kind of moments?
To expect the kind of embarrassment of riches the Orioles have landed with is somewhat unrealistic for the rest of baseball. Sure, they had high draft picks from being less-than-good, but they also made the most of those opportunities to an obscene level. That, however, doesn't mean the Red Sox can't experience a semblance of this sort of success.
The short-term problem for the Red Sox is that while the Orioles can push aside the stopgap middle-infield mentality by letting go of veteran Tony Kemp and bringing in Holliday, there is no such opportunity in Boston.
If Marcelo Mayer didn't miss a year of development due to a shoulder injury last season? Sure. You would be celebrating the dawning of a new era thanks to the 2021 fourth overall pick becoming a big leaguer. But he did miss that time. And because he did, the Red Sox' best-version of Holliday is proving himself at Double-A.
Marcelo Mayer checks in
The good news is that the group the Red Sox will be banking on to supply the aforementioned buzz - Mayer, outfielder Roman Anthony and catcher Kyle Teel - are all acquitting themselves quite well early on with the Portland SeaDogs. But with the taste of what the Orioles just rolled out, Sox fans want the satisfaction emanating from Fenway Park and not Hadlock Field.
There are no easy or immediate answers to leveling the playing field for the Red Sox. Trading for a palatable replacement for Trevor Story would likely cost more than Craig Breslow is willing to give up. And there simply aren't enough no-doubt-about-it stars at both the major league and Triple-A levels to suggest a jumper-cable-type of boost is around the corner.
After the 10-game road trip to begin the season, there was a sense that the wait for the Red Sox might not be as long as initially anticipated. Wednesday night, that feeling changed.