To say this was just another night at Fenway Park wouldn't haven't been accurate.
Every little twitch Dave Dombrowski while sitting aside advisors Tony La Russa and Frank Wren in his box was monitored. Was he talking on his phone? What exactly was the president of baseball operations watching on that laptop? Why wasn't he talking on his phone?
Then there was the postgame following the Red Sox' 6-5 loss to the Rays when reporters talked to two people -- Alex Cora and David Price -- uncharacteristically not bothering with the rest of the team. On top of it being a 4-hour, 5-minute game, this was clearly more about what was going to happen rather than what just did. (For a complete recap of the Sox' defeat, click here.)
And, of course, the uneasy feeling that the whole ball of wax left Red Sox followers wasn't of the norm.
Four o'clock on Wednesday afternoon represented the last chance to fix what needs to be fixing. The problem was that these most recent nine innings of baseball -- along with a good chunk of what hovered around the team's trade deadline conversations -- did nothing to suggest this repair job heading into the final two months of the regular season is going to be easy.
Once one of the most reliable pieces of this equation Price has suddenly amped up the uneasiness. The Red Sox have now lost all four of the lefty's post-All Star break starts, with his ERA during that stretch standing at 6.52. This time around there four runs allowed in 4 1/3 innings.
The recent downturns by Price and Sale make the idea that just getting another relief pitcher will be a cure-all seem a bit unrealistic.
The bullpen did nothing to alter any opinions on what the Red Sox are desperate for at the deadline, with Alex Cora needing to turn to Marcus Walden, Josh Taylor and Colten Brewer to stem the tide int he middle innings. The result was the two decisive runs by the Rays, who had gagged up a lead thanks to Andrew Benintendi's two-run home run in the fifth inning.
Part of that relief-pitching solution, Nathan Eovaldi, continued to represent uncertainty, as well. The righty did strike out the side in his only inning but allowed two baserunners in the process. The outing did nothing to help the Red Sox gauge exactly what they have with Eovaldi, who has allowed two or more runners in three of his four relief outings.
OK. Now what?
Were you still hoping the Mets' would lower the price on Edwin Diaz? Well, his ERA crept up over 5.00 after blowing a save in Chicago thanks to three walks and a hit batsman.
Kirby Yates, another high-end relief pitcher the Red Sox could have targeted, appears headed to an extension with San Diego rather than any sort of trade.
Blue Jays closer Ken Giles has been shut down, probably meaning he is now shut out of trade-talk consideration.
All of it -- including a look at the standings, which have the Red Sox back to two games out of a Wild Card berth -- surely left the Sox' decision-makers with a bad taste in their mouths. Maybe that will all be washed away thanks to a key addition and Wednesday night win over the Rays.
But this is just another reminder that you should not expect anything to come easy for this edition of the Red Sox. It certainly didn't on Trade Deadline Eve.
