A pitching coach conversation with Andrew Bailey
After the Red Sox' forgettable, rain-soaked, 6-1 loss to the Rangers Tuesday night, Alex Cora's words were what one might expect - free of panic or urgency. They were simply offering the obvious, that his team was moving on and hoping Wednesday's results were going to line up with this season's expectations.
Fair.
But in this results business, the results to this point have been somewhat unnerving all things considered. While trying to find themselves, the Red Sox have failed to take advantage of baseball's easiest schedule to this point, landing one game under .500 (18-19).
And making the Sox' existence even more uneasy is that defining a definitive reason for this middle-of-the-road life is elusive. One problem fixed, another one appears. And so on, and so on, and so on.
Tuesday night, for instance. The Sox' starting pitching was the least of their problems heading into the series opener, yet it was Lucas Giolito's five-run fourth inning that ultimately buried the hosts this time around. (It snapped a 16-game streak in which the starters have gone at least five innings.)
The Red Sox have the second-most runs and hits in the American League. They have the most strikeouts, but in the last two weeks their total has been only ninth-worst in MLB. The Sox are middle of the pack in production with runners in scoring position, but have had the second-most opportunities in such situations of any team in baseball.
Their starters' ERA is right in the middle of all the other teams, having totaled the second-most innings of any group. The relievers' numbers are also mid, with the exception of a 50 percent save percentage (8-for-16), and the reality of allowing 45.7 percent of their inherited runners to score (3rd-worst in the big leagues).
In the past two weeks, the Red Sox have six players with an OPS of .725 or better - Alex Bregman (1.135), Rafael Devers (1.006), Rob Refsnyder (.949), Wilyer Abreu (.899), and Jarren Duran (.883), Carlos Narvaez (.741), Romy Gonzalez (.737), and Kristian Campbell (.725).
So, enough with the pleasantries. What is the problem?
It would be easy to point to the lack of production of some in the last couple of weeks, such as Trevor Story or Ceddanne Rafaela. Story, in the last 14 days, is just 6-for-50 (.120) with a .305 OPS, while Rafaela is only slightly better with a .591 OPS. But both are considered parts of the solution when it comes to the Red Sox' always-concerning defensive dynamic.
And pointing to first base, which has been turned inside-out because of Triston Casas' season-ending injury, could also be identified as a key issue. But Casas' replacement has gone 5-for-9 since the injury, with Tuesday night's solution, Abraham Toro, making some nice defensive plays while also rifling a ball off the left field wall.
But, again, there is just something missing.
The obvious set of jumper-cables for this team reside in Worcester in the form of top prospects Roman Anthony and Marcelo Mayer. But in order to integrate either player, there will have to be some creative - and potentially uncomfortable - roster maneuvering. Neither, the team says, will be introduced to first base, and all the outfield and infield spots are taken with players who aren't perceived to be the problem.
But while there are no obvious spots for the pair of players, there might be a point where their introduction comes in the form of a less-than-obvious scenario. Obvious, right now, isn't working.
Since there is no stat for gumption, the Sox are left wallowing in this mystery of mediocrity.
When asked about May trades, chief baseball officer Craig Breslow said this to WEEI.com: "You're largely still riding with the blueprint that you had in the offseason and spring training. You're likely to move if your team reaches the threshold that warrants execution. Then you do it. But it's very rare you completely pivot from what your plan was. Going into the season, you have a pretty good idea of the path you're going to take. ... You consider it. But it's so rare. I think you're still trying to figure out what your team is. You don't want to be reactive."
There have, however, already been examples of clubs giving their roster an early-season nudge. The aforementioned Rangers, for instance, shook things up by sending down starting first baseman Jake Burger, putting Leodys Tavares on waivers and bringing in new hitting coach, Bret Boone. And the Rays changed their vibe by calling up speedy rookie Chandler Simpson, whose team is over .500 in games he has played.
Other teams have simply been buoyed by their expected superstars in the past two weeks (Aaron Judge, Bobby Witt Jr., Shohei Ohtani, Freddie Freeman) or the emergence of unexpected needle-movers (Jorge Polanco, Pete Crow-Armstrong, Spencer Torkelson).
There is a reason Cora didn't exude panic or concern Tuesday night. He knows how this can work, particularly when your starting pitchers are most likely going to keep things close while everyone figures it out.
With a stretch of games coming up against two of the top three teams in the American League - the Tigers and Royals - after this pair with the seemingly resurgent Rangers, finding those fixes would sure seem like a good idea.