It was one game, one loss. It could very well have been a simple hiccup after two feel-good wins. But it was also a reminder regarding some issues that aren't allowing Red Sox followers to dismiss such late-May defeats.
The Red Sox are 25-26 after their 5-1 loss to the Mets Wednesday night. They are in third-place in the American League East, 5 1/2 games in back of the Yankees. The Sox are also 2 1/2 games out of the Wild Card, with three teams (Houston, Toronto and Texas) ahead of them in the chase for the final spot.
"I think the narrative is more accurate to say there's probably a lot of frustration right now," Red Sox team president Sam Kennedy said on the Greg Hill Show Thursday morning. "I don't think anybody, including our fan base, thinks this is a .500 team. It's not acceptable and not what we anticipated coming out of Fort Myers."
OK, so how do you fix it. Because you need to start fixing it.
Coming off being swept in Detroit, the Red Sox offered hints that they needed a change. There was the promotion of reliever Nick Burdi and the commitment to start teaching Kristian Campbell first base. There was also the acknowledgment that Marcelo Mayer would be playing more second base, where he has started in four of the last five Worcester Red Sox games.
Yet, it is clear for the Red Sox there is so much more to do. That was brought to light once again in this latest loss.
THE CROCHET CONUNDRUM
Much was made of Crochet being pulled from Wednesday night's game after just 85 pitches, opening the door for the Mets to pull away. The reasoning for the starter's exit, as explained by Alex Cora before the game (and hinted at before), was the organization's pre-determined mandate that this game couldn't be a pedal-to-the-metal start, with Crochet currently leading all of the major leagues in pitches thrown.
Of his 11 starts, Crochet has gone 100 or more pitches five times while hitting 96 pitches two other occasions. For a pitcher whose first full season as a starter was last year, and that totaled just 146 innings, it was understood that some caution was going to need to be exercised.
But team's baseball science department sometimes will have to be questioned and debated. Wednesday night was one of those occasions. Picking the right spot to draw back on Crochet should be as scientific as the path taken to make Wednesday night's decision. The bullpen's weakened state should have been factored in, along with the opportunity to keep the newly-siphoned, much-needed momentum in the Red Sox' corner.
There will be other paths and opportunities to make sure Crochet gets his downtime. It will be incumbent on the Red Sox to uncover those in more creative ways than this most recent implementation.
The Red Sox are now just 1-5 when Crochet pitches at Fenway Park this season. They should have been 2-4.
THEY NEED TO FIND SOLUTIONS IN THE INFIELD
First base is far from behind solved. Campbell is doing everything he can to get ready for his new existence at one of three positions he has never experienced (joining pitcher and catcher). But just two days ago Cora proclaimed that the rookie was at about a 2 1/2 or three out of 10 when it came to being optimally ready.
And even when Campbell is ready to appear in a game, that doesn't mean the first base problem will be solved.
Campbell's OPS has dropped under .700 (.698), and for the month of May he is hitting .094 (5-for-53) with a .278 OPS.
Combine that with Trevor Story's struggles - which has become increasingly uncomfortable (his .307 OPS in the last month is far and away worst in MLB) - and there have become so very sizable holes to fill.
When it comes to combined OPS, the Red Sox rank 26th at first base, 17th at second, and 25th at shortstop.
The introduction of Mayer somewhere is inevitable. Will it be the solution? Hard to tell. What it will be is at least an attempt at taking a much-needed step forward.
THERE IS A BIG HOLE IN AN IMPORTANT PART OF THE LINEUP
The Red Sox had the best OPS of any team out of the cleanup spot last year, finishing at a .876 clip. This year they are the worst ... not even close. The Sox' No. 4 hitters have a combined OPS of .513.
It started with Triston Casas and that didn't take before he got hurt. Then they gave Story a try, and that went sideways. Campbell has 40 plate appearances in the spot, managing a .304 when hitting cleanup. And even one of the team's most reliable middle-of-the-order guys, Wilyer Abreu, hasn't been able to produce in the No. 4 position, hitting .152 with a .476 OPS.
The Red Sox have a total of 13 extra-base hits out of their cleanup hitters, half of what the Tigers are turning in.
There are other issues, but those are some. And unless they start doing an about-face in at least a few of these areas it will be difficult to escape this unexpected mediocrity.