Some had heard. Others hadn't.
But, ultimately, it was going to be difficult for any member to avoid the words from team president Sam Kennedy on the Greg Hill Show Thursday morning.
"At the current moment, there are a lot of discussions going on in terms of improvement and how we get this thing back on track, looking at every single area of the roster and player personnel, and [chief baseball officer Craig Breslow] and his team are doing that," Kennedy said. "But look, let's be honest, unless things change dramatically, we may have to pivot here from what our initial planning was. It just wouldn't be responsible to do otherwise."
By the time 10 p.m. rolled around, it sure seemed like the message had permeated through the Red Sox's clubhouse.
The last-place Red Sox planted their Fenway Park in the ground just one day after Kennedy's proclamation, routing the Rangers, 10-1, to snap their four-game losing streak. It was the third time this season they had scored 10 or more runs, and they now had hit three home runs in back-to-back games.
And they did it in a ballpark that had rarely surfaced optimism this season.
"Regardless of if Sam said it or not, I think the urgency is there," Red Sox interim manager Chad Tracy said before the game. "We're not playing good enough. [I] don't blame Sam for saying that. I think all baseball players know as the calendar continues to move along, if you don't start to get it right, that always becomes a possibility. So, I don't think there's any specific attention to Sam saying it. I think the guys are very well aware of, regardless of him saying that or not, that we’ve got to play better."
The truth was that Friday night's blowout had less to do with the message relayed via Kennedy's radio hit and the simple reality of the situation.
Despite the reminder of how good it can be, the Red Sox still sit 11 games under .500 and five back for the final wild card spot. Only three teams in the American League sit further back for a position in the postseason, with one of them, the Tigers, just 1/2 game behind the Sox.
Sure, this was an example of how it might work. Wilyer Abreu and Willson Contreras supply a legitimate middle-of-the-order presence with three hits and a home run, apiece. Ceddanne Rafaela is continuing to make a push to be part of the All-Star Game conversation with three hits and a home run of his own. And Sonny Gray continues to be one of the highlights for Breslow's resume, giving up just one run over six innings while going 6-0 in his last six decisions.
But this is a team that, along with Detroit, clearly finds itself on the Mendoza Line of buying and selling at the trade deadline.
The Red Sox have won more than two straight just once in the last month, scoring a combined 10 runs following their last eight home runs.
"It’s not part of our job [to decide] if they are going to be sellers or buyers," Abreu said. "That’s something that we can’t control. Of course, if we’re losing, that will probably happen, but at the same time we’ve got to do our jobs and play the game that we know how to play and keep working and keep improving every day, and we’ll see what happens at the Deadline."
"I don't think that we needed that wake-up call," said Red Sox starter Garrett Crochet of Kennedy's missive. "I think everyone knows the kind of ball that needs to be played, not only at the big league level but here in Boston, especially. We went out this offseason and acquired some talent that the team and the clubhouse viewed as game-changers, and ultimately, we haven't played well as a group. There have been moments here and there, and not all the losses are ugly, but they’re still losses, which suck."
