It was uncertain, but it certainly wasn't supposed to be this uncomfortable.
The 2023 Red Sox - the team with so many unknowns - have one certainty as we sit in mid-June: They are not what their fan base was hoping for.
After another loss to the Rockies, Tuesday - putting the Red Sox two games under .500 and 5 1/2 games in back of the final Wild Card spot - it feels as though the time to wait out the "maybes" that this blueprint was built on is simply too exhausting.
They can talk about all these close games, including this most recent 7-6, 10-inning affair. And there will be some optimism thrown around because of what the likes of Trevor Story represents. But this is a results business, and the fact of the matter is that this blueprint is proving not good enough to provide the results needed.
And, make no mistake about it, nobody in the Red Sox organization believed that on June 14 this is what it would look like. We had heard in the offseason about how there hadn't been this much money to spend in some time. We were told this was going to be the kind of top-to-bottom lineup that would win a lot of games. (And it was, but not for long enough.) And we sold that this confluence of talent was going to show a new way of doing things, one that didn't lean on a bunch of All-Stars.
Unfortunately for the Red Sox, the bits and pieces of these equations that have resulted in positive results either haven't been surfaced enough, or simply haven't been as impactful as whatever way their American League East competitors are doing things.
Go down the list ...
First base: A year ago the Red Sox put their eggs in Bobby Dalbec's basket. That didn't work. This year it was Triston Casas' turn. Tuesday, Alex Cora supplanted Casas at first in favor of the guy, Justin Turner, who was supposed to play the field occasionally while making up the absence of the good J.D. Martinez at designated hitter. Over the past two seasons, the Red Sox first baseman are 22nd overall in OPS (.696). Also, the guy they originally went after to be the first base fail-safe, Jose Abreu, has a .579 OPS for Houston.
Second base: This year it was going to be Christian Arroyo's chance at manning the position. Injuries have once again derailed that opportunity. Enmanuel Valdez showed some offensive promise until he didn't, only making his defensive woes more noticeable. And the idea of just letting Story be a star at the position seems to have come and gone, having to prioritize his desire to become a shortstop. And then there is Kiké Hernandez - the guy who was supposed to start at second head into 2021. His existence and role(s) seems as confusing as his team's right now.
Shortstop: Pablo Reyes is the current starting shortstop of the Boston Red Sox until Story is ready. The Red Sox' shortstops have the 25th-best OPS at the position, while having made the most errors. This has become one of the worst-constructed bridges - one which was supposed to stretch between Xander Bogaerts and Marcelo Mayer - in the history of the organization. It was all brought to light by the manager, himself, who pointed out that the way the roster is constructed there is a very real scenario where Reyes might have to get pinch-hit for late in the game, leaving the Red Sox with the guy - Hernandez - they deemed couldn't play consistent defense playing defense at the most important time.
Third base: It's hard to complain about Rafael Devers. Sure, he isn't having the season of a year ago, having hit nearly 90 points higher at this time last year with an OPS of well into the .900's. But up until he started launching balls out of Fenway Tuesday night, it just hasn't felt right with Devers for much of the year. Analytics might not support this notion, but it sure feels he is a guy who could use a little star power around him.
Outfield: Masa Yoshida is a good hitter. A GOOD hitter. Not a GREAT player, probably, which in most cases would be fine. But unfortunately for the Red Sox, they need to start uncovering some stars. Also, on a team devoid of consistent defense, Yoshida's skill-set doesn't help fix that issue. The Red Sox had better hope that those nine games Adam Duvall turned in before hurting his wrist weren't an aberration. They desperately need that guy. Alex Verdugo is another good player, who has is in many ways taken a step forward in his career. But when the manager is benching a guy in early June, that seems like a two steps back after one step forward-type of situation.
Catchers: This is undoubtedly the part of the plan that has worked the best. Connor Wong has emerged as legitimate 75 percent-of-the-time backstop, if for no other reason than his defense. And Reese McGuire represents a really solid complement.
Starting pitchers: This seems to be trending in the favor of the Red Sox, with the young trio of Brayan Bello, Garrett Whitlock, and Tanner Houck evolving into the pitchers they had hoped. And James Paxton has been a legitimate find. But when your Opening Day starter (Corey Kluber) and No. 4 starter (Nick Pivetta) land in the bullpen, with your perceived ace (Chris Sale) once again on target to make perhaps less than 20 starts, that makes you think that this was always going to be closer to the 2015 "Five Aces" group than anything 2018 or even 2021 represented.
Relief pitchers: This was the part where they actually invested in "certainty" with signings of Kenley Jansen and Chris Martin. Guess what? This strategy has actually worked. Seems like a good plan.
