The first half is history. The All-Star game is in the record book. The long grind toward October resumes. What should we expect from the Red Sox?
Not much.
The best team in baseball a year ago, the crew that won 119 games and the World Series and dominated like none other in Boston history, is a mediocre entry this season. The Red Sox are 49-41 coming out of the All-Star break, third in the American League East and seventh overall in the AL standings. If they continue that .544 pace, they will finish 88-74 and out of the playoffs.
Were the post-season to begin today, New York (East), Houston (West) and Minnesota (Central) would be the division champs and Tampa Bay and Cleveland the wild card teams. Oakland, Boston and Texas would round out the top of the league, each with a winning record but not good enough for the post-season.
The playoffs are not out of reach for the Red Sox. They are two games behind the Indians and two-and-a-half behind the Rays. But to catch them in the remaining 72 games, starting Friday night when the Dodgers visit Fenway Park, they will have to develop consistency, which eluded them through the spring and early summer. Specifically:
Chris Sale, the supposed ace of the pitching staff, will have to win. He is only 3-8 in 18 starts and has allowed 16 home runs, the more than any Boston pitcher. He was horrible in April (0-4) and not much better in May (1-2 in 6 starts). At Fenway Park he is 0-2 with six no-decisions. He is more frustrated and perplexed than at any time in his career, he said after his last start. Let’s not forget that Sale struggled the second half of 2018.
Rick Porcello is 6-7 in 18 starts and has allowed 15 homers. He must do better.
Mookie Betts (.272) is nowhere close to his 2018 MVP season. Ditto for Andrew Benintendi (.274). World Series MVP Steve Pearce (.180) has appeared in only 29 games as a result of injury. Mitch Moreland has played in only 47 games because of injuries. If the Red Sox are to make a run, they all have to improve.
The bullpen has been up and down all season.
On the plus side, third baseman Rafael Devers (.324, 16 HR, 62 RBI) and shortstop Xander Bogaerts (.294, 17, 65) have emerged as Boston’s top hitters. J.D. Martinez is hitting .304 with 18 home runs. Second baseman Michael Chavis has hit 15 home runs.
Expecting the Red Sox to repeat as World Series champions was a stretch — the last team to do so was the Yankees in 2000, when they won their third consecutive title. Expecting the Red Sox to be better than a seventh-place team coming out of the All-Star break was not.