2 truths and 1 lie about the Boston Red Sox 2023 season so far
Red Sox truth: The lineup lacks front-end talent
To say the Red Sox lost some serious star power in the last few years is an understatement. The lineup looks like a cruel joke compared to the championship side of 2018. Only Rafael Devers is left weaving the web from a more joyous time that feels so far in the past.
Franchise general manager Cheim Bloom was a wizard with the AL East rival Tampa Bay Rays at finding undervalued veterans or young inexperienced bats and turning them into studs. So often, I wonder if he left those powers at Tropicana Field.
More than half of the "consistent" starting lineup for the club has started the season batting under .200. Only four players with at least ten plate appearances have a positive WAR, which passes the eye test.
Kiké Hernandez, for example, is a fan favorite and has tremendous defensive versatility, but he has more pairs of neon cleats than hits this season. It's not an isolated sample; over his last 392 at-bats, he is hitting just .212 with 32 extra-base hits. In a utility role off the bench, fine. As an everyday player, yikes.
I'm not even sure Connor Wong is a major league player, and he seems to be the first-choice at catcher. Despite a small flash of competence in 2021, he has shown little promise at the dish in the last two seasons.
The only thing worse than the MLB the Show servers is the fact they predicted 38-year-old Justin Turner to win the batting title.
Unless the "others" start to step up, this team is another injury away from a pivotal player to potentially bottoming out.
Red Sox lie: This team should stand pat until the likes of Trevor Story and Adam Duvall return
The Red Sox are not at full strength; that is not a secret. Adam Duvall, the second coming of Ted Williams the first week of the season, just got placed on the 10-Day IL with an injury to a wrist that made him miss a significant time last season.
Trevor Story, the team's prize free-agent signing from a year ago, is still slated to miss a few months after undergoing right elbow surgery. His first year in Boston was forgettable, but he still had moments of brilliance.
The pitching staff has also been hit hard and needs two potential starters. Bryan Bello, the young lightning rod with ace upside, should be back in a few weeks, and the wily veteran James Paxton looks like he is finally ready to make his Red Sox debut.
Even with all this talent on the sidelines, why wait? John Henry can trot around his favorite child, Liverpool FC, and make all the ominous comments he would like, but at the end of the day, this is the Boston Red Sox. What's the point of playing the middle in one of the biggest sports hubs in the world?
Fans are too content with the idea that this team, if fully healthy, can (maybe) be something. I'm all for being optimistic, but the gauntlet that is the AL East is going to be a rude awakening.
Go for it. This team will not win the pennant this year; that's not making any headlines. But how is this team even primed to do that anytime soon?
It's time to build a serious roster, and put pieces in place to make this team a serious player again. Look around the league and see how many teams are desperate to shed good players to save a buck.
This is an organization that is ready to start adding serious talent again. The bones of this roster could definitely shape out to contribute to a winning team. It's time to step back in the sun and stop messing around in the shadows.