Red Sox
For the fifth time within the last six years, the Red Sox will watch baseball games from home in October.
The Red Sox's quest for the 2024 postseason ended Wednesday night when Boston lost 6-1 to the Toronto Blue Jays at Rogers Centre. This is the third consecutive 12 months the Red Sox have didn’t qualify for the postseason.
Wednesday's result was anything but surprising, as Boston entered the evening 3.5 games behind the Royals and Tigers, securing the third and final wild card spot within the American League.
Boston could only secure a playoff spot by winning its final 4 games – the Royals lost 4 of 5, the Twins three of 5 and the Mariners lost one in all their final 4 games.
Given the Red Sox's weakness within the second half of the sport, the percentages haven’t been in Boston's favor for weeks.
Boston entered the All-Star break with a 53-42 record, but quickly lost momentum, losing seven of their first nine games after the break. Overall, the Red Sox have posted a 27-37 record since mid-July, killing any probability of Fenway Park keeping its doors open in October.
Although Boston's farm system made significant progress this summer, ends in the main leagues left much to be desired.
In conversation with Alex Speier from Before Wednesday's game, Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow acknowledged that any promising progress the organization had made could be undone by the tip of one other season in September.
“We play these games to get to the postseason and win the World Series. And if we don't do that, that would be a disappointment. I want it to be a disappointment. I want it to hurt,” Breslow said. “That doesn't mean we can't find things that we've done well or things that are encouraging or give cause for optimism, but at the end of the day, you play these seasons to win games and get to the postseason. We may be facing a season where that didn't happen.”
The Red Sox only have three games left on their schedule: From Friday to Sunday, Boston will host the Rays at Fenway Park.
image credit : www.boston.com