The Boston Red Sox Are In The Midst Of A Downward Spiral
Being a Boston Red Sox fan is arguably the most difficult duty to bestow upon yourself. Pain and misery are second nature, and it has is something that has haunted them since the fat home run hitter packed his bags for New York over 100 years ago. They went 86 miserable years without a championship until they finally ripped off the bandaid in 2004, winning it all. They followed that up as well in ’07, ’13, and ’18. The new century seemed to be an exciting new outlook for the team. Unfortunately, a collapse is occurring and there seems to be no end in sight.
In 2018, the Sox cruised their way to their ninth World Series title over the Los Angeles Dodgers. They had a great team to show for it. Mookie Betts and JD Martinez led the offense putting up MVP caliber numbers. They had a strong rotation with Chris Sale and David Price with the exceptional Craig Kimbrel as their closer. All seemed right for the team. The following year was a different story. The same team had all the pieces offensively, but their pitching suffered blows. Both Price and Sale had injuries and weren’t good when they were healthy. Kimbrel signed a lucrative deal with the Chicago Cubs, meaning the Sox were without a closer. They managed to squeak out barely above .500 but the downward trend was already afoot.
In 2020, blow after blow began affecting the team. First off, the league revealed that manager Alex Cora engaged in a sign-stealing cheating scandal during the 2018 season. The Boston Red Sox fired him as a result. Next up, Mookie Betts wanted money for what he was worth. Betts was a free agent at the end of the 2020 season, and Boston didn’t have the capital for Betts. They initially traded Betts, packing his bags, and headed west, signing a ten-year extension and in the end, earning a championship as a Los Angeles Dodger.
As it was a pandemic shortened season, the rest of the team faltered. JD Martinez was horrible, only hitting .213 with seven home runs. Chris Sale underwent Tommy John surgery and is still recovering from it. David Price followed Mookie west and is also now apart of LA. The team is unraveling at the seams. The 2020 team finished in fifth place and 11 games under .500. A far cry of the greatness of two years prior.
In 2021, the Red Sox have already traded Andrew Benintendi to the Kansas City Royals and lost talented outfielder Jackie Bradley Jr. to the Milwaukee Brewers in free agency. Also, longtime Red Sox fan-favorite Dustin Pedroia officially announced his retirement. JD Martinez, Xander Bogaerts, Chris Sale, and Rafael Devers still remain members of the team, but the Red Sox will definitely be sellers at the trade deadline. The team will look to ship away these players for a massive rebuild. It may be a while until the Red Sox regain the dominance they had.
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