The Red Sox are still falling into a deeper hole as the 2019 season continues, they have yet to meet expectations. Here are their expectations versus their reality at this point in the season.
The Red Sox were hoping to start 2019 come off a World Series championship, so the Boston Red Sox expectations were high. They felt good about their team and it looked to be a battle between them and the New York Yankees. But it has not gone the way they hoped as they have lost 10 of their last 12 games. On Monday they broke their eight-game losing streak but then went on to lose the next day.
It seems that once they try to climb out of the hole they find themselves in, something else happens. Five months into the season and the Red Sox have yet to meet the expectations that were set on them at the beginning of the year. They were seen as a top team in MLB, poised to do big things this year. But the reality is that they are not in a good place right now.
On paper, they have a good offense but they seem to struggle to be consistent. The pitching has struggled more than expected considering they have pitchers like Chris Sale. Then they play in the same division as the New York Yankees who have been really good.
The Red Sox have had a rough year, where they seem to be at crossroads. It could be time to consider this year as a bad year and focus on next year. They may only be 5.5 games out of the AL wild card, it may not be realistic for them right now. They would have to really get on a hot streak and they can’t afford to go into anymore losing streaks like the last one. The Red Sox have some decisions to make about their future.
Injuries have plagued them all season long and hurt their line up. As they get a player back another one gets hurt. The Red Sox lost Andrew cashier to injury recently, though he was struggling a bit. It can be hard to fill in gaps when you continue to lose players. Their young players have yet to step up in the opportunities. Second basemen Dustin Pedroia recently had knee surgery that puts him out the rest of the year, he has been consistent for the Red Sox for many years. J.D Martinez is struggling with back tightness and has been out of the lineup.
The rest of the season will be interesting to see where the Red Sox end up, it could give an idea of what may happen this offseason. The Boston Red Sox expectations were high coming into the season but they may have been too high. It’s hard to win back to back championships because each season is different. Can the Red Sox overcome the obstacles in front of them?
