The Boston Red Sox have endured a difficult 2020. The team was forced to mutually part ways with manager Alex Cora after his involvement in the sign-stealing scandal during his time at the Houston Astros. He was suspended for a season by the MLB, leaving the Red Sox nowhere to turn in terms of management for the campaign.
Veteran coach Ron Roenicke, who served under Cora as an assistant for the 2018 and 2019 seasons, was placed in charge by new Red Sox general manager Chaim Bloom. It already promised to be a difficult year for the club after the 2018 AL MVP Mookie Betts signed a lucrative deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers. Boston was dealt a further blow when pitcher Chris Sale was ruled out of the campaign, and Eduardo Rodríguez opted out of the term due to health concerns, leaving the club short on quality starter options.
The season proved to be one of the worst in terms of win percentage in the history of the team. In a truncated campaign, the team won 24 of their 60 games, losing 36 of the contests. Two years removed from winning the World Series, Boston is a long way from competing for the title. They are well behind teams of the ilk of the Dodgers and the New York Yankees, who are the leading contenders in the MLB odds on bet365 to win the World Series in 2020, with Betts in their ranks and enjoying a strong team.
You could forgive the Red Sox for wishing to turn back time in their decision-making, even though their moves under former general manager Dave Dombrowski earned them a title. He signed David Price and Sale to high-priced contracts, while another significant move came in the form of J.D Martinez. Dombrowski was also behind the signing of Cora as manager, ousting John Farrell after four seasons – which included a World Series crown in 2013.
Cora was a huge success and the cloud brought over the team by his suspension was unwelcome. There are reports that he may return to Fenway Park in 2021, which may not be well received by the rest of the MLB. Red Sox fans will be delighted if he turns around a struggling team once again. It’s certainly an interesting time in one of the most famous franchises in American sport.
Fenway Sports Group have invested significant sums into the franchise and have enjoyed a great deal of success. Their model has brought success both to the Red Sox and Liverpool, with the latter ending their Premier League title drought. However, having endured his fair share of drama at Fenway over the last two years, principal owner John Henry may just be wishing that he had a time machine to go back and reverse a few key decisions.
Perhaps he could go even further back in time to when the Red Sox traded away Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees, avoiding the ‘Curse of the Bambino’ that plagued the franchise for 85 years. Similarly, there have been a lot of decisions made in the recent history of the club that could well have long-term ramifications. The move for Price was a complete disaster, while Sale’s injury history is against him and the Red Sox. They may have also seen the best of Martinez at the age of 33.
Betts may be on the path to win another title and potentially more in the years to come in Los Angeles, the Boston Red Sox could well come to rue his departure and perhaps face a lengthy curse at Fenway once again.
