After a spectacular spring training that showed a promising start for the 2023 Red Sox team, the Sox are currently hovering around .500 as they try to salvage the rest of this season and hopefully contend for a Wild Card spot.
While Tampa Bay jumped out one of the best starts in recent AL East history, the Red Sox have struggled to keep their boat afloat and currently hold onto a record of 40-40!
Don’t lose hope yet though, Red Sox Nation.
The Sox squad showed some signs of life of late by winning their series vs. The New York Yankees, but still, they find themselves 13 games behind first-place Tampa Bay with Yankees, Orioles, and Blue Jays within striking distance.
There will be more opportunities for the Red Sox to return to excellence after some frustrating setbacks due to injury. Chris Sale is hurt again and probably won’t pitch until August, and Adam Duvall was out for too long after getting hit by a pitch during a hot hitting streak.
Duvall is finally back in the lineup with that power swing tailor-made for Fenway Park. And players like Yoshida and Wong have somewhat picked up the slack. Also, Trevor Story is finally back recovering from surgery.
They will need mainstays like Alex Verdugo, Kike Hernandez, and Rafael Devers to step up and produce big-time. Raffy is having a banner year with a great slugging percentage and finding himself atop the RBI leaders list, but he can’t be a one-man lineup, and the other batters must support and keep up with his hot hitting!!
As the All-Star Game Break approaches, he is a shoo-in to be selected to represent Boston, but for the Red Sox to continue to contend, other players, especially on the pitching staff need to put up some banner year stats ASAP. Reinforcements of Bobby Dalbec, Jeter Downs, and Jarren Duran linger in the minors waiting for their time to shine again if the regulars slump again anytime this season!Â
Manager Alex Cora is under fire, and if these 2023 Red Sox players don’t start rallying around their skipper to at least capture a Wild Card berth, there will likely be a big personnel and management shakeup for Boston’s baseball team.
Owner John Henry wants to build a strong farm system, and rightfully so, but Boston fans don’t tolerate subpar performances from their players for too long. With the Boston Celtics coming short the past two years, the Boston Bruins faltering in the playoffs and not winning since 2011, and New England Patriots rebuilding without Tom Brady. The fans of Titletown are left scratching their heads and hungry for their next championship celebration.
This sets the stage for the beloved Red Sox to be the team to break through this roadblock and lead Boston Sports teams to a much-needed and well-appreciated resurgence of their winning ways!
Boston fans (the best in the sports world) deserve nothing less than many more Titles galore..and the sooner, the better, so we say GO RED SOX GO!