If you’ve been paying attention to the Red Sox the last few years, a lot of alarming trends have emerged during Chaim Bloom’s tenure. The complete disinterest in acquiring (or keeping) star players. The middling offseasons and trade deadlines. The questionable roster construction. The sloppy play on the field. I could go on and on.
Another recent trend under Bloom that should concern Boston fans is the team’s tendency to fall off during August. The Red Sox went 9-18 in 2020, 12-16 in 2021 and 12-16 again in 2022. That’s, um, not great, especially when you’re supposed to be fighting for a playoff spot.
This is a trend Boston needs to avoid in 2023 if it wants to make the postseason. But unfortunately for the Sox, all signs point to another lackluster stretch during the dog days of summer.
Here are three reasons why Boston is likely headed for a losing record in August for the fourth year in a row.
Red Sox August Swoon
1. The Schedule is Unforgiving
The Red Sox were fortunate to have a lot of time off in July, which helped them survive the injuries to their starting rotation. In addition to the All-Star Break, they also benefited from four off days, which allowed Alex Cora to get the most out of his diminished rotation and schedule bullpen days accordingly.
Cora won’t have that luxury in August, however. Boston already had an off day on Aug. 3, but after that the Red Sox play 26 games in 27 days, assuming no rainouts.
That includes a tough 10-game road trip from Aug. 15 to Aug. 24. While the first three games are against the Nationals, Boston then goes to Yankee Stadium for three games and to Houston for four.
There’s no reprieve after that, either, as the Red Sox return home to face the Dodgers for three games, then the Astros again for three more.
That’s just a brutal stretch, especially with so many tough teams stacked at the end of it when Boston will likely be running on fumes. If the Red Sox survive it with a winning record intact, it will truly be a miracle.
2. The Trade Deadline Was a Bust
As I wrote last week, the Aug. 1 trade deadline was a major opportunity for Bloom to get his team some help. Despite dealing with injuries, the Red Sox played great in July (15-8) to give themselves a fighting chance at a playoff berth.
Rafael Devers, Kenley Jansen and others called for reinforcements to sustain their run and make a playoff push. Instead, Bloom basically gave them (and the fans) the finger, calling them “underdogs” and doing virtually nothing.
I suspect a big reason why Bloom’s teams have done so poorly in August is because he keeps pissing them off and ignoring their needs at the trade deadline. He’s never brought in sufficient pitching help, and he actively disrupted the clubhouse last year by trading away Christian Vazquez.
Bloom’s quiet trade deadline wouldn’t be as big of a deal if he had done a better job building the roster in the offseason, but he blatantly left massive holes at shortstop and second base that have still yet to be filled. He also rolled the dice on a risky starting rotation that, not surprisingly, has been decimated by injuries.
Cora and his players have done their best to work around those issues, but when they asked for help from above, nobody answered.
3. Lack of Pitching Depth
On the field, the main issue facing Boston is a lack of pitching depth. Again, it would have been nice if somebody had done something about that at the trade deadline, but it’s too late now.
With Chris Sale, Tanner Houck, Garrett Whitlock and Corey Kluber on the IL, the Red Sox are woefully short on pitching depth, especially in the rotation. The team only has four healthy starters at the moment and has been forced to rely on bullpen games to fill in the gaps.
That strategy surprisingly worked during July with all the off days, but it looks a lot less viable in August with fewer rest days and so many tough opponents coming up. A shorthanded rotation puts a lot of stress on the bullpen, and with no downtime to recover there’s a high chance of overuse and diminished effectiveness.
We’ve seen this movie before, too. Another reason for Boston’s recent August struggles is that the team’s best relievers during those years (remember Matt Barnes?) tended to burn out, resulting in avoidable late-game meltdowns and blown saves.
At the end of the day, the Red Sox simply don’t have enough arms to survive their unrelenting schedule. Because of that and the other reasons mentioned above, I think they’ll fall farther behind in the Wild Card race and ultimately miss the playoffs.
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