Red Sox’ Collapse Proof That Despite Offseason Moves, Games Are Ultimately Won on Field

They were everyone's pick to win the World Series.

With big time offseason moves to acquire Carl Crawford and Adrian Gonzalez to go along with Dustin Pedroia, Kevin Youkilis, Josh Beckett, Jon Lester, Jacoby Ellsbury and others, the Red Sox seemed destined for October glory.

Instead, Boston couldn't even get out of September. A historic collapse in the final month prevented the Sox from living up to the hype and sent them home faster than you can say Robert Andino.

NESN.com's Michael Hurley made a guest appearance on WFAN's Keefe to the City Podcast with Neil Keefe and tried to comprehend exactly what happened to Boston's local nine.

"They had All-Stars at first, second, third, left, they had a budding All-Star in center field, they had a rotation that was good enough to win a championship," Hurley said. "To only come up with 90 wins and not make the playoffs, you can't predict baseball."

While a lot of heat has been directed at manager Terry Francona for the club's play, Hurley doesn't think there was anything else Tito could have done. 

"I don't think I value the manager as much as maybe some other people do," he said. "A lot of people are up in arms after the game. But I look at that starting rotation in September and I don't know any manager that could have done any better in the past month."

Listen to the entire podcast in the player by clicking here, and be sure to share your thoughts below on the Red Sox season and how the club can possibly rebound from its historic failure.