The Boston Red Sox’s hot streak is over, the woes are back in full effect and the 2014 season is beginning to look like a lost cause.
The Red Sox, who won eight of nine after struggling for most of the first half, entered Friday’s game against the Tampa Bay Rays at Tropicana Field having lost three in a row. Former Red Sox first baseman and current MLB Network analyst Kevin Millar thinks it might be time for Boston to consider selling pieces with the Major League Baseball trade deadline less than a week away.
“I’d be really intrigued to see what really goes on behind the scenes,” Millar said Friday on WEEI’s “Middays with MFB.” “I’ve never been behind the scenes, I’ve never been in the front office. But I think you’re at a point now, 9 1/2 games (back in the American League East) is a tough, tough task. By any means, can they go on a run of, say, 30-5? I don’t think this team is capable of doing so.”
The Red Sox entered Friday’s game eight games below .500 (47-55). They’re in last place in the AL East and sit 6 1/2 games back of the AL’s second wild card, leaving little hope of Boston making the playoffs this season after an incredible World Series run in 2013. It’s a harsh reality, but it’s one Millar said the Red Sox should consider as they approach the July 31 trade deadline.
“You can’t sell out for the fans. No team is going to come out and say, ‘Hey, we’re done. We’re raising the (white) flag’ towards the end of July. You’re never going to see that. But I think the writing is on the wall,” Millar said. “They had a great run. They shocked the world last year with a World Series championship and it was a great run. But right now, things just haven’t come together. They’ve had a lot of injuries, a lot of non-productive seasons from different players. … They tried a lot of different moving parts, but at the end of the day, I think, yeah, you get back to the drawing board of figuring out what’s going to make our team better and able to compete come 2015. I think that’s what’s going on.”
The Red Sox entered Friday with a 2.4 percent chance of making the postseason, according to ESPN.com. It’ll certainly take a comeback of epic proportions for Boston to play into October, so it’ll be interesting to see how the organization views the deficit in regards to its personnel decisions for the rest of 2014.
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Photo via Twitter/@ChrisRose
