Larry Lucchino: I’m ‘A Little Embarrassed’ By Red Sox’s 2015 Performance

If you’re unhappy with the Boston Red Sox’s 2015 performance, you’re not the only one.

Red Sox president and CEO Larry Lucchino appeared on WEEI’s “Dennis & Callahan” on Thursday morning to discuss the state of his team. Lucchino admitted he’s “embarrassed” by this year’s team after the mood changed very quickly Wednesday, with a win streak leading to an 11-2 drubbing at the hands of the Toronto Blue Jays.

“I would say I am a little embarrassed, particularly by the overall performance,” Lucchino said on the show. “We expected much more, and I wonder what kind of conversation we’d be having today if we had won (Wednesday) instead of lost, and I’d come into this conversation with a four-game winning streak and a major uptick. We were six games behind (Wednesday) with more than half a season remaining to be played, yet it still feels frustrating. It’s still disappointing.”

Rick Porcello was responsible for that loss, and it only added to a bad stretch that’s seen him post an 8.18 ERA in his last eight starts. He’s allowed 40 earned runs on 59 hits (including eight homers) over 44 innings in that span. But Lucchino stressed they can’t judge Porcello on that stretch alone.

“I think it’s frustrating, to be sure,” Lucchino said. “No one’s more frustrated about his performance this season than Rick himself. We’re not going to throw anyone under the bus. That may surprise you, we were all part of (signing and extending him), so if there’s going to be a bus accident, it’s going to involve several of us in the front office.

“But for the last several years, he’s demonstrated that he’s a quality major league pitcher. There’s a danger that we overreact to half a season, now that’s been a disappointing half season, no doubt about it, but we still have his track record to rely on and certainly hope that he’s going to bounce back at some point and show us the kind of performance we expected we would get.”

Thumbnail photo via Bob DeChiara/USA TODAY Sports Images