ESPN Writers Explain Why Red Sox Have Been Biggest Disappointment Of 2019

No one could have imagined the first month of the Boston Red Sox’s season panning out the way it did.

The Red Sox kicked off their World Series title defense with a brutal, 11-game West Coast road trip, and things haven’t gotten much better since. Boston owns a 12-17 record entering Tuesday, tied for the third-worst record in the American League.

As such, it’s tough to disagree with ESPN.com’s Dave Schoenfield, Eddie Matz and Sam Miller, all of whom believe the Red Sox have been the biggest disappointment of the 2019 season thus far. The trio explained why within a column highlighting Major League Baseball’s biggest winners and losers of April.

From ESPN.com:

Schoenfield: Certainly the Red Sox, not just because of their record, but because of some putrid all-around baseball. Heading into Monday, only the Baltimore Orioles and Miami Marlins had a worse run differential, and Boston is somehow 0-6 in games Chris Sale has started.

Matz: Of the three teams that rank at the bottom of the majors in run differential, two were expected to be awful (O’s, Marlins) and the other is … the defending champs??? The Red Sox earn this dubious distinction, and it’s not even close.

Miller: It’s the Red Sox as surely as the other answer (best April) was the Rays, but outside of the AL East it’s probably the Angels. They started the season as real wild-card contenders; they end April with a 1-in-25 chance of making the playoffs, and probably a 7-in-8 chance of having Mike Trout lead the league in WAR but lose out in the MVP voting.

Boston has flashed encouraging signs through the first month-plus, but the club has struggled mightily with consistency. Manager Alex Cora has maintained confidence throughout, and when looking at the Red Sox’s roster, it’s tough to blame him.

No team truly has separated itself from the rest of the pack, either, unlike the 2018 Red Sox, who ran roughshod through the league from start to finish. With this in mind, Boston very well could find itself in the thick of things once it gets fully healthy and its star players perform at the level they’re capable of.