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Well, with just over a quarter of a season completed the Red Sox sit with a record of 6-10. That is the second worst in the American League behind the Angels and third worst in baseball, ahead of just the Pirates and Angels.
To get here we have Andrew Benintendi playing the worst baseball of his life, Rafael Devers slumping mightily, and J.D. Martinez playing like the Houston version of himself. We also have Nathan Eovaldi and Martín Pérez as the only competent starters in a rotation full of guys better cast in a Johnny Wholestaff scenario. In that context six wins seems like a miracle!
Not all is bad though! Alex Verdugo has been tremendously exciting and he is finally leading off, something I’ve wanted him to do since day one. Michael Chavis is showing signs of life. Xander Bogaerts, the ever steady and spectacular leader of this team, has been performing at his usual high level. Mitch Moreland and Kevin Pillar are playing some of the best baseball of their lives. There are plenty of reasons to turn on NESN still.
On this episode we also dive into the future and discuss how this team, looking the way that it does now, transforms into a contender in 2021. How many moves away are they? If Chris Sale comes back healthy, Eduardo Rodriguez comes back symptom free, Eovaldi is still healthy and effective, and Pérez is brought back, aren’t they just one arm away from a pretty solid rotation?
We dive into lots of scenarios about next year and the remainder of this year including our preference for tanking or trying to make the playoffs. We then answer lots of listener questions.
We hope you enjoyed the show and if you did, make sure you subscribe to us on iTunes, Google Podcast, Spotify, or Stitcher. Also give the show a review. Five star reviews help us get in more ears and grow the show. Be sure to also follow us on Twitter. You can find Keaton @TheSpokenKeats, and you can find me @DevJake. Thanks for listening!