I genuinely do not know where to begin this blog post. Deep breaths, Kaley, deep breaths. Allow me to attempt to retrace the steps of the Boston Red Sox organization in the week or so leading up to yesterday’s July 31st Major League Baseball trade deadline.
Around this time last week, it was widely reported that the Red Sox were in the market for an arm, whether it be a starter or a reliever. This was fairly obvious considering the state of Boston’s collective pitching staff which was, notably, abysmal, unacceptable. The Red Sox were quickly linked to New York Mets’ back-of-the-rotation starter Zach Wheeler as well as Mets’ closer Edwin Diaz and Toronto Blue Jays’ closer Ken Giles. All three, in my opinion, were acceptable names, and all three of which I would have been happy to deal for. All three of which wouldn’t really require that much to give up in return. Simple enough, right?
These names gave Red Sox fans and media alike enough of a talking point and for a few days we were able to discuss trade possibilities in a healthy and mature manner and we generally came to the realization that Boston was bound to acquire at least one of them. The team, still using the closer-by-committee approach just days away from the calendar flipping over to August, had to get a reliever. It was easy enough. Trade away a Bobby Dalbec at a logjammed position such as third base, throw in a no-name 18-year-old kid and call it good. See? This was easy enough of a scenario for the Red Sox that even fans could figure out a deal on social media. A guy like Dave Dombrowski could manage this too, right? ….right??
Come July 30th, one day before the trade deadline, and our beloved Ken Rosenthal tweets out:
That took the wind out of my sail, I’ll admit, but there were still signs of life. Dombrowski was still determined to finally seek external bullpen help despite waiting over four months to make a move. The phrase “lesser names” has little sex appeal to it but at the end of the day, I’ll take it, you know? All I’m asking for is a human being with the ability to throw a baseball at a high velocity with an ounce of command behind it. I’m not being too greedy here, right? The likes of “lesser names” such as Will Smith and Sam Dyson of the San Francisco Giants, Shawn Kelley of the Texas Rangers and Daniel Hudson of the Blue Jays would be alright with me because this team so badly needed depth.
Here comes the day we’ve all been waiting for, July 31st. No Red Sox rumors in sight, no names linked to the team in sight. The clock strikes noon, four hours to go until the deadline, and it’s eerily quiet around Major League Baseball. Perhaps Dombrowski is extremely busy on the phone, working with teams to make the best deal that, of course, keeps the Red Sox under the luxury tax threshold, something the team has been harping on doing for two straight seasons now. A couple more hours of silence go by until things start to pick up around 2:30 P.M. Teams start wheeling and dealing left and right, rumors are flying left and right…yet no sign of Red Sox life is to be sen. Odd. It feels as if every Major League team is doing something except Boston. The Houston Astros and Atlanta Braves bolster up their teams while the likes of Boston, the New York Yankees and Minnesota Twins stand pat. And that’s exactly what happened the rest of the way until trades finished trickling in by 4:30 P.M.
At 3:51 P.M., nine minutes before the deadline, Mark Feinsand ruins the day of Red Sox fans far and wide with this laugher of a tweet:
I actually burst out in laughter when I read this. Nothing. Nada. Zip. Zilch. I had been waiting for the wet blanket from a reporter the entire three o’ clock hour, to be completely honest. Either way, I was going to be pissed off by the Red Sox yesterday. If Dombrowski did decide to make a move for a “lesser name” on July 31st, I’d have been pissed off considering the fact that he waited four-and-a-half months to actually go out and acquire external bullpen help. Four-and-a-half months of pain and suffering with no closer only to finally get help for the remaining two months of the season a couple of games out of the final wild card spot and ten games behind the Yankees for first place in the AL East. I’m still pissed off that they did nothing because it shows extreme irresponsibility on the part of the president of baseball operations. He, more or less, gave up on this season. That’s not to say that the season is over, but it blatantly shows that he has no faith in this team and he sees no reason to invest in the or spend merely a dime on them. With two months left in the regular season and in the middle of a heated wild card race, that’s embarrassing.
Starting pitcher Andrew Cashner is the best Dave Dombrowski could scrounge up this trade deadline. Let that sink in. Andrew Cashner. This bullpen has blown nineteen (19) saves this season. This bullpen possesses the league’s worst save percentage this season at 52.5%. It ranks tenth among 15 American League teams in ERA with a 4.53. This bullpen still has no set closer and continues to use the closer-by-committee approach to begin the month of August while, need I remind you, two-and-a-half games out of the final postseason spot and ten games out of first place in their division. Andrew Cashner, starting pitcher, was the savior of this bullpen. Nathan Eovaldi coming off of the 60-day Injured List was the only bullpen acquisition made this season. Awesome, Grand. Spectacular. Phenomenal!
What makes this so frustrating is the fact that Boston has arguably the best lineup in baseball. They’re not as deadly as they were in 2018 but they’re still putting a beating on the opposing pitcher on a consistent basis no matter who it is. Regardless of how much damage the Red Sox’ bats can muster up, the pitching is always right there to shit all over their parade and give the other team a shot to win or straight up let them win whether it be the starter’s doing or the bullpen’s doing. Chris Sale has been far from himself this season, Rick Porcello flat-out sucks, David Price has skidded in his last three starts, there’s still no closer…I’ll say it again, Dombrowski not making a move for a reliever shows that he gave up on this team in 2019. Again, I’m not saying the season is over, but Dombrowski feels no need to spend anything on this team, which, in Boston, is embarrassing.
Dombrowski’s comments to the media once the four o’ clock deadline passed were laugh-out-loud hilarious. Get a load of this guy:
I WANT TO BASH MY SKULL INTO A BRICK WALL.
Let’s go tweet by tweet. I wouldn’t believe the number of clubs that called you, the decision-maker of the 2019 Boston Red Sox, about your bullpen guys? Actually, Dave, I think I would be able to believe that number because everyone and their mother knows that that number is ZERO. Z E R O. Not one soul from any of the 29 opposing baseball teams called you up inquiring about Josh Taylor, Heath Hembree or Colten Brewer. I know that, you know that, everyone knows that. Enough of the bullshit, buddy ole pal.
This next quote from Dombrowski blows me away. Did he choose not to make a move because…the team stinks? The team doesn’t deserve help because they’re underperforming??? You WHAT? I’m sorry, I still cannot wrap my head around this one. I understand what he means but it sounds so fucking stupid. That quote alone depicts him giving up on the 2019 Boston Red Sox with two months left in the regular season. Neat!
So, you’re telling me that the Red Sox would have to have done something “stupid” in order to acquire bullpen help. Sorry, but that’s utterly false. The Atlanta Braves traded for Shane Greene from the Detroit Tigers for a Double-A pitcher and a Triple-A outfielder. You’re going to sit here and tell me that you couldn’t muster up that for a bullpen arm? For depth? For any ounce of help at a position on the team that you’ve been severely lacking for four-and-a-half months and are a major reason why, if the season ended today, you wouldn’t even be playing? I’m ill.
Lastly, Dombrowski making sure to state that this current team is talented is so, so funny. Buddy, you obviously don’t feel that way. Only part of this team is truly talented and that’s your bats. The rest NEEDS HELP. I can’t bear to watch another two months of this pitching staff, top to bottom. I have zero reason to believe that things will change with them in August and September. Zero reason. Because they’ve absolutely sucked since the season started in late March. Because not having a set closer has never worked for a baseball team in the history of baseball. Because this bullpen has blown NINETEEN saves in 2019. Can you feel my frustration yet?
At the end of the day, it’s not that Dombrowski couldn’t make a move. It’s that he wouldn’t make a move. That makes this situation all the more embarrassing. He chose not to make a move. He put himself in this position. He’s the one who owns the most expensive payroll in baseball. He’s the one who depleted the franchise’s farm system. He’s the one who essentially gave up on this team and told the best lineup in baseball that they’re not worth investing in because of his own actions. He’s the one who believes that Nathan Eovaldi returning from the IL was the only bullpen move that was needed to get this team into the postseason in the final third of the season. That right there, folks, is why I’m Mad Online™.
As each day passes, I’m beginning to get the feeling that the 2018 World Series run was enough for this 2019 to mail it in, more or less. Again, the season isn’t over and I’m not saying it is over, but there is an obvious difference between these two teams and even the mindset is completely different when comparing the two. Because they won in 2018, they feel okay with sucking in 2019 and doing nothing about it. That’s what this entire season has felt like to me from the very beginning and the shenanigans that Dombrowski pulled on everyone yesterday was the cherry on top of that take.
While this season has sucked and this Red Sox team has been the poster child for the word “inconsistency,” they’ve still managed to stay collectively alive and did impressively dig themselves out of an early, potentially fatal hole in April. They’re in the middle of an intense wild card race and can still take over second place in the American League East. They show signs of life every now and then. Apparently, that isn’t enough for Dombrowski to make the team even 0.001 ounces better as we head down the stretch. As a diehard fan, that pill hurts like a bitch to swallow. All we can do is pray that the players figure it out on their own in the final two months and pull off a miracle and then some.
P.S. Give me Dalton Furbush – I mean – Durbin Feltman, for the love of God. It’s the least this front office could do for us, right? Call up the Bush Man, for crying out loud.
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