If the Red Sox miss the playoffs, it won't be because of their leaky defense, crumbling pitching staff, or offensive heckler's retorts.
Blame the offseason.
Don't let the latest August fade obscure the truth. We said it at the time, we said it when they started surprisingly well, and we'll say it again now: if ownership had just provided a little support last winter, we wouldn't be checking Kansas City's results every morning or hoping that 44-year-old Rich Hill can play savior.
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John Henry could've given the Red Sox a chance and instead he punted, pinning new chief baseball officer Craig Breslow inside his own 5-yard line. Breslow made the best of his needlessly limited resources, securing bargain finds like Tyler O'Neill, Justin Slaten, and Cooper Criswell, and then adding veterans Dom Smith, Romy Gonzalez, and Danny Jansen during the season, but at some point you need to take the 10,000 foot view and ask: "What are we doing?"
Nothing against any of the aforementioned names, because they've all contributed in one way or another this season, but the Red Sox never used to settle. In the glory days, the 25th spot on the roster might belong to Ellis Burks or Mike Myers. They once left iconic knuckleballer Tim Wakefield off their playoff roster. They could afford to trade All-Star Nomar Garciaparra because they had so much talent everywhere else.
The Red Sox don't think like that anymore. They're all about bargains and value and payroll flexibility and oh my god, punch me in the face. They act like the name on their chest is Boise instead of Boston. Why Henry decided to make this heel turn so shortly after winning his fourth World Series in 2018 would make its own worthy Netflix documentary, but until proven otherwise, the Red Sox are a team content to think small and finish even smaller.
Except they didn't accept their fate, because there were signs they could be worthy of more investment last season. Outfielder Jarren Duran, recent controversies aside, looked like the team's best player before suffering a season-ending toe injury. Unheralded right-hander Kutter Crawford actually pitched pretty well, as did Brayan Bello. Slugging first baseman Triston Casas ranked among the game's best sluggers down the stretch. Wilyer Abreu flashed, too.
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No one expected them to blow up the farm for one year of Juan Soto, but there was a path to competitiveness that would've required only a modest financial investment without compromising their fetishized future.
Had they just acted like the small-market Royals, for instance – and we wrote it at the time, so it's no second guess – they'd be cruising to the playoffs. Imagine a rotation with All-Star Seth Lugo and old friend Michael Wacha. Nick Pivetta might've stayed in the bullpen, where he pitched effectively last year, and we wouldn't be wondering how to drag the pitching staff across the finish line.
The best they could do was reclamation project Lucas Giolito and injured closer Liam Hendriks. The former blew out in spring training and the latter may yet pitch in September, although it's unfair to expect too much coming off of Tommy John surgery, not to mention cancer.
The best we can hope for is that ownership has finally learned its lesson. The Red Sox have the pieces to contend, with more on the way. The holy trinity of beatific prospects just reached Triple A, and considering how much the organization is banking on Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony and Kyle Teel, it's incumbent upon management to surround them with as much talent as possible.
If 2024 has taught us anything, it's that youth needs support. When the Red Sox blew Wednesday's series finale vs. the Rangers, it was partly because the pitching staff kept serving up bombs, but also because rookie infielders David Hamilton and Ceddanne Rafaela booted a grounder and failed to turn a double play, respectively. That's the cost of putting youngsters in prime roles. They hit a wall.
It hasn't stopped the paying customers from making Fenway feel like Fenway again instead of some stop on the Freedom Trail. They've embraced this overachieving team, and it's up to ownership to build on its successes. Be proactive this winter, and stop waiting for a future that might never arrive.
Show us full throttle, dammit.