Bye bye, Sox
Bye bye playoff race
Hello, seventh place
I think I’m gonna cry.
Bye bye, Sox
Bye bye, Fenway fun
Hello, looks so glum
I feel like I could cry
Bye bye, Red Sox, good bye
With apologies to country pop stars of the late ‘50s, The Everly Brothers
Bye bye, indeed. The Red Sox are bidding farewell to the American League pennant race. The 2018 World Series champions ran their losing streak to eight games Sunday night after dropping a weekend series in New York to the Yankees. That setback followed three consecutive losses to Tampa Bay and a loss to New York, all at Fenway Park.
Gee, was it just a week ago the Red Sox took three of four from the Yankees at Fenway? Just eight days ago when they were 12 games over .500 and optimistic about their playoff chances?
Those hopes are crumbling like a sand castle at Easton’s Beach in Newport now.
In the latest disappointment, a 7-4 loss, David Price failed to last three innings. The Yankees hammered him for 9 of their 10 hits and all of their runs, six in the nightmarish third.
Boston (59-55) trails Tampa Bay (65-48) by 6½ games for the second wild-card spot in the American League.
These last 14 games were supposed to set the stage for a late-season charge. Six games against the Rays, eight against the Yankees. The Sox took two of three at Tampa Bay and the first three of a four-game series against the Yankees. But Chris Sale could not sustain the momentum in a Sunday night start against the Yanks on July 28, the Sox lost, and the current slide began.
Think about this. The Red Sox have already lost more games than they did all of last season. We all know the reasons. Relaxed spring training. Ineffective starting pitching, except for Eduardo Rodriguez, the ace of the staff with a 13-5 record. A mediocre bullpen. No dominant closer. Slow starts from 2018 MVP Mookie Betts, slugger J.D. Martinez, and outfielder Andrew Benintendi. Injuries.
Take your pick. Take them all. Whatever the reason, or reasons, the 2019 Red Sox are underachieving. That’s why this first full week of August we are singing “Bye bye, Red Sox, bye bye.”
