Here comes the rain again

In 2022 and 2023, September was a disaster. Once again this season, rain is falling and we’re running out of baseball to play.

Falling from the stars

While I never would have considered the Red Sox “stars” in the context of 2024 baseball teams, there was a time when Alex Cora talked about winning the division. At the time, the team was eight games back in the division and just one game out of the Wild Card. Now, they’re about ten games back in the division and five back from the postseason.

Drenched in my pain again

I bought into this Red Sox team. I can’t help myself, I want the Red Sox to be good and play meaningful baseball. I’m miserably typing away as I watch another opportunity to claw back a game in the wild card slip away. To make matters worse, I’m using a folding table as a desk because I just moved and don’t have a real workspace yet. All of this is fully my fault for believing, and it sucks.

Becoming who we are

We all knew this team probably didn’t have what it took to be serious contenders this season, but they hung around long enough to have a chance. Now, summer is nearing its conclusion and the team seems to be morphing back into who we thought they were.

A few more lines that don’t quite fit my narrative

Wake me up when September ends

I can’t keep watching this team every day. The teams we’re chasing can’t help themselves, but the Red Sox refuse to take advantage. Just put me out of my misery or wake me up when the season ends.

One Stud

Kutter Crawford

He’s the only stud tonight because he gave the team a chance to win with a strong outing and the rest of the team didn’t capitalize on the opportunity. He went heavy with his two fastballs, keeping the ball up in the zone nicely. That resulted in 18 whiffs on 53 swings (34%) and led to eight strikeouts. The only blemish was a home run he surrendered to Francisco Lindor after he threw him a cutter that caught a little too much of the plate. Regardless, it was nice to see Crawford navigate through six innings without falling apart as he had in some of his recent outings.

Three Duds

The Lineup

They struck out 15 times tonight. There were very few hard-hit balls. They aren’t hitting right now, and it’s a very bad time to slump.

Justin Slaten

Slaten made one bad pitch in his outing, but unfortunately, that pitch was put into the seats. No reliever can be perfect all of the time, but when you’re trying to chase a team for the final Wild Card spot, you have to be close to it.

Chris Martin

Chris Martin followed Justin Slaten and was roughed up as well. Again, no reliever can get everyone out, and Martin picked a bad time to have an off-night.