Red Sox Have Worst Winning Percentage In Franchise History; Chaim Bloom's Real Job Begins Now
By Michael Hurley, CBS Boston
BOSTON (CBS) -- Entering the season, we were all kind of prepared for a bad Red Sox season. Yet with the expanded postseason field and the highly potent offense, most of us expected the team to remain somewhat competitive, hovering more or less around .500 while remaining in the mix for one of those extra playoff spots.
Instead, we've got this. And it is disgusting.
With a 4-2 loss in the Bronx on Sunday night, the Red Sox are now riding a seven-game losing streak, owners of a 6-16 record. It was only a little over a week ago when the Red Sox were 6-9, struggling but still competing, having only been outscored by seven runs despite the shaky start to the season. Now, though, they've been outscored by 42 runs, and they're 9.5 games back in the division, and they're seven games out of a wild-card spot.
Worst of all ... they still have 38 games left to play.
Yikes.
The offense -- which ranks 11th in the AL in OPS -- has certainly underperformed, but it's the starting pitching that's making this team historically bad.
Red Sox starters are 3-13 with a 7.13 ERA thus far in the season. Only the Tigers' starters have a worse ERA, at 7.46. Red Sox starters rank dead last in MLB with a 1.824 WHIP. They've served up the second-most home runs in the AL (21, five more than the next-worst group), they've issued the most walks in the AL (44), and they've recorded the second-fewest strikeouts -- though Detroit has the fewest and has played three fewer games.
Making matters worse is the fact that there's no real help or hope on the horizon.
Chris Sale and Eduardo Rodriguez are out for the season. They're not walking through that door. The resources in Pawtucket have already been tapped into, and the Red Sox won't be making any trades to add to the big league roster, given their dire position in the standings.
There will be many more "TBD, TBD, TBD" series forthcoming, with the Red Sox essentially begging their two big league starters -- Nathan Eovaldi, Martin Perez -- to throw perfect games every time out to give them a chance to win.
As mentioned, the offense is not performing up to expectations. J.D. Martinez is hitting .238 with a .742 OPS. Rafael Devers is hitting .182 with a .566 OPS. Jackie Bradley Jr. has a .581 OPS. Boost all of those numbers, and maybe they 6-16 record looks somewhat more respectable.
Then again, maybe not. In their seven-game losing streak, they've lost by an average of five runs per game, a problem that couldn't be remedied with a few timely hits.
Add it all up, and the Red Sox own a .273 winning percentage. If that holds -- which it might! -- it will be the worst such mark in the entire 120-year history of the Red Sox franchise. The worst mark on record is a .279 winning percentage by the 1932 Red Sox, followed by a .301 winning percentage by the '26 squad. (Who could forget the lean years of '26 and '32?) After that, it's the '25 team's .309 winning percentage as the third-worst mark on record, and the 1906 Boston Americans' mark of .318 in the fourth spot seems safe at this point in time.
So, one way or another, this will go down as one of -- if not the -- very worst seasons ever by the Boston Red Sox. If they continue at their pace through the 60 games, they'll finish the year with a startling 16-44 record. In a 162-game season, that comes out to a 44-118 record. Just two years removed from arguably the best season in franchise history, the Red Sox are redefining rock bottom on a daily basis.
With two weeks left until the trade deadline, Chaim Bloom's job really begins now, as he sets out to do what he can to ensure that this nadir does not extend any longer than the 2020 season. If the Sox are to field a team like this when fans are allowed to fill Fenway Park and express their displeasure, the ugly scene could get even uglier.
Update: The Red Sox lost again on Monday night, making it 11 straight losses and two straight sweeps in four-game series. That hasn't happened since 1932.
You can email Michael Hurley or find him on Twitter @michaelFhurley.
