Top Boston sports stories of 2022: Red Sox edition
BOSTON -- If you're one of those folks who always looks on the bright side of life -- or if you New Year's resolution is to be a more positive person -- this is not the post for you. The 2022 Boston Red Sox were a tightly wrapped burrito of negativity.
(If you have decided this is not the post for you, please remain for at least 30 seconds and hit refresh a handful of times before you click out. Thank you.)
The team was a mess on the field with an inconsistent offense, a bullpen that struggled to get outs, and a starting rotation that couldn't stay healthy. No one knows what the front office was thinking before, during, or after the season, and John Henry is nowhere to be found to discuss what the heck is going on with the Red Sox.
Times Square on Jan. 1 is less of a mess than the Boston Red Sox right now. Maybe 2023 will be better, but we're not counting on it.
Here are the biggest stories that came from a disaster of a year for the Boston Red Sox.
Red Sox sign Trevor Story to play second base
The Red Sox waited until March 23 to make their big free agent splash, signing Trevor Story to a six-year deal worth $140 million. (No offense to their other big free agent signing, Matt Strahm.)
It was an interesting signing, considering Story is a shortstop and the Red Sox still had Xander Bogaerts, but they moved Story to second. We knew then what this move meant though: Xander was as good as gone when he hit free agency after the season. And that was indeed the case.
Injuries kept Story to just 94 games in his first season in Boston, and he hit just .234 while clubbing 16 homers -- tied for the second-most on the team. We'll see if he moves back to short now that Bogaerts is in San Diego.
Remy honored
The Red Sox honored the late Jerry Remy throughout the season, wearing a black patch with his name and No. 2 on their jerseys. The team also held a ceremony for the broadcasting legend on April 20, where a number of Remy's former co-workers and teammates shared stories from his 40-plus years with the franchise. His family also threw out the first pitch.
But even this event brought some controversy, as Don Orsillo was not part of the tribute. Sean McDonough was there. All of Remy's old sideline reporters were there. It felt odd to not have Remy's longtime partner in the booth part of the evening honoring him.
Orsillo was invited, but he couldn't attend because of his broadcasting duties with the Padres. A video tribute was discussed, and Orsillo recorded one, but the Red Sox didn't use it.
Again, it just felt strange not to have Orsillo share his thoughts and feelings on Remy, whom he shared the NESN booth with for 15 years. Only the 2022 Red Sox could make a mess of something like this.
Ortiz enshrined in Cooperstown
David Ortiz was immortalized in the Baseball Hall of Fame in July, with chants of "Papi! Papi!" filling Cooperstown, New York for a weekend in New York.
Ortiz's speech was great and his smile was booming all weekend. (Dan Roche also had some fun too.)
It was much better than spending that particular weekend at Fenway Park...
Meanwhile, in Boston...
While Ortiz was preparing for his enshrinement, his former team was busy getting their doors blown off by the Toronto Blue Jays. The Red Sox were swept by the Blue Jays that weekend, getting outscored 40-10 over the three-game series.
The worst game of the series was also the worst game of the season: A 28-5 loss on July 22.
Toronto had a 3-0 lead after two innings, before scoring seven runs in the top of the third. Included in that mess was an inside-the-park grand slam hit by Raimel Tapia after Jarren Duran lost the ball in center field -- and then decided to just not play center field as the Jays outfielder rounded the bases.
It only got worse for Boston. After a four-run fourth inning, the Blue Jays put up an 11 spot in the top of the fifth.
Toronto led 25-3 after five innings. The 28 runs were the most ever given up by the Red Sox.
Chris Sale keeps getting hurt
Sale just couldn't catch a break. Actually, breaks were all he could catch in 2022.
Sale suffered a broken rib during a throwing session before the season and didn't make his debut until July 12. Just five days later, he broke his left pinkie when he was hit by a line drive in the second inning in a start against the Yankees.
The lefty began throwing again in early August, but then he fell off his bike in Boston and broke his wrist. That was it for Chris Sale in 2022.
The Red Sox paid Sale over $30 million to toss 5.2 innings of Major League ball in 2022. Not great.
Disappointing trade deadline
The Red Sox were a .500 team when the MLB trade deadline arrived, but it was pretty obvious they were not going to make the playoffs. Or if they did manage to sneak in, they weren't going to compete for a title.
The Red Sox didn't want to recognize this, and held on to free-agents-to-be J.D. Martinez and Nathan Eovaldi. They wanted to make it seem like they were going for it.
Yet... they didn't acquire much of anything at the deadline, and they traded away their starting catcher in Christian Vazquez. The mixed approach didn't make much sense, and dealing Vazquez made most of the locker room realize that the team had no direction for the season and beyond.
Chaim Bloom and company could have cashed in on Martinez and Eovaldi and got something for them. Instead, they let them walk in free agency this winter with nothing to show for them. Vazquez also won a World Series with the Astros, putting a little more salt in the wounds.
Yet another crummy season
The Sox got off to an uninspiring 11-20 start to the season and a .500 May didn't make anyone feel any better. But they went 20-6 in June to instill some false hope in the team. As we just touched on, they were still a .500 team at the deadline.
But dealing Vazquez threw the squad into a funk, and they promptly lost seven of 10. They got back to .500 in mid-August, but went 19-25 over the final six weeks to miss the playoffs and finish in last place in the AL East. Even the Orioles had a better season than the Red Sox.
At 78-84, only five other American League teams lost more games than Boston.
Worse than anything else, the Red Sox were irrelevant by midseason. With the Celtics in the Finals and an interesting Patriots season about to kick off, the team was an afterthought among Boston sports fans. Given how the offseason has gone, that will likely carry over into 2023.
Eck retires
Most nights, Dennis Eckersley and his incredible commentary were the only reason to watch the Red Sox. The Eckisms we were treated to on a nightly basis were always gold. Cheese and high cheese for fastballs. Going bridge or a "Johnson" for homers. Or the absolute best: His use of "moss" to describe a player's incredible hair.
Unfortunately, that will not grace the airwaves in 2023, as Eckersley retired after the season following 20 years in broadcasting. Enjoy your second retirement, Eck, but you will be missed dearly.
Red Sox let Xander leave
The most shocking departure -- and biggest story of 2022 for the Red Sox -- was the team letting Xander Bogaerts leave town.
Boston was never going to give him the 11-year, $280 million contract that the Padres ponied up this offseason. And that's probably a massive overpay.
But it's how the team handled the entire situation. There was the lowball offer last spring, reminiscent of the Jon Lester fiasco. There was the whole "top priority" nonsense once the offseason arrived. The Red Sox only intended to bring back their homegrown star if he was willing to take a hometown discount. And right now, the team is not good enough to operate like that.
Once again, fans are left disappointed that a homegrown face of the franchise has departed for greener pastures.
What's the plan?
With Xander gone, and veterans J.D. Martinez and Nathan Eovaldi also departing, only three players remain from Boston's 2018 World Series team: Rafael Devers, Matt Barnes, and Ryan Brasier. That championship team had a core of Bogaerts, Betts, Benintendi, and Devers, plus Martinez as its savvy veteran bat. Only Devers remains from that group.
This offseason, the Red Sox have dished out a bunch of money for Masataka Yoshida, who has never played a game in Major League Baseball. They signed closer Kenley Jansen and reliever Chris Martin to shore up the bullpen. Corey Kluber was brought in on a one-year deal as another arm in the bullpen.
Yet there is no Bogaerts replacement. There is no Devers extension. There is no ace, and no pop added to the lineup. What are we doing here, Chaim? And where are you, John Henry?
The team keeps saying they want to compete for a title in 2023, but it seems a lot more like they're trying to bridge the gap to the next crop of prospects. That probably isn't going to fly among the fan base.
It was a long and disappointing 2022 for the Boston Red Sox, and it's looking like 2023 is going to be just as long and disappointing.
