The first series at Fenway Park this year was ugly. It was so bad; sloppy defense, poor hitting, and terrible weather (except on opening day). Nothing about this series was enjoyable after the Opening Day festivities with the 2004 team.
Tim Wakefield’s death is still so sad.
Amongst the celebration of the curse-breaking 2004 squad, there was a tone of sadness as the Red Sox remembered Tim Wakefield and Larry Lucchino. The sadness hit a fever pitch when his daughter threw a knuckleball to Jason Varitek for the ceremonial first pitch.
You gotta catch the ball.
Much like the series in Anaheim, the Red Sox couldn’t catch the ball. Brayan Bello was pitching great against the best team in the AL East when a routine pop fly that would have ended the inning. The Orioles scored twice that inning and ended up winning 7-1. That was the first of five(!) errors the Red Sox committed in the three-game series. It has gone from a problem to an epidemic.
The starting pitching keeps getting the job done.
The starters for the series went 15.1 innings while giving up only 3 ER. This is the fourth series of the year where the starters have been more than effective, they have been great. The issue in this particular series was the bullpen absolutely falling apart. Including Chris Martin having a meltdown in the second game.
I think this iteration of the Red Sox may be more indicative of the team we will see this year. Rafael Devers has a sore shoulder that may land him on the IL, making things worse. The lineup gets very thin when you take Devers out of it. Triston Casas and Jarren Duran remain bright spots offensively. Ceddanne Rafaela finalized an 8-year $50 million contract on Thursday joining Bello as potential core players to be locked up for a long time. So, some positives, I guess.
Photo from @MLB
The Never Weres 
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