The Boston Red Sox came into the season with aspirations of winning the AL East, and some in baseball saw them as World Series contenders. Hours after the series loss to the San Diego Padres at Fenway Park, fans were criticizing the team and chanting "sell the team", with at least one fan-favorite echoing the frustration to some extent.
Speaking to reports after Sunday's loss to the Padres, outfielder Roman Anthony criticized the team's energy and made it clear that the way everyone is playing is unacceptable.
"We need to find a way to bring more energy and be better. This is unacceptable. This is unacceptable to the fans. This is unacceptable to the standard we set for ourselves."
Roman Anthony of the Boston Red Sox after Sunday's loss to the San Diego Padres
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What went wrong for the Red Sox?
Things looked promising on opening day. Boston opened the season with a 3–0 victory over the Cincinnati Reds at Great American Ball Park. Anthony went 3-for-4, Trevor Story had an RBI single, Jaren Duran went 2-for-5 at the plate with an RBI, Marcelo Meyer went 2-for-2 off the bench with two runs scored, and Sedan Rafaela went 2-for-4 with an RBI. Since then it has been largely downhill.
In eight games played from March 28 to April 5, the Red Sox lineup has collectively posted a .211/.286/.374 triple-slash line. According to FanGraphs, during that span Boston ranked 25th in runs scored (27), 25th in walk rate (8.5 percent) and 18th in OPS (.659), along with the second-highest strikeout rate in baseball (29.2 percent).
Anthony has been part of the problem after his stint with Team USA. He got off to a strong start on Opening Day, but has since posted a .167/.242/.333 triple-slash line with a 36.4 percent strikeout rate in 33 plate appearances. Meanwhile, Meyer (.136/.200/.364), Story (.108/.108/.216), and Duran (.160 batting average) have also been disappointing since their season-opening win.
Pitching has also been a problem for Boston. Top free-agent signee Ranger Suarez has given up 13 hits and eight earned runs in 8.1 innings in his first two starts, Brian Bello (eight hits and five earned runs) was rough in his first start of the season, and Conley Early's command was an issue Saturday.
As Fenway Sports Group continues to ask fans to pay more at the ballpark, the product on the field is deteriorating. Given everything that's happened so far, it's no surprise that fans chanted "Sell the team" at Fenway Park on Sunday, and we'll hear more of that in Boston down the road.
