The Red Sox Suck -- For Now

A lot of New Englanders woke up this morning asking the same question: Did the Red Sox win last night?

Like 80 percent of their games this season, the answer to that question is no. The Red Sox did not win. They were embarrassed by the A’s, 7-0, on Monday in what can only be described as a disastrous start to their season.

The defending World Series champions are tied with the Los Angeles Angels for the worst record in baseball at 1-4.

The defending World Series champions have the worst ERA for starters in the MLB at an astounding 11.14.

The defending World Series champions suck at baseball. But only for now.

Chris Sale isn’t going to give up seven earned runs in three innings like he did on Opening Day and Nathan Eovaldi isn’t going to give up six earned runs like he did in their second game. Rick Porcello has regressed since he won the AL Cy Young and David Price isn’t the same pitcher he was with the Rays. But those four pitchers plus Eduardo Rodriguez are still a formidable rotation, no matter how bad they’ve all pitched to open the season.

Meanwhile, their offense has scored 24 runs in five games, which is eighth-best in baseball, and their bullpen hasn’t been nearly as bad as we thought coming into the season (3.15 ERA, 13th in MLB).

Has it been a rough start for the Red Sox on the West Coast coming off a magical season where they dominated everyone en route to one of the easier World Series wins of all time? Of course. But baseball is a game of averages, and eventually the Red Sox will come back to the mean.

They might not win 108 games like last season, but they also won’t continue on their current trajectory of 32.4 wins. So soak this in while you can, Red Sox haters, because while they suck now, they won’t forever, and when their starting pitching gets back on track, you won’t have much to gloat about.