Say hey, baseball: The Red Sox are screwed

Sunday morning’s baseball includes the dumpster fire known as the Red Sox, a pitching feat rarer than a perfect game and the hottest team in baseball. Subscribe for your daily Say Hey!

by Joon Lee

Updated Jun 15, 2015, 12:55 PM UTC

Jim Rogash/Getty Images

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★★★

Ben Cherington and Red Sox ownership invested $184 million dollars into their team this year. Going into the season, many expected the team to contend for the American League East title this year after the team finished in last place in the division last year. While the team needed everything to go right to expect to contend for a World Championship (offense gels, bullpen remains consistent, someone in the rotation emerges as the anchor), it wasn't ludicrous to expect the team to have a decent chance at the World Series.

Instead, every little thing that could have gone wrong has gone awry. The entire Red Sox rotation is a punchline -- rookie Eduardo Rodriguez, who allowed nine runs, came into Sunday with more bWAR (1.4) than the entire Red Sox rotation on Opening Day (0.6 bWAR). Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez have flopped so far as free-agent acquisitions and Father Time has seemingly begun his effect on David Ortiz and Mike Napoli. This isn't a small house fire. This is a nuclear explosion already in progress.

Firing manager John Farrell or Cherington isn't going to solve anything at this point. The Red Sox season is already lost and there's next to no chance that the team can make a run at the postseason at this juncture. While the team could certainly let go of Farrell at the end of the season, doing so at this point would not accomplish much; no manager can turn around the team at this point. Cherington is stuck with a couple of big contracts in Sandoval, Ramirez and Rick Porcello, who signed a major extension during spring training, and blowing up the team is less plausible than it has been in the past because the team currently has fewer desirable trade assets.

Basically, the Red Sox, barring unforeseen circumstances, are screwed.

It's not just that the Red Sox are losing that makes their year embarrassing, but also that they look like they've completely forgotten how to play baseball.

The Red Sox hoped that Hanley Ramirez's offensive production would offset the inevitable struggles of moving to the outfield. That hasn't happened.

While Max Scherzer came short of throwing a perfect game on Sunday, he posted a game score of 100, a feat accomplished only 12 times in MLB history. Statistically, Scherzer completed a feat rarer than a perfect game.

Players can lose their cool during a long game amidst a losing season, but controlling that temper, according to a former player, is easier said than done.

For the second straight year, A.J. Pollock of the Diamondbacks is quietly having a great season that's worthy of MLB All-Star consideration.

Byron Buxton, one of the top prospects in baseball, made his major league debut and scored the game-winning run for the Minnesota Twins. Indians prospect Francisco Lindor also made his major league debut, striking out as a pinch hitter in the seventh inning.

It seems as if, lately, there's been an endless number of blue-chip prospects making their major league debut. Why is that happening?

The Blue Jays are white-hot right now and could begin to separate themselves in a weak division. Should they go after another arm to make that playoff push?