Game 2 was the definition of "missed opportunity," with Duran's drop and Eaton's failure to score being the most costly mistakes. No offense to Early, but having to start a rookie in a win-or-go-home game is pretty much a death knell (unless you're a decent pitcher such as Schlittler facing an anemic Red Sox offense), and of course, just to polish off the turd, the woeful Red Sox defense again made itself known. Oh, and the Sox continued to strike out like that was the point of the game.
I have to admit that this team far outperformed my expectations, more so once injuries are factored in, so I guess there's more raw talent on this roster than I thought (though I think they got a little lucky with Story being healthy all year and Chapman having a career season at an advanced age). But at the same time, the flaws?and there are many?were made painfully clear ALL YEAR LONG, and particularly in the playoffs: This team is bad at defense, bad at baserunning, and bad at situational hitting.
The biggest problem, though, remains what it has been for several years: cheap ownership. Some people might say that there's no downside to a team making the playoffs, but I disagree: Red Sox ownership will absolutely treat this playoff appearance as validation of its slower-than-molasses, develop-the-young-guys-and-save-money approach, and they'll continue to let this team improve at a snail's pace, and they'll continue to not spend much. Ownership is banking (pun intended) on Anthony, Mayer, Campbell, Rafaela, Tolle, Early, Dobbins, Crawford, and every other youngster becoming an all-star (or better), to be supplemented by scrap-heap finds and reclamation projects. There's nothing wrong with letting the kids play when it's their time, but this team has too many kids, and too many vets of the "oft-injured" and/or "just not very good" variety.
So, if anyone's holding their breath for an offseason splash, don't. Ownership and the front office are just gonna beat the drum of patience: "We'll have a lot of good players coming back from injury"; "We have a lot of young guys we think can help the team down the road"; "We've just gotta give it some time and it'll all work out."
I have no doubt that Anthony is going to be an amazing player. And I'm sure that at least a couple of the other young guys will become solid major-leaguers, if not all-stars. But if this is going to be a good team, a legitimate title threat, they can't keep leading the majors in errors, they can't keep running into outs (or failing to run home when they should), and they can't keep banking on reclamation projects and castoffs and has-beens. They're gonna have to spend some serious money at some point, because they're not gonna be able to fill all of their needs via their farm system, especially with the rotation.
Or maybe they won't spend serious money, ever. Wouldn't surprise me. They seem to be content with just being "competitive."
