There are Reasons to be Hopeful about the Sox Second Half

Tyler Krusz

The Hangover series was super dragged out- there was no way they needed that many. But it couldn’t have been as long and painful to watch as the Boston Red Sox’s World Series “hangover.”

The Sox sit at nine games back from the Yankees in the East, and two games back from the second wild card spot behind Cleveland. Now, they don’t suck- they’re an above average baseball team. But people expected this team to be at the top of the league- they were debated to be one of the best teams in franchise history last year, and only really “lost” Craig Kimbrel.

But for some reason, the starting pitching started slower than usual, Mookie Betts has been extremely subpar, and oh Lord this bullpen. They are the only team that can score 12 runs in a game and still lose by five. 

The second half of the season isn’t bleak, though. They went into the All-Star break on a four-game winning streak. Xander Bogaerts is having what looks to be a career season, and Christian Vasquez has shocked the entire city of Boston with consistent power.

After the worst start of his career, Chris Sale has bounced back with a few wins and a few dominant performances, and David Price is having his best season as a Red Sox pitcher, at least starting anyway. He’s 7-2 with a 3.24 ERA with 1.14 WHIP.

There’s still hope, too. The deadline is two weeks away, and Dealin’ Dave has let the world know he’s looking for bullpen pitching. That’s the huge hole on this Sox team. If they can finish games, and win close ones late, they have the offense to compete in September. They still haven’t caught stride once, and this team showed how dangerous they can be when they finally play their best baseball. 

Expect Betts to be angry after the break- not making the team after winning the MVP- and finally play the kind of ball we’re used to seeing.

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