All losses are difficult to take, especially this time of year when you can see the finish line and each game takes on an added significance. The Red Sox have ground to make up, and can ill-afford to drop games to teams far out of contention like the Minnesota Twins.
So it was particularly frustrating that, after spotting the Twins a 4-0 lead, for the Sox to claw back and tie Wednesday's game in the ninth on Kyle Schwarber's first home run with his new team -- only to then lose it, and quickly, in the 10th, 9-6.
Even the wins have been hard-fought in recent days. The Sox needed extra-innings to finish off the lowly Texas Rangers Monday and had to hold for dear life to beat the Twins Tuesday.
So Wednesday's loss was going to sting no matter what, and the fact that the Sox essentially wasted a ninth-inning comeback in the process made it all the more tough to take.
But really, what stood out about the setback wasn't what the Sox failed to do in the bottom of the ninth, or that they gave back the lead almost as soon as they had grabbed it. What stood out, instead, was the team's display of mental mistakes and sloppy fundamentals earlier in the game.
Trailing 2-0 in the bottom of the third, the Red Sox had Christian Vazquez at second base with two outs. Schwarber drove a single to right-center, and instead of being off second as soon as the ball was hit, Vazquez hung up between second and third -- obviously forgetting that there were two outs. Vazquez should have scored easily, but instead, had to stop at third. When Xander Bogaerts flew to right, he remained there.
Then, the following inning, with the Twins having upped the lead to 4-0, Alex Verdugo hit a ball toward the Wall in left. Believing he had homered, Verdugo admired his work in the box for a few seconds, before realizing that the ball had hit the wall. Then, he compounded matters by taking too big a turn at first and getting tagged for the third out as he attempted to scamper back to the bag.
Two plays, in two innings -- both of which made you question the Red Sox' attention to detail in the heat of a playoff race. Just five days earlier, the Red Sox had been similarly atrocious in a 10-1 loss to Texas, committing five errors, running into two unnecessary outs on the bases and generally playing in a manner that led their manager to label their play "embarrassing.''
If that public criticism shamed the Red Sox, it didn't seem to have led to any improvement Wednesday.
Bullpen meltdowns are going to happen, though they've taken place with alarming frequency this month. At times, teams will struggle with situational hitting, a malady that dogged the Sox back when they were leading the American League East.
But lack of effort? Forgetting the number of outs? Those are inexcusable occurrences at this time of year.
"It's an area we've been bad,'' said Cora. "We forgot the outs, we didn't run out of the box ... It's probably a different game early on (if those things hadn't happened). Obviously, they didn't want to do that. But I've been saying, it feels like sometimes we're not doing enough, pushing guys, because it just keeps happening. It's on (the players), it's on us. As a group, we're not doing a good job with that. Those things you can control -- know the outs, run (hard) out of the box. At this stage, it's tough to watch. It's not acceptable. We talk about it, but it keeps happening. As a staff, we've got to keep pushing. We can't give up.''
Cora hinted that he had taken a tougher approach with guilty players behind closed doors.
"There's a lot of stuff that happens that you guys don't see,'' he said. "We talk, sometimes we sit people and you guys don't notice. (The media) doesn't have to know it. We just have to keep going, (the players) know it, the coaching staff knows it, I know it. Obviously for me, it's very frustrating to see a team that I manage be sloppy fundamentally. It's hard. That's my biggest battle, because I do believe the talent is here. From my end, this is what we've been talking about the whole time since spring training. We've been talking about it and it keeps happening.''
When it happens in April, it not's a good look. When it happens in August, it's inexcusable. And as Cora himself indirectly referenced, it doesn't reflect well on the manager.
Blown saves, errors and strikeouts are going to happen for even the best teams.
But not having your head in the game speaks to a larger, more ominous issue.
It's one thing to lose. It's another thing altogether when it seems like the players aren't invested.