By now, maybe the 2021 Red Sox should have one of those tag lines usually reserved for summer blockbusters.
Just when they thought it was safe to resume their playoff chase....the 'Invisible Enemy' has returned!
Friday should have been a good day for the Red Sox. They began it by holding down the first wild card spot in the standings, and they were getting ready to welcome back shortstop Xander Bogaerts from 10 days of quarantine in Florida. What's more, two key relievers -- Matt Barnes and Hirokazu Sawamura -- were with them, also sprung from their time in splendid isolation, ready to be activated over the weekend.
But ever since COVID first visited the Red Sox exactly two weeks ago, it's clear that the team is seemingly never safe from the virus. Because before the Red Sox could even activate Bogarts -- arguably their most important position player -- they found that they had lost Chris Sale, inarguably their most important pitcher. Sale tested positive and was placed on the COVID-IL.
So much for back to normal. So much for being at full strength for the final two weeks.
Sale had been set to pitch Sunday in the series finale, then was lined up pitch against Baltimore when the Sox return to Fenway next weekend. He's not certain to miss Sunday's outing and there's a good chance he might not be ready for the homestand, too.
One step forward, two steps back.
"At this point, nothing shocks me to be honest with you,'' said a beleaguered Alex Cora before the Red Sox dropped their road trip opener, 4-3, to the Chicago White Sox. "On a daily basis, we just go through our process and we hope for good news. This is where we're at.''
Where the Red Sox are at, if you're keeping track, is a total of 13 players going on the COVID-IL in the last 14 days. A few -- Kike Hernandez, Josh Taylor, Danny Santana and Bogaerts -- have returned to the active roster, but eight remain sidelined, including Jonathan Arauz, who was placed on the list after the Red Sox announced he was being optioned to make room for the return of Bogaerts. That's how bad it's become -- even the "healthy'' players making room for the previously sick players are getting sick, too.
Not to put too fine a point on it, but some of the players on the list do not exactly classify as indispensable. The season is not going to turn one way or another based on the absence of Yairo Munoz, whom the Sox didn't bother promoting from Triple-A until they needed replacement bodies after the second wave of COVID nearly torpedoed the roster.
The same, however, cannot be said of Sale. Since returning in early August from Tommy John surgery, Sale had made five starts and the Sox have won four. The team has essentially relied on Sale and Nathan Eovaldi as their last line of defense for the past month: when all else is lost, the Sox knew they could rely on one or the other to put the brakes on a losing streak. The team is 9-2 in their last 11 starts combined.
Remember, Sale was going to be their de facto trade acquisition. He just happened to show up two weeks late. But every start he made would take on an added importance. You could almost bank his outings as near-guaranteed wins. (Indeed, the Sox would be undefeated in Sale starts this year had the most recent one been played at night, instead of in the bright sunshine, which resulted in four unearned runs and a general unraveling against Tampa Bay on Labor Day).
Now, one of those starts has been wiped out and another is in jeopardy. Already, there's a domino-like effect to the team's pitching plans. The Sox had hoped to have Nick Pivetta back for Saturday, then Sale Sunday. Now, it will likely be Connor Seabold in his major league debut Saturday and Pivetta, perhaps, on Sunday. Seabold will be the second starter to make his major league debut for the Sox this week -- not exactly a selling point for a team with designs on a playoff spot.
Cora's insistence on rolling with the (gut) punches makes sense. Once a player is lost, there isn't much good that comes from bemoaning his absence. The show -- and playoff race -- must go on.
But it's worth asking why the Red Sox lead MLB in player disqualifications over the last few weeks -- and no other team is close. Is this due to the team failing to hit the 85 percent threshold? Is the refusal of a handful of players to get vaccinated a factor? Are the players being less mindful of social distancing and protocols?
It's unlikely we'll ever get the answers to these questions, given the privacy issues involved. But that doesn't mean they shouldn't be asked.
Meanwhile, 19 games remain on the schedule against six different opponents.
Or is that seven -- the six teams, and the one the Red Sox can't seem to ever beat, or even, maintain a healthy distance from?