At the 2004 trade deadline, sensing that he needed to improve his team's overall defense, Red Sox general manager Theo Epstein pulled a bold, multi-team trade that saw the Sox ship out, among others, Nomar Garciaparra, while upgrading the team at both shortstop (Orlando Cabrera) and first base (Doug Mientkiewicz).
Epstein explained at the time he feared the team's inconsistent defense could have been the team's "fatal flaw'' and needed addressing. Epstein's words proved prophetic, and with improved defensive play, the team went on to win the World Series for the first time in 86 years.
At this year's trade deadline, meanwhile, the Sox had similar concerns about their defense -- or at least should have. But instead of fixing the problem, the club inadvertently compounded the problem.
The team's biggest acquisition was Kyle Schwarber, who provided the Red Sox with a formidable left-handed bat. And indeed, despite a recent funk at the plate, Schwarber has been as advertised offensively, getting on base at a high clip and clubbing extra-base hits.
The problem is, Schwarber is essentially a DH and there's no place for him to fit in the field. That seemed like an afterthought when he was acquired, with the Red Sox assuring everyone that they'd figure this out.
That point was hammered home again in the team's 5-4 loss to the Seattle Mariners Monday night. In a 2-2 game with two outs in the seventh inning, pinch-hitter Jake Bauers hit a one-hopper down the first base line. Schwarber, playing close to the line, initially gloved the ball, only to have the ball pop out of the glove and roll into foul territory. Schwarber frantically scrambled after it, but on his hands and knees, couldn't gather the ball in time as Bauers reached safely on the error.
A single by J.P. Crawford extended the inning, and Mitch Haniger followed with a three-run homer off Ryan Brasier to left. In the span of a three hitters, the game went from a 2-2 tie to a 5-2 lead. The Sox used homers from Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers in the next inning to climb back to within a run. But the three-run homer -- enabled by the error -- proved to be the winning margin in a crushing 5-4 setback.
It resulted in a stinging defeat for the Sox, their third in the last four games on this critical road trip. The Sox now trail Toronto for the wild card and are tied with the Yankees. And while the Red Sox were losing, three of the four teams closest to them in the standings -- the Blue Jays, Yankees and, of course, Mariners -- all won. The fourth (Oakland) was off Monday.
Every game the Red Sox have played on their road trip has been decided by a single run -- indicative of how closely matched most of these contending teams are while emphasizing the need to convert batted balls into outs and not make mistakes.
But that's exactly what the Sox have done. Incredibly, in the last three games, the Red Sox have allowed 10 unearned runs.
Ten
It's hard enough playing, as the Red Sox have, with so many players unavailable to them because of the COVID breakout that struck the team two and a half weeks ago. While such key contributors as Xander Bogaerts, Kike Hernandez and Hirokazu Sawamura have since returned, the Sox are still without their best starter (Chris Sale), one of their best relievers (Matt Barnes) and countless depth options (Christian Arroyo, Jarren Duran, Martin Perez).
But what's making it even harder is the team's inability to make plays. Too often, they're proving opportunities to opponents, who are only too happy to cash in.
In each of the last two losses, an error (or errors) has factored into the outcome. On Sunday, an error by Hernandez led to the first Chicago run in a 2-1 loss. And Monday, beyond Schwarber's flub, there was another error by Hunter Renfroe, leading to yet another unearned run in the second. Remarkably, somehow, the Sox managed to win Saturday's game in Chicago despite allowing five unearned runs in the process.
"Like I always say,'' said Alex Cora, "you give the opposition more than 27 outs, most of the time they're going to take advantage. Right now, whenever we open up the door for them, it seems like they take advantage and we pay the price....We've been struggling defensively the whole season. We've had some good stretches where we played good defense and when we do that, most of the time, it seems like we win games. That's the bottom line. It seems like, at this level, you have to be good defensively.''
The Red Sox don't fit that profile.
They have other issues, too. Some of their best hitters have again slumped at the same time, and the bullpen remains a patchwork of minor league arms.
But as the last few days have clearly demonstrated, their biggest flaw remains their defensive play.
Just how fatal that proves to be in the next three weeks remains to be seen.