If you're still keeping track, the Red Sox' 1-0 shutout loss at the hands of the Tampa Bay Rays Wednesday night dropped them a full 10 games back from the final spot in the American League wild-card race, confirming what's been obvious for some time now: when the regular season ends in exactly four weeks, the Red Sox aren't going anywhere but home for the playoffs.
There are still 24 games remaining, but in all of those, the Red Sox will be playing the role of "opponent.'' The teams they're playing -- the Orioles, Yankees, Blue Jays, Rays -- will have some skin in those games because they're fighting either for the division or wild-card playoff seeding. But the Sox are merely pawns, bowling pins -- set up to be knocked down.
For a half-dozen Red Sox players headed for free agency -- J.D. Martinez, Nathan Eovaldi, Michael Wacha, Matt Strahm, Kevin Plawecki and almost certainly, opt-out candidate Xander Bogaerts -- there will be some significance to these games as they attempt to burnish their positions for the upcoming free agent market, build on their numbers and impress some scouts.
But for the team in general? The results don't much matter. Even with the Orioles' struggles of late, it's virtually guaranteed that the Sox will retain sole possession of last place. The Orioles are 5.5 games in front of the Sox in the standings, and barring some surprise development -- like a sweep this weekend in Baltimore by the Sox -- are not about to be caught from behind.
So what's left?
In a word, opportunity.
In the last week, the Red Sox have added two players from their system -- catcher Connor Wong and first baseman Triston Casas -- and it's clear that they're going to get plenty of playing time for the final month.
Casas has played in all four games at first since arriving, an assignment made easier by the absence of Eric Hosmer (back spasms), Franchy Cordero (ankle) and the departure of Bobby Dalbec (optioned to Worcester). It's not as if the Sox are going to sit Casas in the next week so that Christian Arroyo can get some at-bats at first base.
It's not fair to expect Casas to light up the league as he makes his debut. He already has his first hit and his first home run, so he's gotten both of those milestones out of the way. You can tell from the quality of his at-bats that he understands the strike zone and isn't going to chance his approach now that he's graduated to the big leagues. Nor would the Sox want him to do so.
In the ninth inning Wednesday, Casas patiently worked a walk from Rays closer Pete Fairbanks with one out, giving the Sox the potential tying run on first. Casas didn't try to tie the game up with a big swing. Instead, without being offered a good pitch to hit, he took his base. That's an uncommonly mature perspective for someone with exactly four big-league games under his belt and bodes well for the future.
Then there's Wong, who got his third start in the last six games. He guided Nick Pivetta through a rocky first and second inning, when Pivetta walked three, went to a three-ball count seven times and threw 51 pitches.
Later, when Matt Strahm bounced a wild pitch that eluded him, Wong momentarily lost track of the ball but quickly recovered, tagging out Taylor Walls at the plate and cutting down what would have been the second Rays run. "You knew he wasn't going to panic,'' said Cora after the game.
Cora has said that Wong will catch the entire series in Baltimore, as the Red Sox try get as many chances as possible to evaluate him. It's impossible to imagine him becoming the No. 1 catcher next season, but it's not difficult at all to envision him as the backup to a more experienced receiver (the return of Christian Vazquez?), or, part of a platoon with Reese McGuire.
Wong is in a different spot than Casas. The latter has been ticketed for stardom since he was chosen in the first round of the 2018 draft and he almost certainly will be the team's primary first baseman when the 2023 season begins. Wong doesn't have that pathway or assurance. But he can earn the organization's trust down the stretch.
How much can the Sox learn about the two in September? Player evaluation in the final month is notoriously fickle. The best player of his generation, Mike Trout, slashed .220/.281/.390 in the final 40 games of 2011, and didn't exactly blow away the Angels. Dustin Pedroia looked over his head in the final weeks of 2006 with the Sox, when he .191. The Laser Show would come later.
But every inning, every at-bat, every game helps -- both the players and those trying to determine their strengths and weaknesses.
And it's not as if the Red Sox have anything else of interest going on.