Much like the Fenway Park video board in center field for most of the night on Thursday, the Red Sox’s playoff hopes are flickering.
Hey, @John_W_Henry, your video board is… ah, you know what, never mind. #DirtyWater pic.twitter.com/9FZsxNLhCz
— Gethin Coolbaugh (@GethinCoolbaugh) August 29, 2024
Here's the thing about something that’s flickering. Sometimes you get a dark spot, then suddenly you get a quick burst of light. It’s a back-and-forth dance, but inevitably the dark spot always seems to rear its ugly head again.
It’s been that way all season for these Red Sox, frankly. Two or three steps forward, two or three steps back.
After falling five games out of the playoff picture with Monday’s doubleheader sweep against Toronto, back-to-back wins over the Jays coupled with some good fortunate had Boston back within three games of Minnesota in the AL wild card hunt.
With the Twins idle on Thursday, the opportunity was there for the taking to chip away further at that deficit.
But, of course, the Sox didn’t do that.
Instead, they were stymied by red-hot Jays starter Bowden Francis and done in by merely a pair of RBI doubles while mustering just two hits in a hapless 2-0 defeat. It marked the sixth time this season the Sox were shut out and tied a season-low for hits.
"Obviously this homestand was a little disappointing for us. We definitely want to try to win series," Sox starting pitcher Kutter Crawford said after tossing 6 2/3 innings of two-run ball. "But, you know, I think everybody in this clubhouse still believes we've got a chance. There's nobody in this clubhouse that's throwing in the towel. We've still got a month left."
If you ask Alex Cora, he would have gotten away with it, too, if it weren't for that pesky Toronto pitching staff…
“Good pitching, we saw good pitching against us,” Cora explained postgame. “We’ll be ready. The big boy didn’t play three days, so we’ll get him tomorrow. We’ll get going.”
Who can argue? Sometimes you simply run into a buzzsaw like the Blue Jays pitchers and their 4.42 ERA that ranked sixth-to-last in baseball coming in…
As for the “big boy’s” return — wait, Greg Bedard’s gonna come in and set these Sox straight this last month? I’d welcome that… — it’s fair and valid that Boston is worse off whenever Rafael Devers is not in the lineup.
Devers’ lingering shoulder issues are certainly a concern in their own right. Will three straight days off be enough for him to reset for the final month of the season? Probably not. So you’d better prepare to be without Devers for at least some of the month of September…
I can’t say I’m a huge fan of Cora’s laissez-faire public approach of late. On the one hand, there’s only so much you can say after a loss — and multiple losses — and something to the effect of “we’ll get ‘em next time” if pretty standard.
Yet for a young team that Cora has been quick to point out is still learning and doesn’t have much experience being in a playoff race, it’s fair to wonder if the manager who sets the tone for them — in the same way as when a young child falls and looks to their parent to gauge how badly they are hurt — is doing them a disservice by not treating the situation with a little more severity.
It’s been a mixed bag from Cora on the topic, too. Some days he’s mentioned the pressures of the postseason and that every pitch and every moment in every game from here on out matters. Others he’s more laid back and nonchalant in his approach.
Again, it’s all part of being a big-league manager and knowing when and how to push the right buttons. It’s not a situation I’ve ever been in, or will ever be in. But Cora’s job is to manage, and my job is to analyze.
The first thing I always — and will always — go to is the standings. You are what your record says you are. And right now, the Red Sox are only four games over .500 with a 3 1/2 game hole to overcome with five, maybe six, teams effectively within striking distance of the same two spots you’re shooting for…
Maybe it isn’t the end of the world — and maybe it isn’t football season just yet — but it is a dire situation.
It should be treated like one.
King of the Hill
On the 171st day of his 44th year, Rich Hill was a major leaguer once again.
Hill made his re-debut with the Sox in Thursday’s game after joining the team on a minor league deal and only one tune-up in Worcester.
And you know what? He was pretty good.
The big left-hander and Boston native tossed 1 1/3 scoreless innings with no hits, no walks and a pair of strikeouts. He threw 20 pitches, 11 for strikes. And he certainly had the ball dancing around the plate…
44-year-old Rich Hill appears in his 20th Major League season and strikes out his first batter 👏 pic.twitter.com/f4LuwIXbEg
— MLB (@MLB) August 30, 2024
“It’s been, obviously, a great ride to get here — and there’s more to do,” Hill said while pausing frequently and fighting back tears postgame. “(I’ll) try not to be so emotional for hopefully the next one.”
It’s OK, Rich. You can be emotional all you want. By appearing on the mound in Thursday’s game, Hill officially entered his 20th — that’s *twentieth* — season as a professional pitcher in the world’s premier baseball league.
Twenty years is, well, a long time.
“I love him, man,” Jays skipper and former longtime minor league catcher John Schneider said after the game. “I laughed when he came in — you know, I caught the guy 23 years ago in the Cape League.”
Hill’s stuff probably isn’t as good as it was back then, but Schneider was still plenty impressed with it.
“Slider’s pretty wicked,” Schneider said. “I give him all the credit in the world for still doing it. He’s like a baseball version of Tom Brady right now in New England.”
Obviously Hill’s not quite on that level — but really, hardly anybody is — but seeing him knock big league hitters out of rhythm at this stage of his career is a testament to his work and understanding of the game.
As I wrote before, we’re not talking about Hill needing to pitch an entire season here. There is one month left, and he will almost certainly empty the tank in what is probably his final run on an MLB roster.
Then again, we keep saying that every year… and here he is once again.
Gethin Coolbaugh is a columnist for Boston Sports Journal. Follow him @GethinCoolbaugh on X/Twitter.