Well, the betting market projected a .478 winning % & we currently have a .519 winning percentage.
So sure, they could end up sucking the rest of the season & not exceeding that by much, but that mostly seems like semantics.
Yeah, this is where I'm at. This was, as I understood, supposed to be a development year with the upside of a playoff team. The pitching going to absolute pieces and the defense being a disaster was a risk, but not one that I think anyone could have been certain of. Sale going down? Sure, of course. Houck, Whitlock AND Kluber all going down or being ineffective too? Seems extreme. Filling the rotation out for next year is going to be tough. I don't want them to splurge on a free agent in their 30s, and I think the market for Yamamoto is going to be steep, though they should absolutely be in on him. Rolling with Bello, Kutter, Yamamoto, Houck and Sale, along with some insurance, might be tenable. I don't know.
The ghost of Kike ruined their backup plans at SS and CF, both offensively and defensively. Duvall and Duran has been an adventure at worst in CF and mediocre at best. I see the defense improving next year with Rafaela roaming center/right field alongside Duran and Verdugo, and a full season of Urias and Story.
If you want to build a sustainable team, you've got to have years like this, unfortunately. There are minor league pitchers to be excited about, and Kutter and Houck are encountering normal bumps for guys who are in their first year starting full-time. I'd be happy to slot Kutter and Houck into the rotation next year, but as others have noted, the Sox need some real superstars if they're going to compete.
They're still not out of it, for what it's worth. Sale, Paxtonand Houck could still round into form, Story has shown signs of waking up (a lot of hard hit balls for outs lately), the lineup at large could wake up, some of those solo homers couod turn into grand slams...Chances are exceedingly slim but stranger things have happened.