The Red Sox didn’t just lose another game Sunday; they exposed how quickly a season can start slipping away. An 8-6 loss to the Padres at Fenway Park dropped Boston to 2-7, planting them firmly at the bottom of the American League East. Nine games in, the record alone is concerning. The way they’re getting there is worse.
Young Red Sox Voice Breaks the Silence
Roman Anthony, just 21 and already being leaned on in multiple roles, didn’t dodge the moment. After the loss, he delivered a blunt assessment: the team’s start is “unacceptable.” Not just for the clubhouse, but for the fans and the standard the organization claims to uphold. It wasn’t a rehearsed line or a vague expression of frustration; it was a direct callout of the team’s current level of play.
That urgency isn’t coming out of nowhere. Anthony’s comments reflect a team that knows it’s underperforming across the board and hasn’t found a consistent way out.
Numbers That Tell the Story
Boston has struggled to produce on both sides of the ball. Through Sunday, they sit 16th in batting average at .223 and 20th in ERA at 4.28. Those numbers alone don’t bury a season, but paired with uneven defense and missed opportunities, they’ve created a pattern that’s hard to ignore.
Manager Alex Cora has already started adjusting, searching for anything that might jolt the lineup into rhythm. One of those moves involved shifting Anthony from right field to designated hitter. The results have been uneven. On Sunday, Anthony drew a walk and scored but went hitless in four at-bats. His early-season slash line, .235/.316/.382, marks a drop from last year’s .292/.396/.463 across 71 MLB games.
Searching for Answers Before It Slips Further
Cora has pointed to broader issues beyond the stat sheet, particularly on defense. There are execution gaps that extend beyond one player or one position. He’s also framed Anthony’s current stretch as part of a broader development process that now clearly includes leadership responsibilities.
There are 153 games left, which makes it easy to downplay a 2-7 start. That argument only holds if the underlying issues begin to shift. Right now, they haven’t. Anthony’s remarks make it clear the team understands the situation; it just hasn’t shown it can fix it yet.
