Alex Cora<\/a> said after the final game.<\/span><\/p>\nBut the offseason brought only cautious, moderately priced improvement, not the big swing expected by Sox fans and rival organizations. That\u2019s something ownership and chief baseball officer Craig Breslow will eventually have to acknowledge was a mistake.<\/span><\/p>\nThe results have been predictable. The 9-15 Sox have the lowest OPS in the American League (.643) and the fewest home runs (13). Only three teams have fewer stolen bases.<\/span><\/p>\nYankees manager Aaron Boone has said all the right things about the rivalry still having plenty of buzz and his respect for Cora and the Red Sox. But the Sox are not their competition for winning the division. The Blue Jays, Orioles, or Rays will be.<\/span><\/p>\nWith Anthony out, Cora had free-swinging Ceddanne Rafaela bat leadoff for the first time since early in the 2024 season. He was 0 for 4 and struck out three times.<\/span><\/p>\nThe designated hitter was Andruw Monasterio, a utility infielder with eight home runs in 561 career at-bats. He was 0 for 3 as lefty Max Fried carved the Sox up for eight innings.<\/span><\/p>\nIt felt like desperation only 24 games into the season.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cJust trying everything to get going,\u201d Cora said. \u201cWe haven\u2019t hit. We haven\u2019t hit. That\u2019s the reality of it.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nJarren Duran had three of his team\u2019s five hits on Wednesday, two of them doubles. He also drove in the only run and acknowledged afterward that the Sox are pressing.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cWe\u2019re trying to do too much. We\u2019re trying to dig ourselves out of a hole,\u201d he said.<\/span><\/p>\nDuran went on to defend the team\u2019s work ethic.<\/span><\/p>\n\u201cYou guys don\u2019t get to see what we do behind these [clubhouse] walls every single day, but I know everybody\u2019s working,\u201d he said. \u201cI know people are going to say, \u2018Oh, we should work harder.\u2019 Well, we are.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\nA few feet away, Caleb Durbin was still sitting at his locker in full uniform 35 minutes after the game ended, his head in his hands. He is hitting .147 and it\u2019s eating him up.<\/span><\/p>\nDurbin was a league-average hitter used in the bottom third of the order by the Brewers last season. The Sox traded for him just before the start of spring training to play third base in place of Bregman.<\/span><\/p>\nBreslow said at the time it was further evidence of the team\u2019s plan to win with pitching and defense.<\/span><\/p>\nTwo and a half months later, that strategy just isn\u2019t working, and there\u2019s no evidence it will.<\/span><\/p>\n
\nPeter Abraham can be reached at peter.abraham@globe.com<\/a>. Follow him on Bluesky at peteabeglobe.bsky.social\u202c.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n