Mediocre Red Sox are cheating their fans

UPDATE ON JULY 2: Of course, right after I lambaste this Red Sox team for being inconsistent and performing at way below an expected Major League level, they proceed to sweep the Toronto Blue Jays on the road, including two one-run wins, a 7-6 triumph on Saturday after Alex Verdugo threw out the potential tying run at home plate to end the game, and a 5-4 comeback victory today (Sunday, July 2), thanks to Verdugo's first homer since May 1 in the top of the ninth inning.
So, kudos to the Sox, who now stand at 43-42.
But, they also lost yet another starter to injury, Garrett Whitlock, who was removed after pitching just one inning due to elbow soreness, so all of their problems persist, and have gotten worse.
After a day off on Monday, July 3, three straight games against the AL West-leading Texas Rangers will provide a stiff test at Fenway Park, where the Sox have been less than stellar this year.
So, we shall learn fairly quickly if this team has a chance to salvage what has been a dismal --- and vastly disappointing season --- so far.
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With the mostly 4A team that the Red Sox have been fielding for most of this season --- for those who aren’t familiar with that expression, that refers to players who are a little better than Triple A (the highest minor leagues), but aren’t quite ready for the Majors --- Sox ownership ought to be reimbursing their fans.

Charging the highest tickets prices and among, if not, the highest concession prices at Fenway Park for this version of the Red Sox is nothing less than a cruel joke.
The Red Sox continue to hit new lows, and they hit a new one during Thursday night’s (June 29^th) home game vs. the Miami Marlins. Rookie pitcher Brayan Bello pitched seven no-hit innings only to lose both the no-hitter and eventually the game 2-0 as the Marlins scored runs in the eighth and ninth innings, and your Boston Red Sox once again showed a complete lack of offense.
That wasn’t a surprise as their offense has been largely anemic most of the season with few exceptions. They’ve padded their stats with outbursts against a few teams, but have showed a maddening inability to hit with consistency, and have wasted a lot of decent starting performances, even with their rotation decimated by injuries.
Let’s face it, the Red Sox roster, for the third of four years of Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom’s reign, is a largely dysfunctional one.
Bloom has earned a D+ for the 2023 team to date. (Only the signing of outfielder Mataska Yoshida, centerfielder Adam Duvall and first baseman/DH Justin Turner prevented me from giving him an F).
Bloom’s two big relief pitching acquisitions, via trade and free agency –southpaws Richard Bleier and Joely Rodriguez --- have barely pitched as they’ve been on the Injured List for most of the year.
They’ve been forced to play Kiki Hernandez (league-leading 14 errors) way too much at shortstop and lately are playing a vastly inexperienced 4A player, David Hamilton there. Hamilton has great speed, but his defense is questionable.
Why have they’ve been forced to take a Band-Aid approach to the all-important shortstop position? That’s because Bloom’s “brilliant” pickup when Trevor Story went down for at least half the year, if not more, was to trade for Alberto Mondesi --- and according to the latest reports, he just may never see the field the rest of the year, as he’s been hurt all year long. (He was recovering from surgery and was supposed to be back long before now.)
Bloom, meanwhile, continues to claim reclamation project after reclamation project off the waiver wire in a desperate attempt to shore up the pitching staff --- and none of that has worked out.
The pitching staff --- thanks to Chris Sale’s annual extended injury and Tanner Houck getting smacked in the face with a batted ball that required surgery --- have been down two starters and have been forced to use the dreaded “opener” featuring the likes of the ultimate 4A pitcher, Kaleb Ort, whose ERA is higher than the stock market on most days!
And the lineup is performing well below expectations. Their backup catcher, Reese McGuire, went down, leaving them with Connor Wong to start most of the games. Backing him up is Caleb Hamilton, another 4A player. Ugh!
Rafael Devers continues to both amaze with his play in between some real bad days at the plate and in the field. But Devers’ isn’t to blame --- pitchers fear no one else in the Red Sox lineup.
I could prattle on and on about how frustrating the Red Sox have been with a little more than a week to go before the All-Star break, but there are lot of reasons why, entering the Toronto series this weekend, they’ve lost five straight and are 40-42 and mired in last place in the American League East.
But the simple explanation is what Manager Alex Cora, in several interviews, has called “the roster.” He doesn’t control it; Bloom does, and that’s why Bloom has to go --- and the sooner the better.
He's clearly not the person for this team --- most of the prospects he got back have been duds and his trades haven’t panned out.
They should have never let Mookie Betts and Xander Bogaerts walk, but clearly the ownership of the team --- which is busy buying NHL teams and starting a pro golf team --- long ago stopped caring about the Boston Red Sox.
That’s why Bloom has to go, and likely the ownership.
They long ago stopped caring about their fans, or else they would have been fielding competitive teams.