Random Red Sox thoughts as they stumble toward the finish line

Random Red Sox thoughts as they stumble toward the finish line originally appeared on NBC Sports Boston

Catching up on the Red Sox as they head to Tampa with their playoff hopes hanging by a phantom thread…

The weekend in New York was not kind. The Sox not only lost three of four, they also lost their minds over Yankees ace Gerrit Cole, who chose to intentionally walk Rafael Devers with the bases empty after (almost certainly) intentionally drilling him in his first at-bat on Saturday.

The Red Sox didn’t like it and Brayan Bello threw behind Yankees MVP favorite Aaron Judge in the sixth inning. Manager Alex Cora tacitly admitted the Red Sox were trying to seek retribution, and now MLB is investigating, per The Boston Globe.

“We had our chance,” Cora told reporters. “Didn’t happen. We have to move on.”

Cole has readily expressed admiration for Devers’ ability and frustration over his own inability to handle the Red Sox slugger. Devers has eight homers in 46 plate appearances vs. Cole, which led to the strange sight of the pitcher holding up four fingers to call his own intentional walk with the bases empty on Saturday. The move backfired when the Red Sox scored three runs.

Cole’s personal pain continued an inning later when Devers ripped a two-run single with the bases loaded as part of a four-run fifth in Boston’s 7-1 win.

If Cora hoped the incident would fire up his squad for one final playoff push, reality proved deflating. New York took the final two games, and Judge earned his revenge with a two-run homer in Sunday’s finale. …

The wild card picture isn’t pretty. The Red Sox trail the Twins by four games with 12 to play and a pivotal series between the clubs looming this weekend. The problem is, the red-hot Tigers and Mariners have passed the .500 Red Sox, which means even a sweep of Minnesota won’t guarantee anything. The Tigers have pulled within 1.5 games of the Twins, while the Mariners sit two back. …

Of more immediate concern is Tampa. The Red Sox haven’t finished ahead of the Rays in the standings since 2018, and even though Tampa blew up the core of its roster at the trade deadline, it remains only two games behind the Red Sox.

It’s a sad commentary on how poorly the trade deadline turned out for the Red Sox that they’ve posted the exact same record as Tampa (19-25) since July 30. The Red Sox traded 10 prospects to acquire a quartet that either got hurt, contributed next to nothing, or both. One of them, left-hander James Paxton, has already announced plans to retire.

The Rays, by contrast, exploited the seller’s market by shipping out legit core talent: All-Star outfielder Randy Arozarena (Mariners), defending AL wins leader Zach Eflin (Orioles), slugging corner infielder Isaac Paredes (Cubs), shutdown reliever Jason Adam (Padres), and versatile utilityman Amed Rosario (Dodgers, since released).

All told, the Rays sold or traded nine big leaguers in July. It made sense to go for it at the time, but it’s now clear the Red Sox should’ve followed their lead. …

One reason to watch the final 12 games beyond their fading playoff hopes: outfielder Jarren Duran.

He is putting together a top-20 offensive season in franchise history, and if he can add to his league-leading doubles and triples totals, he might not only top 350 total bases, he could become just the eighth hitter in a Red Sox uniform to reach 9.0 WAR, joining Ted Williams (six times), Carl Yastrzemski (three times), Mookie Betts (twice), Tris Speaker (twice), Rico Petrocelli, Babe Ruth, and Wade Boggs.

That’s going to earn Duran down-ballot MVP votes, and even if that race comes down to Judge vs. Royals superstar Bobby Witt Jr., Duran has a strong case to finish in the top five.