This time it’s going to be different. Finally, something feels right! Some of the thoughts that Boston Red Sox fans probably had this offseason. After all, it had been a hot minute since they spent big money. But this time, the franchise opened its wallet. Alex Bregman and Garrett Crochet didn’t enter the team simply – they brought in hope. But most of it got crushed on Friday!

Because this was not just a rough game that Boston faced. It was, in simple words, a complete train wreck. They lost against the team that has been losing their games back-to-back: the Chicago White Sox. And the final score of 11-1 highlights just how terrible the night was. In fact, Alex Cora didn’t mince words, saying it was a ‘horrible night’ for them. And it’s something even Red Sox legend Jim Rice will agree with.

Boston made five errors, a single run, and scattered hits. The defense looked lost at its core, and the bats were silent. Nothing was working, and Hall of Famer Jim Rice was simply appalled looking at this kind of gameplay.

On the postgame show, Rice pointed out, “You’ve got to make the routine plays… It’s not difficult. It looks like some guys don’t even want the ball hit to them.” Ouch! This might hurt the players, but it’s a bitter pill they need to swallow. Because Rice isn’t ranting, he is giving his analysis. And it even makes sense given the Boston Red Sox have made 19 errors in 15 games. It’s their worst defensive start since 1996.

But who really deserves the wrath of Rice and fans for Friday? One can’t point at one. But if you look closely, the game really fell apart in the fourth inning when Triston Casas made a huge mistake. The 25-year-old had the chance to turn a double play, but when the ground ball came to him, he messed up. And the next thing you know, Chicago took the chance and racked up five runs. Sure, after the game, Casas did apologize, saying, “It’s tough when you’re not scoring runs to play bad defense. That leads to losses.”

But the fact is—the damage is done.

Moreover, Casas is sitting at just a .176 batting average this season. For a person Alex Cora showed so much faith in, he isn’t living up to him by the looks of it. And as for Cora, he is far from mad—he feels devastated.

Alex Cora didn’t defend the Boston Red Sox’s horrible play!

Manager Alex Cora isn’t someone to harp every nitty gritty out. Even when Casas was not doing his best, he showed complete faith. This time, though, looking at the gameplay, he didn’t mince words. He summed the night up with “It’s a horrible night.” And that kind of says it all. Cora, rather frustrated with the game, said, “We didn’t execute today. We didn’t. It’s not lack of energy. Energy comes from offense, and we didn’t hit, so it looks that way. Defensively, we had a chance to turn the double play; we didn’t. The interferences, we have to be better at that. We have four or five already. We have to pitch better.”

And he has every right to be disappointed. This is because it wasn’t only Casas who ended up disappointing him.

Boston made 19 errors, and in comparison, the average count in the league is 7.7. Alex Bregman, for example, made three errors, now, tied for the third most in MLB. That’s not what anyone expected, given they wanted Bregman to be the face of the team – literally. But it’s not just him; there are, of course, Casas, Jarren Duran, Blake Sabol, and Kristian Campbell, who have each made two errors. The only starter who didn’t is David Hamilton.

So, the defense is more than sloppy—it’s sliding!

Offensively, the Boston Red Sox have gone silent since their 18-run burst against the St. Louis Cardinals. In their last five games against Toronto and Boston, they ended up scoring just nine runs. This is not a drill! But Cora is still holding on to hope, saying, “We’ve just got to keep the line moving. That’s the most important thing. And execute.” The team, though, has not found the rhythm, and they need to.

One blessing in disguise for them is that the White Sox are said to struggle in 2025, and the Red Sox have a good amount of games still left to play. So stacking up wins is a possibility.

But given they lost this time so poorly, nothing can be predicted. What do you think? Will the Red Sox bounce back or rack up more errors like last season?