Yankees 4, Red Sox 0

 

Season's over. That's it, we're all done here, nothing more to see here. Move on.

At the end of the season, the Red Sox had nothing left in the tank. Only two reliable starting pitchers, one depending on how you feel about Brayan Bello. Roman Anthony, the rookie phenom who sparked the offense much of the year, was out with an oblique injury. We were left with a veteran slugger who seemed to have lost his mojo, and a once dependable outfield that suddenly seemed to have forgotten how to play baseball.

The sporting news are all spinning last night's story as the dominance of the unfortunately named Yankee pitcher  Cam Schlittler, a Massachusetts native and former Red Sox fan. He got 12 strikeouts and shut out the Sox over eight innings (107 pitches). Must be an all-time great pitching performance, right? 

Wrong. He had speed, but so many of his pitches were up high and easily hittable by a team batting better that Boston this series. We made him look like Greg Maddox, but he was really just an okay rookie having a good night.   

The Sox' rookie starter, Connelly Early, probably has more long-term potential than Schlittler. He got six K's against the Yankees, half as many as Schlittler, but did so in only 3⅔ innings to Schlittler's eight. But Early was let down by poor Boston fielding and an utter lack of offense.

Things totally fell apart for Boston in the fourth inning when the Red Sox defense totally fell apart and allowed four runs. Other than that epic collapse in the field, the Yankees might not have scored at all. But the inning did lead to my favorite moment in the game: with two out and two on and Aaron Judge at bat, Justin Slaten relieved Connelly Early and promptly hit Judge with his very first pitch, loading the bases. Why intentionally walk him when you can hit him instead? Slaten got the next batter out to end that awful inning with a pop fly. 

The 2025 Boston Red Sox made the post-season for the first time since 2021 and after finishing in dead last place in 2022 and 2023. All that I wanted from them this year was to make the playoffs and they accomplished that goal. Even won the first game. But like last season, they were hampered by injuries, and by the post-season they didn't have left what it takes to win a championship. 

The big question hanging over the team this year was the effect of the mid-season trade of All Star slugger Rafael Devers to the San Francisco Giants. His bat was sorely missed in this Wild Card series and Boston has nothing to show for Kyle Harrison and Jordan Hicks, the pitchers we got in exchange for Devers. Immediately after trading Devers, we went on a 4-8 skid. But by July, things turned around with 10 consecutive wins. 

Were we better off without Duran? No, of course not, and it's silly to think so. Could we have won this series without Duran, if Anthony and other players remained healthy? Absolutely, and it's silly to think otherwise.

It was a painful to watch last night's game, and a painful two nights for Games 2 and 3. It was a painful way to end the season. But pain is part and parcel of being a Red Sox fan - I should know, I've been one since 1975. I've suffered seasons far worse that this and celebrated greater victories than a single Wild Card game. Losses like this build character.  

We didn't win our playoff series, but we at least made it to the post-season, more than we could say for four years. We're improving and the goal next year is to make AND WIN the Wild Card, and then see where we go from there.

Congratulations, Red Sox, and thanks for this year's memories.