The Red Sox are starting to get going, but the Celtics have entered the off-season after their 1st round series loss.
Celtics Out Early
The Celtics were entering the playoffs red hot and were 2nd in the East. Jayson Tatum had been back for plenty of time for the whole team to be well ready to enter the playoffs and go far. Unfortunately, that just didn’t happen.
The Celtics came out red hot and won game one by 30 on their own floor. They lost game two but then won games three and four to gain a 3-1 series lead. They only needed one more game to advance to the next round, but that’s where everything went wrong.
After the wins in Philadelphia, game five was back in Boston, and all Celtics fans were expecting a win and another Celtics season in the second round. They were wrong. The Celtics lost the same way they did in game two and were back on the road for game six. Loss, all of a sudden, the series is going to game seven, and the Celtics need a win, and cannot keep sleepwalking on the court.
Although Celtics fans weren’t happy the series came this far, everyone loves game seven. But then, midway through the day, a few hours before game time, Jayson Tatum was ruled out of the game. Now, every single Celtics fan was accepting the real possibility of a loss. But the game was still in Boston, and MVP candidate Jaylen Brown was still ready to play with tons of playoff experience. Loss, the Celtics did it, they choked a 3-1 series lead and were knocked out of the playoffs in the first round.
Fans were heartbroken, leaving the garden after letting a division rival sneak back up on them. They were sad, angry, and couldn’t believe what they had just witnessed.
Just like that, the season was over, and the Celtics entered the offseason.
Red Sox Underperformance
The Red Sox are currently last in the AL East, sitting at 8 games below .500. Every time it seems like things are starting to click, the Red Sox go into a slump. In a recent away series against the Royals, the Sox swept them. They had the momentum and were returning to Boston on a win streak against the Twins. The Red Sox got swept at home, losing any momentum they had just gained.
The coldest thing in the world has been the Red Sox bats as of late. The Red Sox are historically bad at hitting this year. The pitching has been great, but the bats have still not woken up.
The Red Sox have faced multiple setbacks this year, including the loss of multiple major players on the team. Garrett Crochet, the Red Sox’s best pitcher, was added to the IR a month ago due to his left shoulder, and he planned to be back right about now. That was until he said he had been dealing with left lat tightness and would need to miss more time. At this point in the season, Crochet has missed more games than he’s been able to play in. The longer he’s out, the more pressure is put on guys in the pitching rotation and the team in general.
Roman Anthony, one of the Red Sox’s best hitters, has been dealing with more trouble when he swings. He will continue to be shut down and unable to help the Sox, who are in desperate need of another hot bat.
Caleb Durbin, whom the Sox got in a trade with the Brewers to try to replace Alex Bregman at third, has been awful. He has been hitting under .200 the entire year, and if you watch Red Sox games, it feels like an automatic out anytime he steps up to the plate.
However, while I have been negative about the Sox hitting this year, Jarren Duran has been awesome. He has 10 homers on the year, 2nd on the team, but also hit 7 of those in May alone. He has been on an absolute tear and always is a major ingredient when the Red Sox have success.
Basketball in Mass is over for the time being, and is going to only have the Red Sox to watch for a few months. Just bear with it, though, because in a few months the Super Bowl runner-ups start their season looking to go just a bit farther.
