The standings say the Red Sox are a last-place team, and there's no arguing the standings. But manager Alex Cora can't shake the feeling they left points on the board.
"We're like the best 'worst' team in baseball," he said before Wednesday's season finale. "That's how we see it -- like, 'How did this happen?'"
They'll have the next six months to answer that question during what should be their most consequential offseason since Theo Epstein chased Alex Rodriguez to the ends of the earth and ultimately straight into the arms of the Yankees.
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SIGN UP HERE Barring a similar Aaron Judge frenzy that's unlikely to seriously tempt the Red Sox, the names they pursue may not be as consequential, but the stakes remain every bit as high. Two decades ago, they pursued Rodriguez as the final piece of the puzzle. Now they're starting almost from scratch, and in baseball's best division, to boot.
Tomase: Red Sox should make these three changes for a better 2023 roster
Were they anywhere other than the AL East, the 78-win Red Sox would've finished no worse than fourth. In half the other divisions, they'd be third. But that's of little consolation now as they try to determine how to avoid a repeat.
"The plan is in place from my end," Cora said. "One of the things I really want is a sense of urgency. As an organization, we've done it throughout the years, and we have to push hard in the offseason.
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The message is going to be: now. I love the future. We love the past. But I think living in the present and pushing hard is something we're going to talk about a lot. That's something that, it pushes you to be great. It's not that we didn't do it this year, but I think the message should be louder.
"We know where we're at. We know where we finished. I think we know where everybody is going to expect us to be next year, too, because of the division. We've just got to be ready."
What's scary about the task awaiting them isn't just the sheer volume of moves they'll need to hit on -- from outfield to rotation to bullpen to determining the futures of Xander Bogaerts and maybe Rafael Devers -- but their shrunken margin for error in the AL East, where the Orioles will finish over .500 behind the first fruits of baseball's best farm system.
The days of the Orioles being bottom feeders are over. If anyone is the Orioles now, it's the Red Sox, at least until they prove otherwise.
"Like I said right now and all season long, we have a great team," Devers said. "We just need some pieces. We will see what happens in the offseason and see what we can get."
The shopping list will be extensive. The ways to get there will test Chaim Bloom's creativity. All the Red Sox know is they can't afford a repeat of 2022, so let the urgency begin.
"Think about today," Cora said. "Don't think about tomorrow. You have to win every day. If you win every day, you have that mentality every day regardless of who you are, good things are going to happen. I'm not saying we lacked that, but the excuses of injuries or being young is over. It's in the past.
"We learned a lot this year. I learned a lot as a manager, and I'm going to attack the offseason the right way, sending a message like, 'It really doesn't matter. If you're a little banged up, we have to show up and we have to go.'
"Because we expect a lot. Everybody expects a lot from this organization, and to be honest with you, we were a big disappointment."