3 Red Sox players fans are already fed up with in 2024 season
Looking to vent, Red Sox fans? Here’s where you can direct frustration for Boston’s less than ideal start to 2024.
The Boston Red Sox are a mediocre baseball team in 2024, but what they do on a nightly basis is hardly ever mediocre. One night, they’ll win 10-1 and look like a World Series contender, then the next they’ll make four errors and lose to a last-place team. It adds up to create a viewing experience almost certain to take years off the lives of their fans.
And because not every Red Sox fan has an internet platform, it’s time to speak their truth to the world. The Red Sox have too many players causing fan anxiety this season, and in the paragraphs that follow, we’ll be discussing three of them.
Though every player goes through rough patches, these guys have worn out their welcome awfully early in 2024. And it’s important to note that everyone comes with different expectations and circumstances, so all of that will be factored in. Okay, now it’s time to start the slander.
Kenley Jansen
In doing research for this piece, it was truly shocking to learn that Kenley Jansen has a 2.58 FIP and 12.1 K/9 this season. If you were cruising MLB.com, you might even conclude that Jansen is having a pretty darn good season. But when watching this Red Sox team nightly, it’s hard not to start ripping your hair out when Jansen takes to the hill.
The first issue has been the walks. Jansen has a career high walk rate of 5.7 BB/9, a full walk more than he’s ever issued per nine innings in a single season. He has made a habit of picking up saves, but conceding every possible baserunner to the opposition before doing so. And when he enters the game in a non-save situation, he’s liable to give up runs in bunches.
The stats are one thing, but Jansen’s overall demeanor has also been an issue this season. He’s talked about his frustration with Boston’s lack of spending this past offseason, which is warranted, but then he’s been unavailable in games the Sox desperately need him. Jansen has also saved his worst outings for Fenway Park, where he now has a 5.28 ERA as a member of the Red Sox—all while being paid $16 million, which these days Boston fans would love to see some another team pay him instead.
Cooper Criswell
Stay with us on this one. Cooper Criswell has actually been fantastic for the Red Sox during most of this season. He was signed to be a depth piece on the pitching staff for just $1 million, started the season in AAA, then came up during Boston’s rash of starting pitching injuries and started having wildly unexpected success, pitching to a sub-two ERA in his first six starts.
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