Back From Vacation

There's a reason Shank hasn't done a column for over a week, and he returns triumphant from his European vacation to tell us stuff we already know about the sorry state of the Boston Red Sox:

Taking a close look at the Red Sox after a little break — and the picture is not pretty

Celtics playoffs and a European vacation took me away from the Red Sox for many weeks (happy to report that not a single person in Milan asked me about Kiké Hernández), but the Internet and dreaded Fubo enabled me to keep an eye on the Local Nine, so I thought I’d share a few thoughts as the Sox get ready for their “big” weekend rematch with the Yankees at Fenway Park starting Friday.

Other than Baghdad Bob NESN talents, all of us who watched this team’s 21-14 start knew it was fool’s gold. Predictably, the Sox lost 21 of their next 33 (7-15 since May 20) and secured their now-traditional spot at the bottom of their division, a whopping 14 games out of first place.

Let’s not try to soften the reality by citing the strength of the AL East or crying, “They’d be one game out in the Central.” Your team plays in the American League East and when this year is over likely will have finished last three times in four years, and six times in 12 seasons.

If Shank's not happy with the state of the Red Sox, he could always bring it up with his boss, John Henry.