So I was minding my business, half heartedly watching the Red Sox game last night. I stepped away for a few minutes and I come back to see the Sox down 5-0 as Eck and Dave O’Brien are discussing how Rick Porcello just Hulk Smashed two TVs in the dugout.

I literally was away from the TV for 5 minutes and I come back to a 5-0 hole and smashed TVs in the dugout. https://t.co/sHqGdqj2cL

— The 300s (@The300sBoston) August 1, 2019

If thats not a microcosm for this entire letdown of a season then I don’t know what is.

I also had a similar reaction to Porcello when I heard that Dave Dombrowski didn’t do a goddamn thing at the trade deadline AND had the balls to say teams were calling HIM about Red Sox relievers.

Dombrowski: “You cannot believe the number of clubs that called us about our bullpen guys.”

— Tom Caron (@TomCaron) July 31, 2019

I said the same exact thing after last year’s incredible run to the World Series, while this is all great, I worry it will embolden Dombrowksi to make zero improvements to the bullpen again in 2019. And thats exactly what he did. Let Kimbrel walk, let Joe Kelly walk, basically hoped Matt Barnes (6 blown saves and 4+ ERA), Steven Wright (injured again), Tyler Thornburg (released), or Ryan Braser (demoted to Pawtucket) would somehow morph into a major league closer. With the backup plan currently being to take the guy you just gave an $67.5M contract to be a starter and throwing him in to join the Closer by Committee gang. Hey, it may work like it did last year or it may flame out spectacularly with the defending World Series champs outright missing the playoffs.

Smash away, Rick. Smash away.