The common thread there is broken pitching. I don't think it's a coincidence that 2021 is the one year of the last five we've had a group of reliable starters. Is some of that on management? Sure, DD has to wear the Sale extension, and Bloom picking up 1 year deals from the bargain bin was always going to present risk. But there's also been some truly terrible, snowballing luck along the way, and when things go that bad, in a division with hitters as good as the AL East's, you aren't going anywhere.I always say that my baseline expectation for the Sox each season is that they’re plausibly in the playoff race through Labor Day Weekend. The past 2 season they were 14.5 games back of the division on Labor Day. 2020 they were 12.5 back. 2019 they were 16 games back.
I think a new pitching-focused management can improve that area of weakness throughout the org, but if we have a third straight year of line drives snapping the bones of our starters, another labor day disappointment may be in the cards.