Although the Boston Red Sox were unable to make the World Series this time around, it was very much a season of change for the defending champions. With a number of key players leaving the roster, things were always going to be tough for John Farrell side this year and the new acquisitions were unable to replicate the success of the 2013 Red Sox side. The fact that the champs were unable to even make the playoffs will certainly be a cause for the fans, and it will be important for this team to bounce back into contention come the 2015 campaign. Having finished in last place in the American League East, the 114th season in Boston Red Sox history is definitely not one to remember, and it is the dramatic fall from grace after winning a World Series which will be the most painful aspect for people connected with this great Major League Baseball team to accept. The Red Sox also had a very poor 2012 season so while the World Series victory will have been most welcome, it has been sandwiched between two particularly below par spells. 2014 was a record breaking year for the Boston Red Sox for all the wrong reasons, as they became only the second team to finish last in their division one season after winning the World Series. This is something that players and staff alike will quickly want to forget.
Watching the San Francisco Giants and the Kansas City Royals battling it out for the World Series is going to be painful for the majority of Boston Red Sox fans over the next week or so, but it will be unavoidable, with coverage of baseball’s premier event taking place worldwide. As things stand, it’s the San Francisco Giants who rate as the strong favorites to take the 2014 World Series crown, with Bruce Bochy currently on offer at odds of around 1/2, or even shorter in places. The Giants really dominated the first game of the series, running out impressive winners by a score of seven to one. The sportsbooks are taking no chances as far as San Francisco are concerned, but that does mean that decent looking prices are available for the Kansas City Royals to turn things around. Now on offer at a best price of 7/4, the Royals are definitely going to make plenty of appeal to some baseball punters, with a positive result in the next game or two likely to change things quite dramatically. Kansas have been playing really well throughout the 2014 campaign and maybe they were just overwhelmed by the occasion of a World Series appearance. Having last won the title way back in 1985, the Royals have only that one solitary World Series to their credit and it may just take them a game or two for nerves to settle fully. I think we are likely to see a more positive performance from Ned Yost’s team in the upcoming fixtures with the San Francisco Giants. Hopefully, Boston Red Sox fans can look forward to their side making some changes during the close season and staking a bold bid for the 2015 World Series.
There are no prices available for the 2015 Major League Baseball season as yet, but bookmakers will begin to form markets at the conclusion of the 2014 World Series. The odds compilers are going to have a difficult time pricing up a team such as the Boston Red Sox, as it is very tough to assess what level of performance you are going to get from this side from one season to the next. This season’s record of record of 71–91 was only marginally better than the disastrous campaign under Bobby Valentine in 2012, when the Red Sox finished up on 69–93. It seem quite incredible that a World Series victory can be sandwiched between these two sub standard years, but that demonstrates just how quickly things can change in Major League Baseball. The loss of pitcher Ryan Dempster, center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury and catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia will have undoubtedly bottom place finish this season, but there was a lot more lacking from the team this time around than just the loss of three men. Team spirit was low, something which is very strange for a side that was coming off the back of a World Series win. Arrivals such as A.J. Pierzynski and Grady Sizemore were unable to make a significant impact and there will need to be further new arrivals in the coming months if the Boston Red Sox are going to have any chance of success during the 2015 Major league Baseball season.
