Baseball Reference does not like the Red Sox chances of making the playoffs this season -- like at all.
As of Wednesday, they gave the team a 0.1 percent chance of making the playoffs. In other words, the team is down, like really down, but they are not out (yet). They still were only 10.5 games behind the Tampa Bay Rays, who are no guarantee to make the playoffs this year either (but appear likely to make the cut nonetheless).
Not really having a competent starting rotation has been the downfall of the Red Sox. There's not a healthy Chris Sale in the rotation leading the way. Rick Porcello has pitched like a guy who shouldn't be in the big leagues this season. Hector Velazquez, Andrew Cashner and Brian Johnson weren't even competent in short starts. David Price isn't healthy at the moment either. Nathan Eovaldi is not 100 percent, but back out on the mound. So by default, Eduardo Rodriguez, is the best pitcher in the rotation this season -- which tells you just about how wrong everything is going.
We also have to address -- and praise -- the fact that it's kind of cool that they have like 21 pitchers on the roster this September because, if nothing else, it looks cool on TV. It's also something that will never happen again after this season, so it is worth appreciating in the moment.
There's really not much baseball left at the moment, unfortunately. The Red Sox season did not go the way a lot of people hoped or envisioned, but they are still going to finish with a winning record and in third place in the standings. Some teams would give anything to even be in that position, so it is all about perspective. That stuff really does matter when it comes to the league.