A year ago today the Boston Red Sox were close to finishing out their magical 2018 season with a World Series victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers, but a year later the fall classic is completely different. Tonight we embark into one of the most stacked pitching duels in World Series history. Tonight the people of DC get to feel what a World Series game feels like and Bryce Harper does not. 

In the wake of the news of former President of Baseball Operations Dave Dombrowski’s departure from the Red Sox, a Boston Globe report states that the new front office of Eddie Romero, Brian O’Halloran, Zack Scott, and Raquel Ferreira may be looking to part with one of Mookie Betts or JD Martinez. I think that the Red Sox are substantially more likely to part with JD Martinez, due to his opt out clause in his contract. However, it is a question that certainly has a lot of variables, and those variables will have to be carefully considered during the offseason. 

The 2018 Boston Red Sox were perfect in almost every way and so far the memory of that perfect season from a year ago has set astronomical standards that this 2019 Boston Red Sox team have not even come close to reaching. The starting pitching has not yet found its stride and it is August 27th and time is running out. This teams performance is painfully similar to the 2018-2019 Boston Celtics who would get on a roll, get your hopes up, and then lose 8 in a row and completely crush your dreams. With that being said, this team has been remarkably average but they have had some unbelievable seasons from a few players and of course some really bad seasons from a majority of the roster.

Caesars Palace released updated World Series odds Thursday afternoon following Wednesday's MLB Trade Deadline and the Red Sox saw their odds fall. Boston's odds dropped from 20/1 to 25/1 after an uneventful trade deadline from general manager Dave Dombrowski. The Astros and Dodgers were tied atop the list with the best odds at 11/4.

The Red Sox starter has recently seen his ERA, which was already sub-par for his standards, balloon to 5.61 before his victory and quality start last night against the Yankees. This season has also been historically bad for Porcello, with his walks per 9 the highest it has ever been since his rookie season in 2009, when he was 21 years old. Hitters are averaging in the low .280s against Porcello, and the former Cy Young award winner is not blaming his contract situation for his poor performance. That being said, what is driving his poor performance? There are no extreme shifts in performance, but there are a couple of indications as to his recent downgrade.

Brandon Workman surely had his work cut out for him, throwing 45 pitches in a 1.2 inning save appearance last night against the Toronto Blue Jays in order to escape with a one-run victory after leading by three. 

Dave Dombrowski answered the pleading voices/prayers of Red Sox nation by acquiring veteran righty Andrew Cashner on Saturday. However his Fenway Park debut against Toronto didn't go as expected.

After getting embarrassed in front of an international television audience in London, the Red Sox flew back to the USA with their tails between their legs to finish the first "half" of the season with two road series in Toronto and Detroit. The chance to lick their wounds and pick up some wins against two of the worst teams in the league would normally look good on paper, but given how this season's squad tends to play down to the level of their competition and hasn't always faced adversity head-on, I had no assumptions as the games started.

After allowing five runs to cross against the Toronto Blue Jays on Wednesday, Chris Sale describes his latest first-half struggle as "absolutely embarrassing".