Opening Day Isn't Even That Cool

I don’t even wanna say “after all the hype” because there wasn’t even really a whole lot of that leading up to the 2018 season, at least not for the Red Sox, but after all the waiting over a long winter following a second consecutive first-round exit, the 2018 season is off to a rockin’ start! On Thursday, the Red Sox opened up their season in Tampa against the Rays, a team that doesn’t exactly have postseason aspirations after shedding some of their most talented players from a year ago, and Boston appeared to have victory number one in hand.

Already up 1-0, Eduardo Nunez hit an inside the park home run that scored Xander Bogaerts, who was 3-for-4 in day one of his comeback campaign, while Boston added another run in the seventh on an RBI double by Rafael Devers. It was all Red Sox, and then Joe Kelly happened. And listen, I am well aware that overreactions are king in April, especially in game of the season, but holy shit do some fans need to calm the fuck down.

We’ve already got people questioning managerial decisions, we’ve got people throwing their hands up and saying that they can’t wait for spring training 2019, that the bullpen is an absolute disaster. Christ, man. Get a hold of yourself. That being said, Kelly looked like a mess. He walked three batters with a double somewhere in between before giving the ball over to Carson Smith, who gave up a bases loaded, bases-clearing triple, which proved to be the dagger in the Red Sox’ heart. It was tough to watch. Infuriating, actually. All four runs were charged to Kelly and his 108.00 ERA.

You had Chris Sale go out there and pitch his balls off, as he always does, striking out nine batters in six innings, allowing just one hit. All of that, just to have his bullpen piss it all away. It’s frustrating as hell, and I’m right there with you in terms of being pissed off about it, but we do this 161 more times. One game is not indicative of a season to come. It’s not indicative of what a bullpen is or is not. And it certainly isn’t a season-ending defeat. I’ve got some news for you, pal. If the Red Sox are going to win 93 games for the third straight year, they’re going to lose 68 more times. Let’s act like we’ve watched a full baseball season before.

And the beautiful thing here is that we don’t have to wait through that traditionally annoying day off after Opening Day this year. The Red Sox and Rays go head to head tomorrow at 7:10pm ET, and David Price is on the hill against Blake Snell, who has a lifetime 5.95 ERA against the Red Sox in four starts. It’ll all be okay. Take a deep breath, take a sip of beer, put your feet up on the couch and relax. It’s a long season. Save those mental breakdowns for the dog days of summer into fall.

PS — Yeah, I saw Giancarlo Stanton’s two home runs. He’s a really good baseball player.

Final score: Rays 6, Red Sox 4