Yes, you should freak-out about the Red Sox’ bad start… but not because it’s rational

HOUSTON, TEXAS - MARCH 30: Ranger Suárez #55 of the Boston Red Sox looks on during the first inning of the game against the Houston Astros at Daikin Park on March 30, 2026 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Kenneth Richmond/Getty Images) | Getty Images If I were to say the words “October baseball” to you, you would instantly be able to picture it in your imagination. You know exactly how October baseball looks, feels, and sounds.

You see the bundled-up fans in the stands, you see the FOX score bug on the screen, you hear the crowd roar for a two-out double that plates a run in the bottom of the first. If I were to say the words “August baseball” to you, you’d be able to picture that, too. And that’s the case even though October baseball and August baseball are near polar opposites — the former cold, tense, loud, urgent; the latter hot and languid, pleasant background noise to the dog days of summer.

The baseball season has its own unique rhythm. And each phase it passes through is integral to the composition as a whole. You wouldn’t want every game to feel like October — that would be far too stressful.

Nor would you want every game to feel like August — you need to get the blood flowing every now and then. But the two months complement each other. You need them both.