Do networks know the Boston Red Sox aren't going to make the playoffs?

Dave Dombrowski

The Boston Red Sox on Monday fired Dave Dombrowski, their president of baseball operations.

The move comes only 11 months after the Red Sox won 108 games and claimed the 2018 World Series championship. Boston has won the AL East the past three seasons, but it will not be repeating this year.

While the Red Sox were a respectable 79-64 entering Monday's play, they were 17.5 games behind the New York Yankees in the AL East. And, they were eight games out of a wild-card spot with two teams to pass. With only three weeks left in the regular season, they need a miracle to qualify for the 2019 postseason, and we don't believe in miracles here at The Baseball Kid.

So, Dombrowski was fired, because he's handed out some big contracts that didn't net Boston ownership a good return on investment, and he is no longer seen as the right guy to lead the Red Sox moving forward. Standards are high in Boston, and the tolerance for losing is low.

I can recite the Red Sox's problems chapter and verse:

1. Chris Sale has been a combination of injured and bad all season. He's out for the year with elbow inflammation.
2. Injuries have limited David Price to 22 starts this season.
3. Rick Porcello has had a terrible year, with an ERA up near 6.
4. Postseason hero Nathan Eovaldi was given a big contract as a reward, but he too has been injured and ineffective.
5. Craig Kimbrel and Joe Kelly, key Boston relievers a year ago, left the team via free agency. And while neither man has had a great season for their new teams, the Red Sox haven't had a reliable back end of the bullpen. No current Boston reliever has more than 11 saves.

Why do I know all this about the Red Sox? Because they are on TV all the time! On any day of the week, you can find Boston on one of the networks, and the announcers will inevitably touch on the five bullet points listed above.

The Red Sox are completing a four-game series Monday against the Yankees, and literally all four games were televised here -- in Chicago. MLB Network had the New York-Boston game on Friday Night Baseball and Monday Night Baseball.

The Saturday Game of the Week on FS1? Yep, New York at Boston.

Sunday Night Baseball on ESPN? Yep, New York at Boston.

Meanwhile, there were four weekend series in Major League Baseball that were more compelling and more vital to the playoff races: Indians-Twins, Nationals-Braves, Brewers-Cubs and Phillies-Mets.

I know the Red Sox are defending champions. I know they play in a big market. I know they are a TV draw. But can't these networks flex to some other games? This is September, and there is plenty of meaningful baseball being played, and this year it just doesn't involve Boston.

If the Red Sox were in it, Dombrowski probably wouldn't be getting fired.