Just a quick post on how much of a roller coaster the Red Sox have been on over the past few years. The 2012 Red Sox had the lowest winning percentage of any team that would go on to win the World Series the following season.
| Year | Team | W | L | W% |
| 2012 | BOS | 69 | 93 | 0.426 |
| 1986 | MIN | 71 | 91 | 0.438 |
| 1987 | LAN | 73 | 89 | 0.451 |
| 1968 | NYN | 73 | 89 | 0.451 |
| 1953 | NY1 | 70 | 84 | 0.455 |
| 1913 | BSN | 69 | 82 | 0.457 |
| 1990 | MIN | 74 | 88 | 0.457 |
| 1958 | LAN | 71 | 83 | 0.461 |
| 1989 | CIN | 75 | 87 | 0.463 |
| 2001 | ANA | 75 | 87 | 0.463 |
Not only that, but the 2014 Red Sox had the second lowest winning percentage of any defending World Series winner. Only the 1998 Marlins were worse and we all know that story.
| Year | Team | W | L | W% |
| 1998 | FLO | 54 | 108 | 0.333 |
| 2014 | BOS | 71 | 91 | 0.438 |
| 1991 | CIN | 74 | 88 | 0.457 |
| 1918 | CHA | 57 | 67 | 0.460 |
| 1932 | SLN | 72 | 82 | 0.468 |
| 1986 | KCA | 76 | 86 | 0.469 |
| 2013 | SFN | 76 | 86 | 0.469 |
| 1967 | BAL | 76 | 85 | 0.472 |
| 2003 | ANA | 77 | 85 | 0.475 |
| 1994 | TOR | 55 | 60 | 0.478 |
Not to mention the 2011 season, after being considered an all-time great team going into the season and then the epic collapse after being up 9 games in the wild card with less than a month to go. It truly has been a wild ride in Boston the past few seasons. With the reports of their willingness to spend money on free agents this offseason, it’s not unreasonable to expect them to be a contender again in 2015.