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Doesn't include every team in the AL east.

Red Sox season begins with final gut punch to fans who deserve better

A disappointing offseason ends with one final spasm of inaction.

The phrase coup de grace has been defanged over the centuries to suggest a finishing touch delivered with artistic flair, but its original meaning was much grittier -- more like the final blow of a mercy killing.

It might help one understand the latter usage to see it in a sentence: "The Red Sox put the coup de grace on their miserable offseason Tuesday by watching free agent left-hander Jordan Montgomery sign with the Arizona Diamondbacks for a lot less than anyone expected."

With opening day set for late Thursday night in Seattle after everyone has gone to bed, it always made sense that the Red Sox would end their winter of our discontent with one final shrug. For all their swings and misses, they still stumbled into an 11th-hour opportunity to address their biggest weakness and rectify their most glaring failure by signing Montgomery to anchor a rotation that's already missing Lucas Giolito.

But no matter how much the Baseball Gods dared, they refused to budge.

https://www.nbcsportsboston.com/mlb/boston-red-sox/red-sox-2024-season-jordan-montgomery-disappointment/598726/