Whispers of doubt are swirling in the air of Boston: Are the Boston Red Sox gradually falling out of place—maybe even their championship aspirations are getting derailed? Well, they are certainly lagging behind the Yankees, Rays, and even the Blue Jays, sitting fourth with a 29-34 record in the American League East. Now, blame it on their batters or pitchers; their manager, Alex Cora, has a definite answer to it.

On Tuesday, the Red Sox lost their one-run game for the 17th time and quite naturally, the manager looked frustrated. A 4-3 loss to the Los Angeles Angels in 10 innings at Fenway Park? Well, it wasn’t meant to go that way. Following the loss, Cora had some strong words for the team, but rather than blaming the players, he held himself accountable.

“We keep making the same mistakes. We’re not getting better. At one point, it has to be on me, I guess — right? I’m the manager, so, you know, I have to keep pushing them to be better. They’re not getting better,” the manager said, letting out his frustration.

Cora has got a point, though. During the game between the Boston Red Sox and the Angels, the Red Sox made three errors and even went 1-for-13 with the runners, who were at the scoring positions. This eventually led to them falling to a 29-34 record this season. And if we talk about issues, there’s more! The Red Sox now conceded losses in eight out of their last ten games.

But what’s more concerning is that they have conceded losses by just one run. That’s quite frustrating for the manager. “It’s the same thing, same thing. Is it effort? Is it preparation or attention to detail? I have no idea. I watched that game and was like, ‘Wow, this is real.’ It’s frustrating,” Cora said.

Sox has now committed a total of 50 errors in the season. There have been plenty of soft lapses. Be it Ceddanne Rafaela allowing the runners to score extra runs or Kristian Campbell faltering despite having a runner on second base, leading to the team’s failure to score. There is no denying the Red Sox are repeating their mistakes. Add to it the fact that they are not bringing top prospects, who can change their fate.

Alex Cora points out the glaring issues, talks about their top prospect and more

Amid the mounting woes, the Boston Red Sox are currently in a situation where it seems they are gradually spiraling down. Against the Angels, they were in the game, albeit after giving a lot of chances to the opposition.

“We missed a cutoff, guys; they scored two. We hit the eighth hitter; we walked the ninth hitter. We didn’t execute a bunt play. We didn’t advance when we needed to. You can talk about chances. I can tell you the chances we gave the opposition. We were lucky to be in the game, to be honest with you,” Cora said, pointing out the several mistakes committed during the game.

While Boston’s offense is struggling, their top prospect Roman Anthony is making waves in the minors. Cora praised Anthony for consistently improving. According to the manager, the youngster is “not knocking at the doors; he’s kicking it.” However, nobody knows how soon Anthony can get into the major league roster for the Red Sox.

The 21-year-old has been batting at an average of .302 this season and has already posted 9 home runs and 24 RBIs with a .932 OPS. He is in red hot in form and a delay in his promotion may just lead to more problems for the Red Sox in the upcoming games.