If you were to tell the Boston Red Sox fanbase that, after spending much of the first half of the season as cellar-dwellers, their team would finish with a 78-84 record, most probably would have looked at you like you had two heads (not that finishing in last place four games under .500 is something to celebrate).

That’s right… The team with the highest ticket prices across Major League Baseball and one of the highest payrolls in baseball has finished in last place yet again. This is the second time in as many seasons and the third time in four years the Red Sox have placed last in the division.

Early on, it was evident that it was shaping up to be yet another lost season for the Red Sox, who were already coming off a last place campaign in 2014.

It started out somewhat promising in the first couple weeks of April when they stumbled into a few series wins, but the Sox dipped under the .500 mark for the first time on May 3 when they dropped to 12-13, and it all started to unravel from there; the Red Sox spent just five days out of last place from May 29 to September 6 (a 101 day span).

Believe it or not, somewhere in there was actually a stretch in which the Red Sox seemed to be waking up; they won 9-of-12 from June 26 to July 8, leading up to a big series against the New York Yankees before the all-star break.

There was a finally a little buzz and life injected into the slumping Sox’ season, until that first game of the Yankee series on July 10 where Clay Buchholz left the mound early in the game with an elbow injury. That would prove to be Buchholz’ last appearance of the season.

They ultimately dropped two of three in that Yankees series, and continued the uninspired play upon returning from the all-star break with what turned out to be an eight game losing streak. Another seven game losing streak in mid-June also stands out; if they go 7-8 instead of 0-15 in those two spans, maybe they would have actually had something to play for down the stretch.

Leading up to opening day, they were roundly chastised for passing on their former lefties Jon Lester and Andrew Miller in the free agent market, instead throwing long-term deals out at duds Pablo Sandoval and Hanley Ramirez (who they erroneously signed to be their left fielder, even though he’d clearly never stepped foot in the outfield) for a combined $183 million. Both turned in dismal performances and never lived up to the hype.

They even traded outfielder Yoenis Cespedes to Detroit for Rick Porcello who turned out to be a bust with his 4.92 ERA; it should also be noted that the Red Sox felt it was a good idea to lock Porcello up with a four year deal worth $82.5 million, before he had even thrown a pitch in a Red Sox uniform.

After the Sox had given up on Cespedes, he went on to hit .291 with 35 homers and 101 RBI in Detroit and with the New York Mets. He also actually knows how to play left field, something Hanley Ramirez does not know how to do.

Leading up to opening day, the Sox were apparently at peace with settling on a starting rotation full of number fives, fours, and middle of the line number threes (at best), along with a makeshift bullpen.

Those offseason blunders of course came about under the regime that still included former president/CEO Larry Lucchino and former general manager Ben Cherington. But now that Lucchino and Cherington have retired and resigned, respectively (or unceremoniously shoved out the door, which may very well be the reality), one can only hope the hiring of ex-Tigers GM Dave Dombrowski will help turn things around in the front office at Fenway.

That’s of course if owner John Henry and his stat nerds steer clear of Dombrowski (who has assumed the role of President of Baseball Operations)and allow him to actually build his baseball team.

Sure, this was the fifth time in the last six seasons the Red Sox had missed the playoffs, but it was not all grim in Boston this summer. Sox fans should definitely be excited with the promising performances of the core of the young players on the roster.

After a slow rookie campaign last season, Xander Bogaerts came alive this year; his .320 batting average led all shortstops in Major League Baseball by some 40 points, and he came into his own defensively after many questioned whether he could even field the position. He hit .331 with runners in scoring position, drove in 81 runs, and fell just 4 hits shy of 200. He’s already proven he will be one of top shortstops in the game, and he’ll become an even bigger force once he develops some power.

Second baseman-turned-centerfielder Mookie Betts impressed many with several highlight reel catches, and he proved to be a valuable table setter at the top of the lineup; his 42 doubles was second among MLB outfielders, and his .291/18 HR/77 RBI with 21 stolen bases is more than respectable. He has some versatility in the outfield, and played an excellent centerfield, so here’s hoping the Sox don’t boot him to one of the corner positions in favor of the unproven and majorly inconsistent Jackie Bradley, Jr.

Blake Swihart made his premature Major League debut on May 2 when catcher Ryan Hanigan was sidelined, and overall, Swihart held his own in his first year in the bigs. He was understandably cold at first, but settled in and finished the season with a .274 average – a successful rookie audition for a 23 year-old who probably wasn’t expecting a such a significant role in Boston this year. Sure, it wasn’t a full-time catcher’s workload, but his 288 at-bats is a decent sample size.

22 year-old lefty Eduardo Rodriguez was fairly impressive in his 21 starts, 13 of which were quality starts. He posted a 3.85 ERA and won 10 games. He was whacked around in a few starts, but ultimately proved to be one of the bright spots in the Sox’ lackluster starting rotation.

Speaking of auditions, there’s no reason Travis Shaw should not be considered as the starting first baseman next year. He showed his power stroke with 13 homers in just 65 games, and also hit .274 with a .491 slugging percentage. Short sample, but he’d a fine candidate – certainly a better candidate than Hanley Ramirez.

If the Sox couldn’t get Ramirez to get out on the field and actually learn how to play left field, what makes them think he’ll put in the effort to learn how to play first base?

Of course, he did tell reporters that “you’re going to see me at first base before the season is over, so don’t worry about that,” except he was officially shut down for the season a couple weeks after those comments, so there’s that.

In the last week of the season, Dombrowski called out Ramirez, commenting that he wants to see the “athletic” Ramirez in 2016. The Red Sox are also expecting Ramirez to drop 15-20 pounds by the time he reports to spring training.

That’s fine, but why even leave that window open? What exactly has Hanley Ramirez done to earn a spot in Boston next year, especially at first base? There’s no chance we’re going to see that left field debacle again, and David Ortiz (fresh off a 37 homer, 107 RBI season) is certainly here to stay as the DH until he’s ready to hang it up, so where else are you going to put Ramirez?

Ramirez hit .293 in April, with 10 HR and 22 RBI; his OPS was .999. The rest of the way, he had just 9 homers along with 31 RBI. He also had zero home runs after the all-star break. Interestingly, the Sox wound up 32-25 in games in which Ramirez did not appear…

Obviously the Sox are stuck with his nonsensical contract, but it would probably be wise of them to just eat most of that salary, ship him off elsewhere to a team in need of a designated hitter, and rid themselves of the Ramirez circus. It doesn’t matter how much money they’re going to have to assume on his contract, they’re a better team without him bogging the roster down.

So what’s next for Dombrowksi and the 2016 Red Sox? If John Farrell is healthy enough to return after Stage 1 Lymphoma treatment, the Sox have announced he will be back in the dugout next season. In the event he’s not healthy enough, Torey Lovullo will continue to keep Farrell’s seat warm (The Sox went 28-20 under Lovullo, albeit in low-pressure, meaningless games).

But will Farrell be on a short leash when he returns? How will the pitching staff be revamped; who’s going to be added to this weak starting rotation? David Price hits the free agent market this offseason, but he’s 30 years-old, and owner John Henry is on record in saying that he shies away from pitchers over 30. Who’s on first? What do they do with Ramirez? These are all important questions Sox fans are anxious to see answered; it’s shaping up to be another interesting offseason in Boston.