Red Sox GM: 'It's on the front office' if team misses playoffs

Boston Red Sox general manager Brian O'Halloran is prepared for the front office to take the blame if his team misses the playoffs.

"First of all, hope that doesn't happen," O'Halloran said Thursday on "The Greg Hill Show" while discussing the possibility of the Red Sox missing the postseason.

"But in the end, it's on us. It's on the front office. It's on the baseball operations. Whatever happens on the field, the results, good or bad ... we've been given the opportunity to do this job, we have nothing but support from ownership. We have no excuses."

The Red Sox entered the July 30 trade deadline in first place in the AL East but have since fallen 6 1/2 games back of the Tampa Bay Rays for top position. They sit half a game back of a wild-card spot after being swept by the New York Yankees this week.

Boston's struggles - including a 6-11 record in August - came after the team stayed relatively quiet at the deadline. The Red Sox acquired Kyle Schwarber and relievers Hansel Robles and Austin Davis on July 30.

Some of Boston's stiffest competition for a playoff spot, such as the Rays, Yankees, Oakland Athletics, and Toronto Blue Jays, made multiple significant upgrades at or before the deadline, leaving Red Sox fans wondering if the team did enough.

“If we don't make the playoffs, we'll be very disappointed," O'Halloran said. "We think we have a good team. We put ourselves in a position where we have a chance to make the postseason, and that's true right now.

"We were in a better spot at the deadline ... but we're still in a spot where we have a chance to do this, and our expectation is that we'll battle down the stretch and hopefully get there. But in the end, yeah, all the results are on us - on the baseball operations, front office, leadership."