9 thoughts as the Red Sox look to improve on 2020

Playing nine innings while wondering if we’ll see Chris Sale on the Fenway mound this season …

1. Maybe you noticed that none of the six writers that predicted the 2021 postseason participants in the Globe baseball preview section picked the Red Sox to earn a playoff berth. I suspect I might have been the closest to doing so, giving it serious consideration before deciding the Sox will finish in the 83-win range and fall a few games short.

Two years ago, the last time teams played a full 162 games, the Brewers had the worst record among wild card teams at 89-73. The Red Sox’ hopes this year would have benefited from keeping last year’s eight-playoff-team format, or at least by adding a third…