That rumbling sensation felt around New England coming down from Canada the evening of Sept. 15 was not an earthquake. It was the Boston Red Sox falling into the American League East division cellar after a loss to the Blue Jays in Toronto. By the end of the weekend, the most crucial stretch of 22 games in Boston’s season ended with 16 losses and only six wins.

The season-defining stretch began Aug. 25 when the artful Dodger, Mookie Betts, led the Los Angeles team — now the 2023 National League West division champion — into Fenway Park. That August weekend saw an 8-5 Saturday Red Sox win sandwiched between 7-4 losses.

Betts was returning to the park where he was named the 2018 World Series Most Valuable Player after leading the Sox to the championship over the Dodgers.

After a disappointing 2019 season, he was traded to the Dodgers when the Red Sox refused to pay him what he was worth. Betts promptly led the Dodgers to a 2020 World Series victory.

Betts is an elite athlete, a rare .300 lead-off hitter with home run power and great speed around the bases and in the field. He alternates between second base and right field, making spectacular plays at both positions. In the recent Dodgers series, he embarrassed the Red Sox team that had sent him packing.

Over the three games, Betts had seven hits in 15 at-bats, scoring five runs with four runs-batted-in, two doubles and a home run, raising his batting average from .309 to .315. He robbed the Sox of several hits in the field. Each time he came up to bat, he received a tremendous ovation from the sold-out crowds that included thousands of Dodgers fans who sometimes drowned out the Fenway faithful.

The Los Angeles crowd was led by a contingent from Pantone 294, an organization, according to its web site, “created with the hopes of uniting loyal Dodger fans from all over the world to support our Boys in Blue while they are away from home.” Friday night, that Pantone group, mostly Latino and all dressed in Dodger blue, 2,000-plus-strong, had marched down Boylston Street to Ipswich, Lansdowne and Jersey streets, chanting all the way into Fenway Park.

After the Dodgers series, the Red Sox continued their losing ways at home against the Houston Astros and then on the road against the Kansas City Royals and Tampa Bay Rays. They started with a 68-60 record when the Dodgers came to town and returned home at 72-68, before seven games with the Baltimore Orioles and New York Yankees.

With the Yankees this year, the Sox appear to have won the battle but lost the war. In head-to head-games, Boston came out in front, 9-4, but now find themselves behind the Yankees in the basement of their division as the season closes out, with the threat of finishing below .500.

When the Yankees came to town for four contests the week of Sept. 7, they were three games behind the Red Sox, but they left town in a tie. After losing three of four games in the series, the Sox parted ways with Head of Baseball Operations Chaim Bloom.

Since Bloom’s departure, considerable discussion has ensued regarding the direction of the Red Sox organization and how to put a winning team on the field. Sox President Sam Kennedy, speaking on behalf of the other principal owners, John Henry and Tom Werner, says they are committed to getting the club back to October playoff baseball and winning another World Series.

The question is who will be at the helm. Bloom did a fair job developing minor-league hitting talent but not pitchers. General managers around baseball who have a record of bringing pitchers along could be brought in.

What is more likely is promoting from within. The most obvious choice is current manager Alex Cora. The owners are fond of him, and he has expressed an interest in a front-office job. But it may be too soon.

Cora’s current job is safe. He is already talking about which players are going where in winter ball to further develop, stay in shape and be ready for the 2024 season.

A more likely and popular choice for the job is Assistant General Manager Eddie Romero. He is Puerto Rican, as is Cora, and both are well liked by the many Latino players in the organization.

But this season is not over.

Even though the Sox won’t be in the playoffs, they have a number of meaningful games left. Nine of their last 12 games are with the Texas Rangers (three) and Baltimore Orioles (four) on the road, and at home with Tampa Bay (two). All three teams are fighting for post-season positioning.