John Farrell, like these Red Sox, managing to be nothing special

The Red Sox are finally back. As mediocre as they left.

To be fair, things could have turned out much worse for Boston on its recently-completed 5-5 road swing through Toronto, Oakland and Seattle. The Red Sox return to Fenway Park Tuesday for the first time since May 6, sporting an 18-20 record through their first 38 games, nearly one-quarter of the way through the 2015 season.

But if you’re expecting improvement as the Sox attempt to stabilize their pitching staff, not to mention dig deep for the inexplicable reasons why their putrid offense has collectively hit for a paltry average of .208 this month with a .613 OPS, history suggests that status quo is only going to result in disappointment yet again.

Since Sept. 1, 2011, otherwise known as the beginning of the end for Terry Francona, the Boston Red Sox are an overall 262-289, 27 games under .500 over a period that includes a World Series championship, two last-place finishes, and a September collapse for the ages. John Farrell has been around for 362 of those games, touting a 186-176 managerial record that creeps closer to .500 with every Mike Napoli whiff.

Not that the team’s struggles this season are anything new. Their record on this date over the previous three years, each of them under general manager Ben Cherington’s regime, is as follows: 2012: 19-21. 2013: 27-17. 2014: 20-23.

The outlier, of course, came two years ago. Otherwise, notice a trend?

Hoping for the Red Sox to improve this season and remain in contention seems foolhardy if only because of an institutional malaise that has seemingly infected every operational standpoint of the team, with the GM and the manager fitted firmly in the crosshairs of a firing squad that may be inevitable.

It’s a bit of a chicken-egg scenario from there when it comes to determining which parties deserve the greater share of the blame. Moments like Farrell’s immense blunder in Seattle the other night — not electing to walk slugger Nelson Cruz with first base open in Seattle’s 2-1 win — suggest that 2013 was a magical moment on the resume that won’t be duplicated. Then again, this is the third time in four years that Cherington has constructed a less-than-fascinating group of players, not to mention the fact that his illustrious farm system hasn’t produced a starting pitcher of any great worth at the major league level since he took office following the 2011 season.

Maybe 2012 first-round pick Brian Johnson (4-2, 2,72 ERA at Triple-A Pawtucket) plays a part in solving the latter, just as 2011 picks Matt Barnes (1.23 ERA in five games with Boston thus far) and Henry Owens (2-2, 3.41 ERA), both selected under former GM Theo Epstein, may prove their worth at various junctures this season, as well as Eduardo Rodriguez (4-2, 3.05 ERA with the PawSox), acquired last summer in the Andrew Miller trade.

But Cherington has a longer leash, despite his burgeoning incompetence in trade evaluation, as his latest much-ballyhooed crop of players is really only nearing its blooming stages. Then again, that would seem to ignore the fact that he’s been instrumental in the Boston farm system for about 16 years now and has only produced a handful of homegrown superstars (Jon Lester, Jacoby Ellsbury, Dustin Pedroia, Jonathan Papelbon…)

For Farrell, that bloom is off the rose, a reality that came to light the moment the team axed pitching coach Juan Nieves and replaced him with Carl Willis earlier this month. With the Red Sox’ ineptitude on offense, the question lingers if hitting coach Chili Davis isn’t far behind the fate of Nieves.

Willis took over in Toronto, which along with Seattle hosts two of the top-10 pitcher-friendly ballparks in the major leagues, but the immediate turnaround is still impressive. Pre-Willis, the Sox staff as a whole had an ERA of 5.04. In the 71 2/3 innings since the new guy took over, it’s down to 3.14.

If the offense continues to struggle, and Farrell stays course and lays blame on the coaching rather than, gee, benching Napoli (.551 OPS, minus-0.4 WAR) or sliding Mookie Betts (.294 on-base percentage batting leadoff, 38th-best in the American League) down in the order, Davis is doomed. Nieves took the hit for horrific starts to the season for Clay Buchholz, Justin Masterson, and Clay Buchholz. The hitting coach will suffer the same fate unless Cherington and the Red Sox finally swallow their pride and admit the contract extension that they inexplicably gave Farrell during spring training was a hasty mistake.

The team’s return home represents a significant crossroads for this year’s edition, not to mention the franchise as a whole. If principal owner John Henry wasn’t willing to sit around and watch another hefty investment flail its way through the early portion of May without some level of accountability, how is he going to feel when his team is still hovering just below .500 and the calendar turns to June?

Changes begin with the lineup, but even then, Farrell has to hope that David Ortiz (three runs batted in this month) isn’t aging (again) before his eyes and that Hanley Ramirez isn’t really affected by the recent shoulder injury he suffered running into the wall in left field at Fenway Park. He hasn’t hit a home run in the nine games since he’s returned to the lineup. And for the love of Kirby Puckett, can someone in the organization just tell Pablo Sandoval (.366 batting left-handed, .049 as a right-hander) he’s only batting from one side of the plate from here on out?

But where Farrell is really over his head is in the same area that advanced his demise in Toronto; his inability to groom young players in their transition to the major leagues. Xander Bogaerts has been decent, but a shell of the player that excited upon his introduction late in 2013; Betts has cooled off significantly after a hot start; and it makes one shudder to think what the prognosis for fellow youngsters Blake Swihart, Owens, Rodriguez, Johnson and the like might be under Farrell. It’s a trend that has to be of utmost concern to the Red Sox, with a rotation rebuild on the cusp of the majors, and a man who has proven lackluster results in greeting them there.

From an in-game standpoint, Farrell has had a pretty good year from the bench, despite the brain cramp over the weekend. But it’s hard to dispute the notion that there’s a veteran stubbornness about him that doesn’t adapt to change in the most effective ways, maybe one of the reasons why $72 million man Rusney Castillo is still lingering in Pawtucket despite his recent hot streak. Why Mike Napoli continues to bat fifth despite the fact that his more apt slot would be DFA. Why the privileged Buchholz smugly shrugs his shoulders after each ensuing beating.

There’s a lot wrong with the Red Sox. But there has been for a while.

Maybe Farrell, despite the ring, is just as middling a manager as the team he’s led to another lackluster start.

If only the Red Sox had realized that before they awarded him for a last-place finish, this decision might be a whole lot easier right now.