The dawn of a new year is a time for reflection, and for many it’s also an opportunity to take a long look in the mirror and commit to becoming better in one way or another.

Not everyone sticks to their new year’s resolutions — some only make it a couple of weeks or months — but after three last-place finishes in four years the Red Sox can’t afford to waver. Here are some resolutions the Red Sox must stick to in 2024.

1. Regularly pitch into the sixth inning

If last year’s club had one fatal flaw, it was the pitching staff’s inability to pitch deep into games. Day after day starters went only four or five innings, which meant the Red Sox had to burn more relievers to get through each game, which meant the next day fewer arms were available. Things kept spiraling from there until you reached a point where Triple-A call-ups like Kyle Barraclough were being fed to the wolves because they were literally the only ones left available.

No one is expecting a complete game every other day, but for goodness sakes, at least get through the sixth every night so the bullpen can do its thing.

2. Stop botching routine grounders

How many times did we see Red Sox infielders collect a routine ground ball and chuck it 20 rows into the stands last year? Baseball Reference may have a more precise figure, but it felt like about six or seven thousand.

Whatever the actual number, it was much too high. Hopefully Boston’s coaching tweaks will make a difference, as will having Trevor Story back full-time.

3. Quit missing the cutoff man

Boston’s outfielders aren’t getting off the hook so easily. In recent years the Red Sox have gotten a little too aggressive trying to gun down runners at the plate when they have no play, allowing the runner behind them to advance into scoring position. It may not always seem like a big deal, but when the next batter singles and drives in a run who otherwise might have only reached third, those decisions can be costly.

It’s good to be aggressive, but it’s better to be smart. The Red Sox collectively need to start playing smarter.

4. Be decisive at the trade deadline

Two years ago the Red Sox tried to have it both ways at the trade deadline, moving Christian Vazquez for two prospects while holding onto J.D. Martinez and Nathan Eovaldi in an ill-fated bid to compete. Last year the Red Sox basically did nothing, adding Luis Urias for a prospect but otherwise standing pat.

Neither of those approaches worked out for Boston, so when the trade deadline comes this summer, please Craig Breslow, decide whether you’re a buyer or a seller and commit to it.

5. Start beating the Rays again

Remember when the Red Sox used to just pound on the Rays and nobody even gave it a second thought? Now Tropicana Field has become a house of horrors and every series with the Rays winds up being a colossal beatdown.

Obviously the Rays are much better now than they were through their first decade of existence, but come on. Boston went 2-11 against Tampa Bay last year, 7-12 in 2022, 8-11 in the 2021 regular season and 3-7 in 2020. If the Red Sox hope to go anywhere in the AL East, they need to flip the script on their low-budget rival.

6. Keep up those doubles

New Year’s resolutions are often about areas of improvement, but the Red Sox have done certain things well too. For example, they’ve led MLB in doubles in each of the last five 162-game seasons.

That’s in part due to Fenway Park’s unique dimensions, but the Red Sox have always had guys who can rope liners all over the field. Hopefully they can keep it up in 2024 as well.

7. Get more out of what you have

Why have the Red Sox finished last the past two years? They could have used more talent, yes, but they’ve also had key players underperform. That needs to change.

This season the Red Sox need Trevor Story and Rafael Devers to be All-Stars, for Masataka Yoshida to maintain his play over a full MLB season and for the team’s young guys to take the next step as players.

8. Develop more pitching

Breslow made his name as an executive by unlocking the Chicago Cubs pitching pipeline, and since coming to Boston he’s brought in pitching coach Andrew Bailey and director of pitching Justin Willard to help execute his vision. If they succeed and the Red Sox find themselves with a sustainable flow of talented new arms, it could pay off in ways few can appreciate.

9. Nail the No. 12 pick

While nobody is happy about the Red Sox recent performance, they’ve made the most of their high draft position. Marcelo Mayer, Roman Anthony and Kyle Teel, the club’s top bonus recipients over the last three drafts, all rank among the top prospects in baseball and are rapidly ascending through Boston’s minor league system.

The Red Sox will get one more crack near the top of the draft this summer, picking No. 12 overall, and if they nail that pick too then they could really set themselves up for long-term success.

10. Don’t be cheap

There’s been a lot of talk this offseason about how the Red Sox are being cautious about payroll, and over the weekend MassLive reported that one free agent has been told Boston wants to shed more payroll before pursuing them as aggressively as they’d like.

That’s not a good look.

If the Red Sox feel they need to save money so they can spend even more money, then that’s defensible as long as they end up in the right place. The first luxury tax threshold this season will be $237 million, so the Red Sox should be at least in the $230 million range at minimum, and preferably much higher than that. But the Red Sox should be above pinching pennies, so if they go into the season with the same payroll as last year (roughly $225 million) or even lower, then red flags should go up across New England.