Red Sox
COMMENT
About a month ago, Craig Breslow told The Athletic that “every time we step onto the field, we will learn something new.” This is much from probably the most insightful quote within the history of the Republic, but for me there’s something in its simplicity.
Simplicity with depth, as is obvious when attempting to answer the query “what did you learn about the Red Sox at Dodger Stadium over the weekend?” As with most things, an individual's answer is a robust reflection of what they thought beforehand.
In the fashionable baseball world, where anyone can consider themselves a contender, that is more true than ever.
Boston held on to the nine-headed baseball monster for nearly three days, a notion that seemed unlikely back within the winter after we were agonizing over them not signing. (He wintered here! Remember?)
In fact, it could have seemed improbable in the times before Breslow's above words, as his team stayed at .500 for 3 weeks until it shined in that home game against the Phillies and Yankees. We're still within the afterglow of that speech, the message that the Red Sox did nothing to undermine their place within the race against Los Angeles.
They were ahead within the eighth inning on Friday, within the ninth (with their closer on the mound!) and tenth inning on Saturday, and went from one run to a tie on Sunday. That none of those wins changed into victories may be very uncharacteristic of them; they hadn't been defeated in a three-game set since early April.
“I feel like we played hard every single game. A ball drops here, a ball drops there. It's baseball. Things just went in their favor,” Jarren Duran told reporters after one other electrifying weekend – 6 for 12, 3 doubles, 2 home runs, 2 walks and 5 runs scored. “We fought in all three games, including today. We were behind and scored some runs late. It's just a testament to our team and that we always like to fight.”
Unfortunately, there isn’t any “Vibes” column within the standings (yet), so the the explanation why these games weren’t won should be examined. Bullpen concerns were actually justified after Nick Pivetta threw six scoreless innings on Friday and Brayan Bello got off to a superb start Saturday, throwing just 82 pitches – six innings, three runs. Neither won since the bullpen collapsed in each, each in the highest half – Kenley Jansen, who allowed three more runs on Sunday – and the opposite half, which is under much more pressure without Chris Martin and Justin Slaten.
Cutter Crawfords five home runs The one allowed Sunday got here exactly a month after he allowed three in Cincinnati. Since that day, he's been electric, with 10 hits and one run in 20 innings, but this remains to be an untested group, missing a starter at best.
Less direct? The offense looked bad again against left-handers; 11 for 56, noted Alex Speier of the GlobeThe Sox's strikeout rate against left-handers is 30 percent, the worst within the MLB.
That meant that each one the deadlines had passed without delay, and now we’re eight days away from the deadline, and we must desperately keep in mind that not each day between now and July 30 must be dedicated to a referendum on what to do.
Listen to none aside from Breslow, who has said so much since then, but delivered the essential message in the identical interview in June.
“I think we can all see the reasons for optimism. How that plays out over the next five or six weeks remains to be seen. But I think regardless, it's an exciting time to be in this organization. I think it's an exciting time to be a fan of the organization,” he said.
“We will learn more, be realistic and also decisive.”
Determination is motion. The only individuals who would see the events in Los Angeles as a reason to deviate from the suitable path are those that have never deviated from the suitable path.
Montgomery? The guy who didn’t need to play in Boston because he “desired to win“? He went to Arizona this winter, which lost 9 of 11 games at the tip of July last summer and still 4 deadline movementswith Tommy Pham and Paul Sewald becoming a part of their World Series run. (History will tell how much that may cost.)
As strange as it could sound, eight days means the market remains to be within the consolidation phase. (Last 12 months, the overwhelming majority of moves occurred within the last 72 hours.) As of Monday morning, 22 of the 30 teams were inside 4.5 games of a playoff spot, including all but two within the National League.
Suffice it to say that it can once more be a seller's market, filled with buyers with each sensible and silly arguments. Determination is the watchword.
The Red Sox have been around for a very long time. There's no have to mourn the old days for the millionth time, but we're well past the purpose where smart baseball people have to be convinced that these Red Sox have a path to late-season baseball.
The foremost reason Craig Breslow's predecessor was fired was an absence of resolve. A fickle attitude whose rare moments of resolve – Christian Vázquez for Wilyer Abreu and Enmanuel Valdez, anyone? – paid off. (Yes, we excuse the Mookie Betts trade because I don't think it turned things around.)
Breslow knows this. Like all smart people, he knows greater than he lets on. And in per week we are going to see what this data will bring.
image credit : www.boston.com