3 reasons the Red Sox are built for a deep playoff run and 3 reasons they aren’t
Boston Red Sox
Regardless of how this season unfolds, let’s not forget the magic of the summer.
As the calendar flips to September and the colors on the leaves begin to change, so too does the New England sports landscape.
First, the Patriots return, then the Celtics and Bruins follow. Buzz around the Red Sox briefly resurfaces in the playoffs when the team is contending, but those serene summer days where baseball was all we had are long gone.
The excitement that comes with the fall and October baseball is impossible to replicate. There’s nothing like watching the Patriots play in the afternoon and the Red Sox play at night, with each win uniting the region and eliciting a sense of collective pride.
But, as our schedules ramp up and we start to run around from work to school to games, let’s not forget what transpired to this point. Out of all Red Sox seasons I’ve personally witnessed, this is by far the most scintillating summer I can remember.
It felt like every time you went to the ballpark, they were going to find a way to win. They could be dormant all game and look like they were sleepwalking through the first eight innings. It didn’t matter. They were unflappable, with the grit of a plucky mid-major March Madness 12-seed and the swagger of the revered Red Sox World Series teams before them.
The goal is always to win the World Series, and what happens from this point moving forward will always dictate how this season is remembered. At the same time, I encourage you to cherish this summer forever and let it prominently exist as more than just a footnote.
Runs like that don’t happen very often, and this one was a healthy reminder that the journey can carry as much juice as the destination.
It’s possible we’ll look back years from now and reminisce about how the magic of the summer propelled them to magic in October. It’s possible they’ll lose to the Yankees in the Wild Card again and this will all be a distant memory. Either way, don’t let that summer feeling die.
With all that said, it’s almost that time. Here are three reasons for optimism and three reasons for pessimism in the postseason.
Deep run 1: Depth and versatility
One of the defining attributes of this Red Sox team is the ability of whoever is out there to seamlessly adjust on the fly for the greater good.
Whether it’s Mickey Gasper looking like Mickey Mantle against righties, Andruw Monasterio filling in for Trevor Story, or Nick Sogard and Anthony Seigler doing whatever is asked of them (the list goes on and on), there’s no entitlement or ego with this group.
It’s been a wacky and wonderful game of musical chairs, and both interim manager Chad Tracy and the players deserve a tremendous amount of credit for maximizing the talent on the roster.
Early exit 1: Grit only gets you so far
Guys like the ones listed above have had remarkable runs, but is it realistic to expect them to keep it up into October? If they do, we’ll all tip our caps and say we knew they would all along, yet it’s far from a guarantee.
It’s kind of like the concept where, if you have two quarterbacks battling for the starting job, that sometimes means you really have no starting quarterback at all. It’s not quite that bleak for the Red Sox, but sometimes more can be less and leave you with nothing tangible to show for your efforts.
Deep run 2: Pitching prowess
Most of the teams that advance deep into the playoffs have excellent pitching, and the Red Sox fit that description. Sonny Gray, Ranger Suárez, Payton Tolle, and Jake Bennett have all proven they are capable of winning in the postseason.
The bullpen, with Erik Miller, Garrett Whitlock, and Aroldis Chapman starring and Tyron Guerrero and Alec Gamboa there as needed, has no holes. Garrett Crochet is lurking in the shadows, potentially ready to contribute when he is needed.
Early exit 2: Pitching also only gets you so far
The Red Sox have had too many games this season where the bats go eerily quiet and nothing materializes until it’s too late.
You can win some games 2-1, but realistically, putting up at least four runs a night is imperative to their success. The returns of Roman Anthony and Trevor Story have been a nice boost, and reintegrating them with Willson Contreras healthy and Wilyer Abreu and Ceddanne Rafaela mashing is a dangerous combo.
Time will tell, but the Red Sox don’t have quite as much wiggle room as one might like. Their lineup feels somewhat hit or miss, so to speak.
Deep run 3: No truly dominant American League team
The American League is wide open. The Rays are the best team, but the Yankees and Red Sox aren’t far behind them.
I genuinely believe Boston would beat the White Sox, Guardians, Astros, Rangers, or any other near-.500 opponent.
It’s similar to the NBA, where a bunch of decent teams battle it out for a chance to face a juggernaut from the West. But, as we saw with the Knicks, anything can happen.
Early exit 3: Yankees are a bad matchup
The unfortunate reality, of course, is that we’re inching closer and closer to another Red Sox-Yankees Wild Card series.
The rosters are about even overall, give or take, but the Yankees are a bad matchup for the Red Sox. New York is the only team in the league that can truly match Boston starter for starter and appears to even have an edge in that area.
This past weekend’s series wasn’t pretty and exposed the holes on the Red Sox roster. It’s very possible this run will end with another loss to the Yankees. If they’re able to sneak by New York, however, something special could be in the works.
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