That’s What We Have Been Waiting For

It took nearly two thirds of the season but the defending World Champions finally showed up and played the way we have been expecting since day one.  Faced with a rich challenge against Tampa Bay and then New York the Sox took care of business about as well as could have been hoped going 5-2 and showing their talent in a way they have not for most of the season.  Despite the good performance some concerns still exist that cannot be dismissed out of hand.  To wit;

Monday - 2IP, 4 runs
Tuesday - 3IP, 2 runs
Wednesday - 2IP, 0 runs
Thursday - 3IP, 0 runs
Friday - 2.1IP, 2 runs
Saturday - 3.1IP, 2 runs
Sunday - 3.2IP, 3 runs

Astute readers will recognize that as the bullpen performance over the past week. While that is concerning an assortment of caveats exist in there and what strikes me most of that is the number of innings pitched.  Facing quality competition the Sox starters stepped up in a way they really have not all season getting deep into games on a consistent basis.  Obviously a bullpen surrendering 13 runs in 19.1 innings is a rate that is not OK if the starters are combining with the offense to build leads like they did over the course of the week good things should be in store for the final third.  I don’t think enough can be said about the work of the rotation over this past week.  As I noted in the last thread’s comments if the Sox are going to get hot it is going to be the rotation pitching to its ability that is the trigger for that.

Other stuff;

- Dave Dombrowski seems to do something that Theo Epstein did a few times in his tenure and that’s strike early in the trade deadline;

2016: Aaron Hill (July 7), Brad Ziegler (July 9)
2017: Doug Fister (June 23) (waiver claim)
2018: Steve Pearce (June 28)
2019: Andrew Cashner (July 13)

Rather than waiting for the auctions to start he jumps on players that can be useful early in the deadline.  While these acquisitions have been useful he has also shown a willingness not to let them be the final word acquiring players like Eduardo Nunez, Addison Reed and Nathan Eovaldi at more traditional trade deadline deals.  What I am saying is that there is enough smoke on an Edwin Diaz deal that if I were Bobby Dalbec or Tristan Casas I wouldn’t be buying green bananas.

- OK, I’ll admit I am sitting here typing this while sitting in a Xander Bogaerts jersey I bought in May, 2014 but have you SEEN what he is doing?  Mookie Betts is the Sox best player and Rafael Devers is slowly turning into that slugging star that Sox fans love but this is Xander Bogaerts’ team in my opinion.  He seems to have seized the mantle of leadership from Dustin Pedroia and honestly it is something I thought he was doing back in 2015.  He is the infielder most likely to jog in and give a reassuring word to a scuffling hurler and while he is quiet he also seems to be the guy who makes this team go.  He is having a truly brilliant season.

- I mentioned Edwin Diaz a moment ago and while he has not had a great year for the Mets he is an enticing guy.  If I am Dombrowski I go for the Theo Epstein Memorial Magnum Opus and try and grab Noah Syndergaard or Zach Wheeler.  A little starting pitching depth would not be amiss.  The Sox have built up the farm system pretty well but adding Diaz who is under club control for three more seasons after 2019 would be a great get and Thor also has two more years.

- As much fun as this weekend was I think it actually told us more about the Yankees than the Sox.  What the Yankees have done this year is extraordinary and some of the criticisms I have seen of Aaron Boone are laughable in my opinion.  That said the issues they had on March 27 remain.  The rotation is a shambles and the bullpen has been worked pretty hard and the key guys out there are all in their 30s with some dicey injury histories.  I would not predict such a thing to happen but the Yankees have a 2011 Red Sox look to them; great lineup but some missing key pieces, fragile rotation, strong but heavily worked bullpen.  I doubt the Yankees will collapse because such collapses are unlikely but I expect them to be worse in the final third of the season than they have been so far.

- The most important thing about this week is that the Sox have reestablished themselves in a playoff hunt of sorts.  Last weekend in Baltimore was a massive giveaway but to come out and take five of seven against good competition was necessary and encouraging.  It is a strange place to be as a Sox fan.  Traditionally it has always been the Yankees just kind of lurking there but this year the Sox are the lurking team.  The reigning World Series champs are just sitting there, scuffling along a bit but they have not been killed yet.  The key now is to not let this burst of success go to waste as they have so often this year.  At so many points this season the Sox have looked like a team ready to surge then stumbled.  The opportunity and quality exists for this to be the Sox’ moment in 2019, the moment they thrust themselves back into the mix as one of the best teams in baseball.  The 2004 Sox were in a similar situation (58-49 at the same point, 59-48 today) at this stage coming off a thrilling series victory over the Yankees and that year ended alright.