What Makes The Red Sox So Dangerous

Let me start by throwing this right out there. One of the most emotional, stirring moments I have ever seen in sports came on Thursday night when Mariano Rivera made his last appearance ever on the Yankee Stadium mound. When Andy Pettitte and Derek Jeter walked out of the dugout and head to the mound together, I got chills, especially when Pettitte signaled for a pitching change.  How perfect and so right that gesture was having those two players take Mo out of the game for the last time EVER at home.

And to watch the emotion on the faces of all 3 was priceless, but when Mo handed the ball to Pettitte and they embraced, I lost it.  It was a real life “Norman Rockwell” moment if I ever saw one.  What a moment for baseball, for Mo and for those three, the last icons from a solid Yankee era. Even having Mo hand the ball off to Pettitte had an extra special meaning because no other closer in baseball saved more games for one pitcher in the history of the game, than Mo Rivera did for Andy Pettitte!  Classy, emotional…perfect! I am sure I speak for many in Red Sox Nation when I tip my cap in respect to Mariano Rivera for his illustrious & dominating career.

 

Ok, onto the Red Sox and playoffs.  The Red Sox are seemingly set to wrap up the best record and home field advantage this weekend.  The reward for doing so will be a playoff date with the eventual AL Wild Card team at Fenway Park on Friday, October 4^th.   Who that will be is anyone’s guess.  Tampa and Cleveland are deadlocked with 2 to go and Texas is one game behind.  What a wild scenario it would be if the season ended with all 3 teams in dead heat!  My guess, Tampa and Cleveland edge out Texas and they square off, with Tampa winning and heading on to meet Boston.  But I’d love to see Cleveland win, just for the Tito Francona storyline that would dominate the sports airwaves and headlines in Boston.

This week, someone from outside of RSN asked me about the Red Sox strengths and weaknesses and if I thought that they were built for playoff success.  It got me really thinking about the Red Sox recent playoff history, their past successes and disappointments.  The teams that disappointed seemed to rely heavily on a small core of players or on one aspect of the game, be it pitching or slugging.  Contrarily, the successful teams seemed to have balance and consistency in all aspects of the game and up and down their lineup.   This 2013 Red Sox team shares that same blueprint and in fact, is balanced and has not only been consistent up and down the lineup, but up and down the entire ROSTER!

The Red Sox will finish the season having never lost four games in a row.  The last Sox team to do that was the 1903 squad that later went on to defeat the Pirates in the first World Series ever!  (Editor’s Note:  And don’t we all remember THAT squad )They have been consistent and have not relied too heavily on any player or single aspect of their game.  They are not spectacular, but they are efficiently sound all around. Their starting staff is steady, experienced & solid, as is their defense.  Their bench has produced all season, whether in pinch-hitting roles, spot starts or swiping a well-timed base. The back end of the bullpen has been lights out (#High5City) (Ed. #GAGME) and the Sox have 2 or 3 options to work the 7^th and 8^th innings, depending on the situation. They have 3 or 4 guys that will swipe a base or 2 and they have consistent thump up and down the lineup.  And they know how to get on base and work the pitch count, which is one of their greatest assets.  And yes, I purposely refrained from dropping names as much as possible, because though this team has some marquis players, their success was built on the “the whole being greater than the sum of its parts!”  (Thank you Aristotle).

No Problem, Jimmy. Glad I could help invent modern thought so you could compare it to some knuckleheads playing a game.

In short, the Red Sox are a very dangerous team because opponents can’t game plan to shut down one player or one aspect of their game. They can beat you in so many ways! Someone different is seemingly stepping up and making something happen game after game.  And they do not panic and they never give up nr do they give in. Their consistency & balance have helped put the Red Sox in the position that they are in, having clinched the AL East and on the cusp of claiming the best record in the MLB.  But the playoffs are an entirely new season, where everyone involved starts fresh with 0-0 records each series and regular season success does not guarantee anything except a favorable seeding.  Still, the more you dissect the Red Sox, the better you have to feel about their playoff chances, especially if they continue to get that balance up and down the roster.

One thing for sure, there are no clear front-runners in this year’s playoffs which are loaded with quality teams in each league, which should make for some exciting matchups, drama and surprises!  Football season will have to wait another month (hopefully) because it’s playoff baseball time!  I live for this!  #GoSox

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