Baseball Is Fun Once Again In Boston

From 2003-2008, the Boston Red Sox enjoyed their best run in franchise history since winning four World Series Titles from 1912-1918. The Red Sox would win a pair of World Series Titles in five playoff appearances as they were one of the top teams in Major League Baseball. The Red Sox would again make the playoffs in 2009, but they would be swept in the American League Division Series by the Los Angeles Angels. Boston wouldn’t qualify for the postseason in 2010, while they would have an epic collapse coming down the stretch in 2011 which resulted in no trip to the playoffs. 2012 would see the bottom officially fall out for the Sox when they stumbled to their first, last place finish since 1992. And after one year as the manager of the Red Sox, Bobby Valentine would be fired and replaced by John Farrell.

In Farrell’s first year in Boston, he led a complete turnaround as the Red Sox won the World Series. But the past two years were a struggle for the Red Sox as they finished in the basement of the American League East in consecutive years for the first time in franchise history, while Farrell had to step away from his managerial duties in order to be treated for Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.

There would be a change of philosophies for the Red Sox last August when Dave Dombrowski would be named as the team’s new president of baseball operations. Dombrowski brought with him a ton of front office experience as he was previously the general manager of the Montreal Expos, Florida Marlins, and Detroit Tigers. And Dombrowski went to work in getting things turned around in Boston.

Dombrowski began by parting with longtime Red Sox players such as infielder Mike Napoli who were aging. After former Red Sox general manager Ben Cherington had signed infielder Hanley Ramirez prior to the 2015 Major League Baseball season with the intent of him playing left field, Dombrowski put him back in the infield, but at first base which was still a new position for him as he spent the majority of his MLB career at either shortstop or third base. Dombrowski got the green light from Red Sox owner John Henry to spend money over the winter in free agency which he did on starting pitcher David Price as the two sides agreed to a seven-year contract that is worth $217 million. Over the off-season, the Red Sox would also acquire relief pitcher Craig Kimbrel from the San Diego Padres. And the additions of Price and Kimbrel to a veteran Red Sox team have become an interesting mix.

After going 14-10 in the month of April, the Red Sox surged in May. Boston finished the month of May with a record of 18-10 to bring their overall record to 33-23. And now the Red Sox find themselves in first place in the American League East which was something that they were unable to do in 2015.

Like other teams, Boston has had to deal with their fair share of ups and downs in 2016. Like Ramirez, third baseman Pablo Sandoval was a big signing for the Red Sox in free agency following the 2014 Major League Baseball season. But the Sandoval signing hasn’t worked out for the Red Sox as weight issues, along with a shoulder injury have abruptly ended his 2016 campaign. But whereas the services of Sandoval are unavailable, it has given a player such as Travis Shaw the opportunity to become the Red Sox everyday third baseman. Shaw is giving the Sox more than what they expected as he’s batting .289 with 7 home runs and 36 runs batted in. But most importantly Shaw is healthy and he wants to play. The Red Sox have dealt with several mini slumps this year as a team, however each time they’ve found a way to get out of their funk rather quickly.

One of the most recent incident like this came for the Red Sox on Memorial Day Weekend when they lost the first two games of a road series against the Toronto Blue Jays, which included blowing a four-run lead in the eighth inning on Saturday afternoon. The Sox would respond by taking the final game of the series which was the prelude of what was to come during their showdown last week against the Baltimore Orioles.

This Monday marked the beginning of an important four-game series between the Red Sox and Orioles with first place in the American League East on the line. And under manager Buck Showalter, the O’s have been a thorn in the side of the Sox which included eliminating Boston from playoff contention on the final day of the regular season in 2011. But this series saw each team win twice, but for the Red Sox they got contributions from their entire lineup, and through it all Boston now find themselves with a one-game lead over Baltimore in the AL East.

Young Red Sox players such as outfielders Jackie Bradley Jr., and Mookie Betts are coming of age as each player has enjoyed a lengthy hitter streak this year. Second basemen Dustin Pedroia is once again healthy, and shortstop Xander Bogaerts is becoming one of the best players in the game at his position. But make no mistake about that the Red Sox have once again rallied around designated hitter David Ortiz.

Since 2003, Ortiz has become the heart and soul of the Red Sox team. Ortiz is arguably the best designated hitter in Major League Baseball history while his 459 home runs are second in Red Sox franchise history. Ortiz has had a wealth of iconic moments while wearing a Red Sox uniform which has been highlighted by his game winning hit in Game 4 of the 2004 American League Championship Series which turned the team’s fortunes around en route to winning their first World Series Title since 1918, his grand slam in Game 2 of the 2013 ALCS against the Tigers, and a laundry list of walk-off hits. In the 2013 World Series, Ortiz batted .688 en route to being named as the MVP of the series, while earlier that year, he spoke on behalf of the organization after the bombing which took place at the Boston Marathon.

Ortiz has announced that this will be his final year with the Red Sox as he is set to retire, and he is going out with a bang. Ortiz is batting .342 with 16 home runs and 53 runs batted in. Ortiz’s 53 RBI’s lead the American League as some people are clamoring for the 40-year old to not retire since he is off to such a fabulous start.

Including Ortiz, the Red Sox currently have four players that are batting above .300, with Bogaerts leading the American League at .350. The Red Sox have best offense in the AL as they are first in runs (326), batting average (.294), on-base percentage (.359), slugging percentage (.490), hits (579), doubles (140) and triples (17).

The Red Sox are near the bottom of the American League in most pitching categories, but after a slow start, both Price and starting pitcher Rick Porcello are improving, while knuckleballer Steven Wright has been a pleasant surprise with a record of 6-4, to go along with an earned run average of 2.53, and a pair of complete games.

 

These Red Sox might not be the “idiots” that won the World Series in 2004 to reverse the curse, but this motley crew does have a good vibe to them as each man is playing for the guy that is next to him. Ramirez has accepted his role at first base, which has included him having a bounce back year at the plate, while also flashing the leather there. The Red Sox have tremendous speed in the outfielder with Betts, Bradley, Rusney Castillo, and Brock Holt, while they have solid defense on the infield.

Prior to the start of the season I felt that if the Sox were able to stay in contention that Dombrowski would be active on the trade market in order to obtain another starting pitcher. And with the way that things are going in Boston, you can expect Dombrowski to get a deal done to acquire at least one arm between now and the next 6-8 weeks. But make no mistake about there is once again a positive buzz around the Red Sox.

Source: Baseball-reference.com