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If you want to be assured that the 108-win Red Sox are about to turn their regular-season excellence into a fourth World Series championship in 15 seasons and another great Duck Boat outing, i would like to be able to help you, but i can not.
It does not work like that. The post-season includes eight excellent teams (once the wild cards are settled) who face each other in a very small sample of games. If one or two players start to sizzle at the same time, or if a pitcher ace has the wind in their sails, a very good team can raise an excellent team with relative ease.
The Red Sox have won 108 games, defending champion Astros 103 and the Yankees 100, wild cards. The Indians of Terry Francona have won only 91 games and we know the wonderful music he is able to orchestrate in the playoffs.
And no baseball team had a better record than the A in the second half (42-23). Pay attention to what you want in the game of the wild cards, because the pseudonyms of Billy Beane could well be made known.
When Cleveland has the fewest wins, you know that you are facing a high-end competition.
Red Sox fans know that a super regular season means little more in the playoffs than a membership insurance. The 2004 world champions have won everything thanks to the wild-card position. And for every single favorite who wins easily (the 1998 Yankees won, with 114 wins, the best team I've ever hated), there is a Mariners in 2001 (116 regular season wins, squeezed out in the US). ALCS) which has a brief stopover in series en route to a lasting disappointment.
Of course, the Sox can win everything. Maybe they're going. But it is wise to recognize the quality of the competition and the challenges of the journey in their quest for 11 more victories.
This is not an attempt to pour cold water when you were expecting champagne. Great things are obviously possible, the kind you remember forever. Now that the quality of the opponent has been properly recognized, I must say that things have been different this year for the Red Sox. It's their third consecutive title in AL East, and they went 1 to 6 en route to stand out in the playoffs of the last two years, but this team has won 15 more games than any of the winners of the 39, AL East. two years.
I think this matters in a fundamental and fundamental way: it is a real sign that they are better equipped for the playoffs than in the last two years, seasons which, in their context, should be considered as successes. With a fuller composition – Mookie Betts had a season that belongs to Willie Mays baseball card, JD Martinez gave them the post-Papi slugger they missed last year, and David Price posted a MPM of 2.25 in 11 starts in the second half – this is a top club.
And this without taking into account the significant improvement of the canoe. John Farrell won the World Series here, but I doubt that you can find anyone in the vicinity of Jersey Street who claims to be a better manager than Alex Cora, who is remarkably brilliant and prepared but who shows up at the calm and competitive times. It's a stark contrast to Farrell, who was understandably able to live the tension of a man whose job was at stake. Did they get that right?
Of course, there are concerns. Chris Sale looked like 1998's Pete Schourek on his last start. None of their accomplished starters have a post-season victory, which is almost unfathomable. The bullpen, even in its best days, walks too many hitters. And in his worst days, relief workers could be charged with conspiracy to commit arson. They could even be condemned.
Nevertheless, just look back at the defeat of the Division Series against eventual champion Astros in four games to feel better against the chances of this team.
Consider: Dustin Pedroia was the lead Sox of 17 in the appearances on the plates of this series (18, tied with Xander Bogaerts) and scored 0.125. Drew Pomeranz started the second game, Doug Fister started the third match and Price did not start at all. Joe Kelly had the only victory of the Sox series, while Addison Reed was their leader of the appearances. Bogaerts, which flourished under Cora, reached 0.059. The Sox hit five home runs in the series, or two more than the Altos, Jose Altuve, in the first game.
This is not the same list; it's higher, and neither the A nor the Yankees are as charged as the 17-year-old Astros, who had five batters with an OPS greater than 1,000 in the series.
The Red Sox are due to the size of some samples to break their way. I can see Betts, who has been on fire recently, having had a series like Altuve (the MVP 2017) last year. Martinez is able to put a team on his back, not just for a short time. Bogaerts had the best season of his career and he was successful in the playoffs five years ago as a 20-year-old with wide-eyed eyes. This could be his time.
There is no insurance for this time of year. But maybe it's also the moment of the Red Sox. They have never lost more than three consecutive games throughout the season. If they can get through the playoffs without losing three games in a series, they will be champions.
This makes the sound easy. It will not be. But they will not need the reminder. This team has performed well from the first day and, despite all of the caveats mentioned above, it is easy to believe that this playoff series will be satisfactorily different.
They had the most wins at the spring training. They had the most wins in the regular season. With 11 others, they will have the greatest victory of all.
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