Boston Red Sox: Expectations soaring high heading into 2018 playoffs
By Justin Keene
With their 6-2 victory over the Baltimore Orioles Monday night, the 2018 Boston Red Sox win a franchise record 106th game and clinch home field throughout the playoffs.
The Boston Red Sox have been an absolute powerhouse of a team in 2018.
First year manager Alex Cora has had a dream regular season, leading his club to a third straight division title and breaking the franchise record for most wins in a season.
Their pitching is elite, even with the bullpen being very unreliable. The offense is absolutely loaded, led by two potential MVP candidates in Betts and Martinez.
They will have the easiest path to the World Series, as they host the AL Wild Card game winner between the Yankees and Athletics. All of these accolades; however, won’t mean a darn thing if they can’t get it done in October.
A look back at recent playoff failures
The past two years, the Red Sox have been huge disappointments in the playoffs. In 2016, after going 93-69, they were swept in the ALDS by the Cleveland Indians. Last year, in 2017, the Red Sox went 93-69 again, but lost in the ALDS to the Houston Astros 3 games to 1. This year, hopefully the team puts together a deep playoff run, and is one of the final teams playing.
As great as things are going right now , there are still plenty of concerns for this team. The bullpen is absolutely atrocious. Since the All Star break, the bullpen has blown 12 saves. That is not acceptable. If the bullpen keeps this up, the Boston Red Sox will be golfing before the second weekend of October.
It will be very interesting to see who makes the Postseason roster, as Brandon Workman, Matt Barnes, Heath Hembree, Steven Wright, and Bobby Pointer all raise question marks going forward.