The Boston Red Sox have been on a tear as of late (not that it was unexpected in some quarters), and their AL East opponents better be ready. The team is red hot as they close out the month of May, and after a rather lackluster offseason and a frosty start in April, the real Red Sox may just be asserting themselves now.
The timing was very positive, as the Sox had found themselves 13 games behind the New York Yankees less than 10 days ago. And similar to 2021, the once dormant Bosox are now coming to life and are heading up in the standings in the East. There’s still a long way to go, but things are definitely looking up.
So, what is the outgrowth of this resurgence, and why all of a sudden have the “dread Sox” bats come to life? Let’s take a look at what’s triggering this emerging story as the Sox begin a climb that may eventually lead them to the top of the AL East.
Boston Red Sox talent base was there, it just needed a bit of seasoning
As was the case last season, the pot of baseball stew put together by Chief Baseball Officer Chaim Bloom took a bit of time to season. Now, the emergence of a tasteful winning recipe may just be emerging in that pot.
Yet, the early stumbles were not without some consternation among Red Sox Nation that rises and falls with every game, if not every inning or pitch. As they say down south in Foxborough, it is what it is in Boston, especially at Fenway Park, the shrine to baseball here since 1912.
The tide rises and falls by the day and so does the disposition of Red Sox Nation. Why baseball, only played for five or six months per year in these parts due to the weather, has such a hold on the city, state, and region is a question for the ages. Yet, the fact remains that as sure as the weather will dramatically change with the seasons in these parts, so will the longing for baseball to begin anew when the frost and snow of winter engulf the region.
So when a new season begins and things are slow in getting going, panic will most certainly set in. Doom and gloom will grip the region if a weak April keeps the bloom (no pun intended) off the roses until warmer weather arrives. Yet, as warned, never count out Chaim Bloom and the Boston Red Sox. You’ll do so at your own peril. Well, now the warm and hot weather has arrived and the Red Sox are heating up as their bats have.
The Boston Red Sox hitters are catching fire
The Sox’s three-star hitters are raking. J.D. Martinez is hitting a healthy .366 with five home runs and 21 runs batted in. While Martinez is getting on base at an absurd rate, his power has been lacking. That power outage of sorts has been taken up largely by emerging superstar third-baseman Rafael Devers.
He’s more in sync, raking at a .337 clip with 10 home runs and 25 RBIs. While it’s much more in-tune line for a major slugger, it’s still a bit light for such an accomplished hitter as Devers. More may be on the way.
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In addition while also short of power stats, star shortstop Xander Bogaerts (he of the difficult agent angst) is doing his part. Bogaerts sports a lofty .323 average, yet like Martinez, he’s off in his the power numbers with only four home runs and 17 RBIs.
Other starters like Kike Hernandez, Alex Verdugo, Bobby Dalbec, and Jackie Bradley Jr. are struggling (although Bradley has actually upped his average over last season-to-date by 50 points to .213 as of this writing). But as last night’s 16-3 demoltion of the Chicago White Sox showed, better times may be on the way for these guys.
A great Boston Red Sox Story is unfolding at Fenway
Yet, conversely, an emerging Trevor Story is seemingly getting adjusted, and what an adjustment it has had to be for the former Colorado Rockies star. Story has had a staggeringly daunting task when you put it all on paper.
He has had to settle himself and his family into a new home while adjusting to a new team, new teammates, a new position, new stadium (actually old!), and significantly heavier air, both literally and figuratively here than that in Denver. In addition, all the while, Story’s had the additional burden of trying to live up to a healthy contract that put him under the spotlight from the outset.
Putting all that into perspective, it’s really no wonder that the fellow may have been just a tad overwhelmed by the all-encompassing nature of the aforementioned challenges, both personal and professional, that he had no choice but to encounter and overcome.
Yet, all that notwithstanding, he’s coming on strong as his bat heats up and he starts to rake as his recent 3 home run game against the Seattle Mariners exclaimed to the baseball world. In addition, the newbie Sox star won American League Player of the Week last week.
Masslive.com summed it up nicely,
"Story was named the American League Player of the Week, becoming the first Red Sox player to win the award this season. That was no surprise after he .360 (9-for-25) with 10 runs scored, a double, six home runs, 14 RBI, five walks, two stolen bases and a 1.120 slugging percentage over seven games."
Meanwhile, the Red Sox starting pitching is holding up its end of the bargain, and if Bloom can get the bullpen settled, then the only way for the club to go is further up the ladder in the AL East, especially if some of the batting laggards can catch fire as well. So here we go.
The Red Sox are on fire. Let’s see where it takes them. Last season wasn’t too bad at all, as they made it to the ALCS. Maybe they can take that up another notch and get to the Big Dance, as in the World Series, this season