The Red Sox are the best team in baseball... at least, that’s what their win total says as they improved to 44-21 with a victory over the lowly White Sox on Saturday.
It’s hard not to buy into the hype surrounding this team considering the strides they've made over the past year. At this point last season, the Sox were 33-27 and lacking any sort of pop in the lineup. That no longer is a concern thanks to the crucial addition of J.D. Martinez and an MVP-caliber season thus far out of Mookie Betts.
While there aren’t many reasons for pessimism right now, Sox fans should look at the bigger picture before getting too excited.
The goal for the Red Sox this season isn’t to boast the best regular season record or win the division for the third straight year. It’s to get over the ALDS hump after failing to advance past that stage the last two seasons. Regardless of what their record says, they’ll still have plenty to prove if and when they go up against other American League powerhouses like Houston, Cleveland, or New York in October. And frankly, Boston still has too many question marks to assume they'll finally make the jump in their third attempt.
The starting rotation remains the primary area of concern. David Price appears to have gotten back on track after a rocky start to the season, but can he be relied on to keep it going? Do you suddenly trust him to win games as a postseason starter?
Which version of Rick Porcello will make an appearance down the stretch?
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Is Drew Pomeranz going to be a bullpen arm moving forward? If so, how do you feel about trotting out Steven Wright against a top-tier lineup in the playoffs? If not, will you feel confident when it’s Pomeranz vs say, Charlie Morton (7-1, 2.82 ERA this season)? Probably not, and you likely won’t feel great if it’s Eduardo Rodriguez in that spot either.
And as much as you’d like to feel unbeatable when Chris Sale takes the mound, we just witnessed a 1-0 loss to the White Sox on Friday despite his dominant outing. Plus, Sale struggled in last year’s postseason allowing a combined nine runs in his two starts, both of which the Sox lost to Houston.
The Astros (41-25) are 3.5 games behind the Red Sox’ pace but make no mistake, they’re undoubtedly Boston’s biggest roadblock especially given the historic year their starting rotation is having, namely Justin Verlander, Gerrit Cole, and Morton. They thrive where the Red Sox are vulnerable and as good as the Sox’ lineup is, Houston’s is still just as good if not better.
Don’t sleep on Cleveland (33-28) either. The Indians got off to a sluggish start but are starting to get hot, much like they did last year when they ended up winning 102 games. When they're playing up to their potential, they're still well-equipped to do what they did to the Red Sox in the ALDS two seasons ago.
And then there’s the Yankees (42-18), who much like Boston have a relentless lineup but an up-in-the-air rotation. They very well could force the Red Sox into a petrifying do-or-die Wild Card game, never mind beat them in a playoff series.
None of this is to say the Red Sox aren’t talented enough to make a deep postseason run. If there’s any year they can beat those three aforementioned teams, it’s this one now that they have a lineup that can make up for rough outings from their starters. Just don’t let their early success trick you into thinking they’re the team to beat.
With the halfway point in the season fast approaching, Sox fans should avoid being overconfident and be cautiously optimistic. Because despite what the records say now and for the rest of the regular season, the team that eliminated you last year and went on to win the World Series remains the best team in baseball until proven otherwise, and they're built to beat you again this time around.