I will get around to posting my usual recap of the season at some point. Right now I am very disappointed in the finish. The Red Sox looked like a team of destiny less than a week ago. Since that time though, the offense completely shut down. This has been the trend with the team all year long. They were maddeningly inconsistent. They could look great, then suddenly look like a team that was completely lost on the field.
The one thing to remember though is that this team was not even supposed to get this far. This looked like a rebuilding season at the outset. The "experts" predicted a fourth place finish and that did not seem out of line. Chris Sale was still recovering from Tommy John surgery and, other than Xander Bogaerts and Rafael Devers, the team did not have many star players. A number of players were signed as stop-gaps, like Hunter Renfroe, Enrique Hernandez, Garrett Richards, Matt Andriese, Marwin Gonzalez and others. Some of those players were terrific, others were decidedly not. And yet, the team was in first place at the All Star Break. They slumped badly down the stretch, but managed to put enough together to win the top Wild Card spot on the last day of the season, finishing with the same record as the Yankees, the team many picked to win the division. Boston got the top spot and home field advantage in the Wild Card Game because they won 10 out of 19 games against the Yankees.
They were not expected to beat the Yankees. And yet, they did. They then played the Rays, a team they struggled against. They were not expected to beat them. And yet, they did. So they drew the Astros in the ALCS, a team that blew them out more times then not. Obviously they were not expected to beat them. But after the first three games, they looked like they were in good shape. Unfortunately, things turned quickly and they looked like a team that did not deserve to be there in the last three games. It is what it is.
This team will be remembered as a surprise team that made it much further than anyone thought they would. They certainly surprised me. But it is perfectly okay to still be saddened and disappointed by what happened at the end, especially so soon. In a few days, I will better be able to reflect on all of the great things that happened this season. It is just too soon right now.
I would have been fine if the Sox lost to Tampa, but losing the the Trash-stros after being two innings away from a 3-1 series lead hurts like hell. How did the Boston bats get so cold so frickin fast?
ReplyDeleteI still find it very funny that in the span of a week the Red Sox eliminated the Blue Jays, Yankees and Rays from either the playoff picture or the playoffs entirely.
ReplyDeleteWatching the hitting just completely disappearing after 2 games of offensive explosion was hard to watch, but all-in-all it was a successful season that exceeded all expectations.
ReplyDeleteI would like to think everyone outside of Texas was rooting for your team. It was disappointing, but as you said, they weren't expected to be there in the first place.
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