By Cody Lachance
Just for fun, I recently took a look back at predictions that professional baseball analysts made for the Boston Red Sox this season. No one gave them a fighting chance, predicting that they would miss the playoffs for the fourth year in a row. Most even had them finishing in the basement of the brutal American League East.
The funniest part of these predictions was how many of these “experts” had the Toronto Blue Jays winning the division. As of game number 147, the Red Sox find themselves 9.5 games ahead of the second-place Tampa Bay Rays and 22 games ahead of the cellar-dwelling Blue Jays.
What these analysts forgot to consider was how large of a role chemistry has on a baseball team. Major League Baseball’s 162-game schedule is the longest of the four major sport leagues, which can create more opportunities for these teams to crumble and fall apart. But not for these Sox.
Upper management, led by General Manager Ben Cherington, identified an issue with clubhouse chemistry and sought to change it. This shift towards a more unified clubhouse started last summer when the team pulled off a huge deal with the Los Angeles Dodgers that sent away “bad eggs” Adrian Gonzalez, Carl Crawford and Josh Beckett.
In the offseason, the Red Sox went after guys that they felt would have instant positive impacts on chemistry and team morale: outfielder Shane Victorino, first baseman Mike Napoli, and most notably, outfielder Jonny Gomes.
Gomes has helped multiple teams make the playoffs, including the 2008 American League Champion Rays, the 2010 Cincinnati Reds and most recently, the 2012 Oakland Athletics. There are certain aspects about a player like Gomes that allow him to have large, positive impacts on a team without putting up great numbers or even being an everyday player. That is one of the characteristics about baseball that continue to make it America’s favorite pastime.
Looking back on the 2004 Red Sox season, one of the most notable characteristics of the team was hair, both on their heads and on their faces.
This 2013 Red Sox team has taken a page from the history books and is bringing back this wild-man look. Second baseman Dustin Pedroia, Napoli and Gomes all look like they’ve been stranded in the Rocky Mountains for months. Catcher Jarrod Saltalamacchia is not only rocking a fierce beard, but also has long, wavy hair flowing out of the back of his catcher’s mask. Even starting pitcher Clay Bucholz is sporting long, wavy hair and a dirty mustache and goatee combo. It’s small teambuilding factors like these that can truly bind a team together and get them working towards the same goal. There is only one thing on the mind of every player that calls Fenway Park home: a World Series championship.
Although chemistry and team camaraderie are important, at the end of the day, one of the largest factors that make the Red Sox a lethal October contender is the fact the team can flat out play. With the return of Bucholz to his pre-injury form, the Red Sox can go four starters deep come the postseason. Bucholz, Jon Lester, Jake Peavy and John Lackey all have the ability to pitch like aces on any given day, and the offense is one of the best in baseball.
Designated hitter David Ortiz, Napoli and third baseman Will Middlebrooks provide pop in the middle of a lineup that features one of the fastest leadoff men in baseball in center fielder Jacoby Ellsbury as well as a middle infield dominated by the gutsy Pedroia and one of baseball’s top prospects in shortstop Xander Bogaerts. Throw in some key utility players like Gomes and outfielder/first baseman Daniel Nava and you have a recipe for a playoff run.
Will the Red Sox win the World Series this year? It is still way too early to tell. But there is no doubt that they will be playing in the postseason this year. Looking around the league, the Red Sox can match up with nearly any roster in not only the AL, but in the National League as well.
The pessimists who instantly bring up Boston’s September collapse of 2011 can put those thoughts away. As a Red Sox fan, I’ll keep an open mind and cheer this team on in the hopes that they will win it all.
Anything can happen in the postseason. It is entirely possible that another playoff-bound squad will get hot down the stretch and ride that momentum all the way. I don’t think anyone wants to make a trip to Fenway in October to face the bearded men of Boston, though.