Photo by Maddie Malhotra/Boston Red Sox/Getty Images
Spring is here, and so is Opening Day.
After an offseason where ownership FINALLY opened their wallets, allowing Breslow and company to make real moves this winter, the Red Sox buzz in town is as high as it’s been since pre-COVID.
What are the realistic expectations for the Red Sox?
For the past several years, the Red Sox have been content to be a middling team that sits around .500.
That’s honestly what made them so frustrating. You knew that just a couple of moves could push them into playoff contention.
And that’s what they did. They added Crochet and Buehler to their rotation and made a splash, signing Alex Bregman and moving Devers to DH.
That’s why I think anything less than a playoff birth is a total FAILURE.
What are the biggest concerns for the Red Sox?
For me, it’s the bullpen.
I am not a fan of a 37-year-old Aroldis Chapman being the closer for this baseball team. In the wise words of Christopher “Mad Dog” Russo, “Chapman stinks.”
Chapman is the kind of guy that will drive me and the rest of Red Sox Nation crazy. He throws the snot out of the ball but has no clue where it’s going.
Not to mention the criminal record off the field that points to him being a really despicable person.
With that Chapman rant over, I am also concerned about the rest of the bullpen.
What is Liam Hendricks gonna bring to the table? Who is going to step up in middle-inning situations?
My answer to this problem is to eat Yoshida’s contract and trade him for another bullpen piece.
Could the Red Sox win the World Series?
Realistically, no.
But I would have said the same thing in 2013.
In baseball, I believe ANYONE who makes it to the postseason has a decent shot of winning the whole thing. After all, who expected a Rangers vs Diamondbacks World Series in 2023?
And with a playoff birth being this team’s floor, anything can happen.
I actually believe it is very possible for this team to win a pennant, and the American Leaue is seemingly wide open.
However, the National League is absolutely stacked. It will be tough for any AL team to dethrone the Dodgers or beat an NL team coming off a series win over the Dodgers.
But as baseball always reminds us: anything is possible in October.
Happy Opening Day.
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