Going Deep

As fun as the Red Sox are currently, they were nothing short of an uncontrolled dumpster fire for a good three months. Over at the Providence Journal, Tim Britton looks over the five losses that were the nails in the coffin for the 2015 Red Sox. Most of them I agree with – Koji Uehara blowing the save in Texas, the Blue Jays coming to Boston in mid-June and shelling them, and the rest are all good examples. Britton could’ve put the entire week after the All-Star break as one massive loss, as the Sox lost seven straight to push a losing streak to eight games and cement their status as “sellers” at the deadline. From May to July, the Red Sox were masters at pulling-the-fans-in-just-to-shove-them-back-out routine. It wasn’t pretty.

In more front office news – seriously, I think I’ve had enough Red Sox FO news for a lifetime this season – Jerry Dipoto got a job! He’s now the general manager of the Seattle Mariners, who just so happen to reside in the same division as the Scioscia-adhering Los Angeles Angels. Dipoto signed on with the Sox to be a consultant for Ben Cherington earlier this season, and everyone generally knew it was a temporary thing. Unless Dave Dombrowski wanted him as GM when Cherington stepped down, he was as good as gone. Good for Dipoto. He deserved a second chance to run a team, this time without a manager stonewalling him at every turn and an owner to box him out. It was only a matter of time.

Quick Hits

Pick an outfield, any outfield, and Jackie Bradley Jr. will give you some unbelievable defense on it. Much has been made of where JBJ will play, but as we saw over the last few nights, it really doesn’t matter where the Gold Glove-caliber outfielder plays. Nick Cafardo must’ve wrote this column with an incredulous look on his face, especially when Bradley himself volunteers to take the toughest field in each park. What a guy.

With all the success the Red Sox have had lately, not much fuss has been made over Hanley Ramirez and Pablo Sandoval not being a part of it. While it’s understandable, since both aren’t healthy at all, Michael Silverman of the Boston Herald says it’s strange to see such big signings become afterthoughts this season. To be fair, it’s fine to not really care, as Pablo has pneumonia and Hanley’s had a bum shoulder for forever.

Rick Porcello is yet another one of those Red Sox that have had a much better second half than his first half. However, with regards to the future and his $82 million extension, Rob Bradford notes that it remains to be seen if he’ll produce at the level the front office had expected of him. It’s gonna be tough for Porcello to perform at a $20 million level if he stays the same type of pitcher, but the Sox have him through his prime, so if he’ll take the next step, it’ll be then.

Having a good farm system is a really underrated thing. As it turns out, the scouts and the stats both agree that the Red Sox have one of the best. Over at Fangraphs, Tony Blengino takes a statistical look at each team’s minor league system, and wouldn’t you know it, the Red Sox’s system is in the top five in the league. The not-so-good-news is that four American League teams are ahead of them.

Three Good Game Stories

MassLive’s Jen McCaffrey talks about the Red Sox’s fifth straight win on Tuesday, and their never-say-die attitude in the last week of the season.

Over at, well, Over The Monster, Ben Buchanan recaps the 5-1 win over the Yankees on Monday, and notes that the Sox are now in 3rd place in the AL East. CHAMPIONSHIP BOUND.

CSNNE’s Jimmy Toscano sums up Boston’s 2-0 win over Baltimore on Sunday, cementing a sweep in which the Orioles did not score a single run. Impressive.

Photo by Andy Marlin/USA Today Sports Images