There are some good vibes on Opening Day at Fenway
The last time we saw the Red Sox at Fenway, they were abruptly leaving someone else’s party.
That was almost six months ago now, but in a certain way, it feels longer. While the Astros turned the Fenway infield into their own champagne-soaked playground after their rally to win Game 4 of the American League Division Series and clinch the series, the Red Sox skulked off toward a winter that would bring necessary change.
The Red Sox won’t look drastically different Thursday afternoon when they play their first home game of the new season. When the 2018 Red Sox take the field for assorted Opening Day festivities, most of the names and faces will be familiar. The ovations will be rousing for Chris Sale, Mookie Betts, and a few other favorite and accomplished holdovers.
But they will look different than the 2017 edition that faded to black against the Astros, and in the right places. Alex Cora – bilingual, analytical, upbeat, and candid – took over as manager for stoic and stony John Farrell, who won 93 games last year but seemed to lose the team in the process.
The worst-case scenario is that there is a sharp-breaking learning curve for Cora, a rookie manager who at age 42 is 2 ½ years younger than Rangers pitcher Bartolo Colon. But given Cora’s obvious range of attributes, it’s easy to see him as an upgrade now and a genuine asset in the near future.
The other significant addition over the winter won’t do his work in the dugout, but in the middle of the Red Sox lineup. The Red Sox, who hit just 168 home runs last season in their first season without David Ortiz since 2002, desperately needed a slugger to anchor the middle of their lineup.
They got one in J.D. Martinez, and one with a similar story of resilience and redemption to Ortiz, a Twins discard in December of 2002 whose subsequent we’ll-take-a-flier signing by Theo Epstein set in motion the most satisfying era in Red Sox history.
Martinez was cut by the Astros in March 2014 after putting up a .657 OPS over three seasons. Dave Dombrowski brought him to Detroit, and he blossomed beyond recognition, hitting 99 homers over three-plus seasons. He then clubbed 29 homers in 62 games with the Diamondbacks last year after a midsummer trade. That’s a 77-homer pace over a full season, which I’m told is good.
Through six games (one of which he sat out), Martinez has yet to homer for his new team, which leaves him trailing J.D. Drew, 80-to-0, on the all-time leader board of Home Runs By A High-Priced Red Sox Outfielder Named J.D. It’s an exclusive club, yes.
I figure Martinez will surpass Drew in that all-important category in under two full seasons, and the hunch is he gets one Thursday – maybe even two, like Carl Everett did in his Fenway debut in 2000. Now that you mention it, I’m probably not doing any favors or winning over readers by referencing Drew and Everett.
This season does feel different from last in all the right ways, already. It helps that they opened the season against the Rays, who are not good, and Marlins, who would probably be a contender in the International League. The schedule has been friendly. But the Red Sox deserve some credit for taking advantage of the gift.
The Red Sox arrive home on a five-game winning streak, having won ‘em all after a frustrating Opening Day loss to the Rays. Save for the power outage, encouraging moments have not been hard to find.
Xander Bogaerts, who might be the one Red Sox hitter you would have wanted to get off to a fast start given his frustrating, injury-affected second half last year, has been sensational, with a 1.000 OPS and five doubles.
Hanley Ramirez (.855 OPS, winning hit in extra-innings Tuesday), looks more than engaged; he looks intent on doing some damage.
Rafael Devers (.802 OPS) is going to be a middle-of-the-order monster, possibly before the summer shows up around here.
And don’t forget the pitching: The starting rotation has a 1.03 ERA. Sure it’s a small sample size, but that’s an awful lot to like in such little time.
It’s fitting that David Price would get the ball for the Fenway opener. By his own acknowledgment, he was mad at the world last year. His elbow was barking, fans were barking at him, and he was caught barking at a Hall of Famer pitcher on a team flight. It was a mostly lost, mostly lousy season for a pitcher whose outsized salary will always dog him.
Price found a minor measure of redemption with some terrific pitching in relief against the Astros – remember, and hopefully he does too, that he left the mound in Game 4 to a warm ovation. His lost season ended with an optimistic final scene.
But this season must feel like a new beginning, a fresh start, a clean slate, a chance to be the genuine ace he was for so many seasons before coming to Boston. Encouraging sign: He was downright dazzling in his 2018 debut, providing seven shutout innings of four-hit pitching in the Red Sox’ first win. That’s what he needed to deliver, and fans needed to see.
Last year was a winning season for the Red Sox. This one has a chance to be fulfilling. Will they will end up celebrating on their own turf come October? Good luck finding someone with a functioning crystal ball around here. Those are the mysteries to be revealed and solved along the way.
All we can do today is celebrate Fenway’s formal opening for the season while anticipating what the new season might bring. David Price gets the party started Thursday afternoon. Like most developments with this team so far, it just feels right.
