An old Red Sox enemy, Ron Darling, can relate to them this year
“They might have the best combination of pitching, the ability to hit and hit the ball out of the ballpark, to defense, and to steal bases of any team in the postseason.’’
Ron Darling is familiar with the weight the Red Sox carry into the postseason as an exceptional regular-season team expected to prolong its dominance right on through the World Series.
Darling was a 15-game winner for the 1986 Mets — a team that ultimately met all of its high expectations, and at the Red Sox’ expense.
“I played on a team that won 108 games, and for all intents and purposes we could have lost to the Houston Astros in the NLCS, and we probably should have lost to the Boston Red Sox, so I know first-hand how difficult it is to finish the task,’’ said Darling, who grew up in Millbury and serves as color analyst on TBS’s broadcasts of the Division Series between the Red Sox and Yankees.
“If you win 108 games, that tells you that you have a lot of great players, have had a lot of magic happen over the course of the season, and you probably had a little bit of luck too,’’ he said. “You need those same things in playoffs to accomplish the goal of winning the World Series, and sometimes those things don’t happen because you’re dealing with such a small sample size in a given series.
“You’re also wearing a target on your back because your opponent is trying to prove, ‘Yes, you might have been good over the 162, but this is a different level of intensity that you’re going to have to match.’ ’’
Darling was asked whether there should be any skepticism about the Red Sox’ ability to raise their intensity, since their season has been one long story of success so far.
“No, not at all,’’ he said. “They’ve showed all year how unified and professional they are as a group. And their talent is exceptional. They have two MVP candidates, two pitchers who have won the Cy Young Award and a third in Chris Sale who is about as good as it gets. Craig Kimbrel, Xander Bogaerts . . . it’s a richly talented team.
“They might have the best combination of pitching, the ability to hit and hit the ball out of the ballpark, to defense, and to steal bases of any team in the postseason.’’
Darling said there is not one variable that will determine how their postseason goes and how long it lasts. But he did acknowledge that the Game 1 starter, Sale, carries a particular relevance.
“They played the last two months without him, and that’s a tribute to them, hats off, but having Chris Sale is like what having the Big Unit [Randy Johnson] healthy was to the Diamondbacks years ago.
“It changes the scenario to have a pitcher like that on your side. You don’t only assume with those kind of pitchers that they’re going to be good in the postseason. You assume you’re going to win those games 90 percent of the time. That confidence is very valuable.’’
It’s well-documented that the Red Sox’ starting pitchers, combined, have yet to win a game as a starter in the postseason, with Sale, Price, and Porcello a combined 0-11. Darling said he can’t make any sense of how that happened, but he knows it does not preclude future success.
“My pitching coach for the Mets, Mel Stottlemyre, always had a great quote whenever I’d have a string of bad starts or one that drove me crazy,’’ said Darling. “He’d say, ‘Well, the other team is trying too.’
“Sometimes things can speed up on you in the postseason and suddenly you get a harsh reminder that the other guys are really good too, or else they wouldn’t be there.
“And you have to wear it [failure] until you can erase it, whether you like it or not. As a player, you get sick of hearing it, but it’s up to you to change it. There’s no doubt these guys can change it.’’
