What experts and columnists are saying about these Red Sox
"If they win this World Series, that would make four in 14 years. Prior to that, they’d won four in the previous 100 years."
After dropping Game 1 of the American League Championship Series, the Red Sox ripped off four wins in a row against the Astros — including three in Houston — to reach the World Series, defeating the defending champions in the process.
Across the landscape of sports media, reactions from columnists and pundits have tried to place the latest Red Sox achievement in context. Here’s what they’re saying after the Sox’ stunning win.
Rob Bradford, of WEEI, on the incentive provided by trolls
Before the ALCS began, Astros infielder Alex Bregman notoriously posted his own highlights from earlier this season against Red Sox pitcher Nathan Eovaldi on his Instagram story.
For the Red Sox, this was another example of priceless motivation, as Bradford noted:
The gift that keeps on giving for these Red Sox continues to be their perception that nobody thinks they can win this thing.
It’s become easier and easier for everyone in that clubhouse to reference the lack of respect despite those 108 wins.
Jeff Passan, of Yahoo, on “cannot vs. have not“
David Price, not unlike Dodgers starter Clayton Kershaw, has been one of the game’s best pitchers in the last decade. Yet neither had managed to live up to postseason expectations until this week.
As Passan noted, it’s always been an overstatement to dismiss the two aces as incapable of pitching in the big games:
To say that in October Price and Kershaw have not pitched up to their standards, or in some cases merely well, is true. To say they cannot is wrong. Have not connotes what already is etched in stone. Cannot falsely foretells an unwritten future. It presupposes that they are incapable of learning, evolving, doing all of the things that have won them Cy Young Awards and All-Star Game appearances and plaudits as two of their generation’s finest left-handed pitchers.
Barry Petchesky, of Deadspin, on the lineup’s depth
The Red Sox overcame the defending World Series champions not because of top-of-the-lineup star power, but due more to production from all around.
Case in point: Jackie Bradley Jr., as Petchesky explained:
As if to hammer home just how deep these Red Sox are, the ALCS MVP went to the No. 9 hitter last night and for most of the postseason, Jackie Bradley Jr. Bradley’s series was much like his season, streaky, but he made his moments count. Bradley was just 3-for-15 in the ALCS, but every single one of those three hits was big: a bases-loaded double in Game 2, a grand slam in Game 3, and the big blow of Game 4, a two-run home run. All three hits came with two outs.
Dan Shaughnessy, of The Boston Globe, on David Price
No player did more to help the Red Sox clinch a trip back to the World Series on Thursday night – and simultaneously salvage his professional reputation – more than David Price.
The Boston left-hander threw six scoreless innings, striking out nine Astros. And it induced a column that even Shaughnessy never imagined he’d write:
And here are the words you thought you’d never read . . .
The Sox clinched the pennant on the strength of six innings of stellar, pressure-packed pitching from the much-maligned David Price.
Joel Sherman, of the New York Post, on a strange new normal for Yankees fans
After riding high for 86 championship-filled years, the Yankees have seen a horrifying reversal of fortune since last defeating the Red Sox in the playoffs in 2003.
The days of chanting about curses and 1918 are long gone:
Yeah, the Yankees have those 27 titles, so long-term history remains on their side. But curses, the Red Sox will be trying to win their fourth World Series in the past 15 seasons. The modern relationship is getting awfully one-sided. It includes Boston capturing the past three AL East titles, knocking out the Yankees in this year’s Division Series and doing in this ALCS what the Yanks could not last season — eliminate Houston.
Jayson Stark, of The Athletic, on season-long dominance
The Red Sox started the season at a torrid pace, going 17-2 over their first 19 games. Boston’s president of baseball operations, Dave Dombrowski, knew they had a chance at something more.
“We were 17-2,” Dombrowski told Stark. “So you could see. We had a good club. I mean, you never know how things are going to turn out. But … you could tell early that this club had a chance to be good.”
And while other teams in the past have faltered after near-perfect performances in April, the Red Sox are now on the cusp of something special:
Once, the Boston Red Sox were defined by their curses. Now they’re on the cusp of being defined as the Team of the Millennium. If they win this World Series, that would make four in 14 years. Prior to that, they’d won four in the previous 100 years.
