Let's go through a little question-and-answer exercise involving the current season of the Olde Towne Team, shall we?
Are they rolling up win after win? Yup. After Friday night's 7-3 victory over the Tampa Bay Area Little League Rays (Can we knock off the one-inning starter stuff that I used in a Memorial Day 12U tournament, please? People are paying good money to watch you.), the Sox now have 12 wins in their past 14 games and 16 in their past 19 to boost their record to an amazing 87-36.
Dominating at home? The Red Sox are now 43-15 (0.741) and have won 19 of their past 22 at The Fens.
Do they have an awesome offense? Definitely. The Sox lead MLB in most offensive categories.
Are the victories starting to look a lot like the others? Check. Jackie Bradley Jr. had another great catch in center field. J.D. Martinez knocked in another run to pad his MLB lead of 105 RBI. The team's other MVP candidate, Mookie Betts, decided to take it easy tonight with only a double, but he's still wicked good. The starting pitching, after the first inning when Brian Johnson forgot where he was and allowed three runs, was once again very good (Sox entered the game with MLB’s lowest starting pitcher ERA of 2.88 since July 2nd). Chris Sale ... automatic W, lots of strikeouts. Win, dance, repeat.
Are there guys coming off the bench and showing off the team's depth?
Eduardo Nunez
Rafael Devers
Blake Swihart
Does the team have players who aren't getting enough respect around the league?
Xander Bogaerts
Andrew Benintendi
Do the Red Sox have a manager who can do no wrong?
Alex Cora
Joe Kelly
Drew Pomeranz
Are they running away with the division?
It's ov-ah.
Is their division terrible with most of the teams rebuilding?
The Rays are starting pitchers who threw the day before. Seriously.
Is there anything left to play for in the final quarter of the season?
As a result, is the media running out of things to say about this team and are starting to resort to nitpicking despite the fact that the Red Sox will easily post the best record in franchise history?
Have you turned on sports talk radio or read a well-done, locally-owned and operated independent internet sports outlet in the past month?
Wait a minute...
This all sounds vaguely familiar...
No ... it sounds exactly the same
as
Every Patriots season since 2001
George W. Bush
start
and
Please
years
since 1994
Pete Carroll
Tom Brady
Kenny Britt
I didn't even notice the phone on Kenny Britt before. (Adam Richins for BSJ)
Bill Belichick
Danny Amendola
Malcolm Butler
James White
Malcolm Mitchell
Jonas Gray
Sterling Moore
obviously
Wes Welker
Julian Edelman
Eric Deckah is totally going to be the new Amendola
In Bill We Trust
Did I do that right, Dan?
Please
since 2001
Puh-leeeze
long
Chris Sale
When he goes up against the better offenses that get runners on, he could be in trouble.
Ev-ah
love
Josh Smith
something
you get to roam around the practice fields at The Fort?! We got to watch two weeks of practice, Brady barely did anything, and now we're kicked out for the rest of the season
_________________________
Everything else you need to know, in quickie form, about the Red Sox' 7-3 win over the Rays on Friday night, complete with BSJ analysis and insight.
HEADLINES
After rocky first, smooth sailing for Johnson, bullpen
Brian Johnson
Matt Duffy
Bogaerts' two-out, two-run triple jumpstarts Sox
Andrew Benintendi
J.D. Martinez
Ryan Stanek
Kevin Kiermaier
TURNING POINT
Mookie Betts
Mitch Moreland
TWO UP
Jackie Bradley Jr.
Eduardo Nunez
Mitch Moreland
ONE DOWN
Ian Kinsler
QUOTE OF NOTE
"When he's not chasing pitches, he becomes an elite hitter."
UP NEXT
Tyler Glasnow
David Price
I didn't even notice the phone on Kenny Britt before. (Adam Richins for BSJ)
