McAdam: Finally, Christian Vazquez is putting it all together

In a season full of disappointment, you can count the positive developments on one hand for the Red Sox and still have a few fingers free.

Let's see, there was the emergence of Rafael Devers, who transformed himself from an undisciplined hitter and erratic fielder into one of the game's best young players.

There was Eduardo Rodriguez, finally making good on his considerable potential, and emerging as the team's best starting pitcher.

There was the second-half emergence of two lefty relievers -- Darwinzon Hernandez and Josh Taylor -- who provided some quality arms and the promise of some dependable late-inning bullpen options in 2020.

And there has been the offensive maturation of catcher Christian Vazquez, who has rebounded nicely from a step backward a year ago to become a more complete catcher, finally eliminating any questions about who will fill the role of the team's No. 1 receiver -- now, and into the future.

Vazquez dominated the Philadelphia Phillies all weekend. On Saturday,

he smashed a run-scoring double and later singled in the ninth as the Sox rallied to score the winning run. But he outdid himself Sunday, belting a grand slam in the third inning to open up a big lead before adding a solo shot later to provide some insurance.

The first homer was his 20th of the season, making him the seventh Red Sox catcher in history to reach that milestone. Adding to the firsts: his first career grand slam and his first career multi-homer game.

"It was cool,'' Vazquez told NESN after the Red Sox' 6-3 victory, "to get (No.) 20 (on the grand slam) and get it like that. And it's cool to hit two in the same game, but Mookie (Betts) has like 20 of those.''

So, Vazquez still has some catching up to do. But the Red Sox are more than happy with the way his hitting has come along this season.

Toward the end of last year, it appeared the Sox might have to be content to have a catch-and-throw guy as their primary catcher and be satisfied with the occasional big hit. Vazquez hit just .208 in 2018, and though he had better quality at-bats in the team's postseason march to a championship, the results didn't follow.

But over the winter, Vazquez went to work in making some adjustments at the plate. He quieted his stance and focused on taking a more direct approach to the ball. And, critically, he wasn't afraid to use the entire field more, though his power often manifests itself to the pull side.

As the season began, the fact that the Sox retained Blake Swihart to be his backup suggested there were looking for more production out of the position. Swihart didn't stay long enough to supply it, but gradually, Vazquez began being more productive.

He credits the work last winter for his turnaround.

"It's a big difference,'' Vazquez said. "We made some adjustments in the offseason and they're paying (off) now. It feels good, the swing.''

"He's having a terrific season,'' Alex Cora concurred.

The odd thing is, while his offensive game was soaring, his work behind the plate suffered in the middle of the year. Vazquez has a tendency to get sloppy with his catching mechanics and the decline nearly canceled out his growth with the bat.

But over the last month and a half, Vazquez had finally put both aspects of his game together. He's thrown out nearly 35 percent of would-be base stealers -- the arm strength was never a question -- and tightened up the number of passed balls and wild pitches.

"The cool thing about it is, defensively, he's been the guy who we envisioned -- blocking balls, throwing people out, taking charge behind the plate,'' said Cora. "He's had some tough games with bullpen games and starters going short and figuring out game plans, but he's done a good job.

"I think he saw that there were some games where he wasn't blocking pitches. He was dropping pitches and that can't happen. It's not like he didn't take care of his defense, but he wasn't as sharp as he usually is. All of a sudden, he changed some things mechanically, blocking pitches and now you see the results.''

The defensive resurgence has come after some extra work before games with catching instructors Jason Varitek and Chad Epperson, who helped Vazquez break some bad habits that led to some sloppiness.

"We have to push him because when he relaxes, his game suffers,'' said Cora.

Now, however, both sides of his game are aligned, finally solidifying a position that has been uneven for the last several seasons in Boston.