McAdam: In waning weeks of a forgettable season, Bobby Dalbec provides some hope

It's way too late to save the season, of course. That possibility, if indeed it ever existed, ceased to be somewhere between Chris Sale's date with an orthopedic surgeon and the discovery of Eduardo Rodriguez's COVID-19 side effects.

On the other hand, no one anticipated this: the most number of losses in all of baseball. Nor, for that matter, did anyone expect there to an endless succession of anonymous pitchers trudging to and from the mound, with the starting lineup dotted with complete unknowns. Deivy Grullon, anyone?

As the Red Sox crater, the Celtics appear poised to make it to the conference finals, and on deck, the Patriots, stripped of their franchise quarterback, nonetheless appear, at minimum, compelling.

So why would anyone bother to watch the Red Sox? Why would anyone devote three and a half hours -- at minimum -- to this nightly exercise in futility?

Now, there's finally an answer.

I've seen the Red Sox' future and its name is Bobby Dalbec.

OK, that's a stretch. It's ridiculously premature and it's an unfair burden to place on Dalbec. At this point, some composite of Sidd Finch, Roy Hobbs and the second coming off Babe Ruth couldn't make the Red Sox appointment viewing.

But with two and a half weeks to go, there's at least a reason to steal a peek. While you channel surf through the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the NBA playoffs and the start of the NFL, Dalbec is more than worth an occasional live look-in.

He was easily the most interesting thing about their doubleheader in Philadelphia on Tuesday. He hit a homer in the first game, crushing a hanging curveball to left field. And in the nightcvap, in a 2-2 game, he seemed to do little more than flick his wrist to send the ball 408 feet to right.



That made it two homers on the day, five homers in nine games, and one homer in each of the last four.

The latter, by the way, had never before been accomplished by a Red Sox rookie.

Are you not entertained?

The last few days have been a remarkable turnaround for Dalbec. After homering in his second major league at-bat 10 days ago, he came crashing back to earth -- hard. In his second start, he fanned four times in four at-bats.

After four games, he had gone to the plate 16 times. He walked once, singled once, homered once, and struck out 10 times. The simple matter of popping out or rolling over to second was some kind of moral victory.

Dalbec went to work with hitting coach Tim Hyers and assistant hitting coach Pete Fatse.

"They changed the leg kick,'' said Ron Roenicke after Dalbec's two-run homer and RBI-single had lifted the Red Sox to a split with the Phillies, 5-2. "He was doing a little toe-tap thing and they changed it to kind of a higher leg kick and maybe that's the difference.''

Dalbec described the adjustment differently, noting that it had more to do with his back leg and some rotational issues with his lower body. But whatever they changed, it's worked.

Has it ever. Homers in four games. Ted Williams didn't do it. Carl Yastrzemski didn't do it. Bobby Dalbec did it, which seemed to both amaze and embarrass him.

"It's crazy,'' said an overwhelmed Dalbec. "I mean, I would never think that would happen, some crazy stat like that and my name to be in there? No.''

Nine games, it should go without saying, do not a superstar make. Baseball history is littered with phenoms who inspire awe in the first days or weeks or months, only to fade into the background once pitchers began making the necessary adjustments.

Ted Cox has four hits in his Red Sox debut in 1977, 11 hits in his first five games and hit .362 in his September callup. His career was over five years later, after turns with four different franchises.

Sam Horn hit four homers in his first six games with the Red Sox in 1987, and while he had a far better career than Cox, he only hit 58 more homers in his next 385 games.

Dalbec will have his challenges ahead. As Roenicke noted last week in assessing his skill-set, the strikeout totals will always be high. In today's game, if he can hit enough homers to more than offset the whiff totals, he'll be a valuable piece. How valuable is to be determined.

For now, though, he has the ability to draw your attention at a time when the Red Sox are offering little else. Maybe he'll hit the ball 450 feet next time. Or maybe he'll flail at a pitch beyond his considerable reach. For now, that's the tradeoff.

But for the next two and a half weeks, it beats wondering which 4A reliever is warming in the bullpen, or which journeyman has been promoted from the alternate training site.

Bobby Dalbec isn't saving a season that was long before he arrived. But he can make it a little more fun the rest of the way.