Hours before Fenway Park opened to fans on Wednesday, the Red Sox assembled in the outfield to pose for their official team picture. As players, coaches, and other staff members squeezed into the frame, it seemed for a moment that not everyone would fit.
There was some symbolism to the mass of humanity, with the 28 active players and a handful of others rehabbing from stints on the IL. As busy as it seemed with all of the bodies, it was a welcome sight.
Just a few weeks ago, it appeared as though the season was about to topple on top of the Red Sox, the victims of a COVID outbreak that would eventually send more than a dozen players to say nothing of a few additional staff members, to the COVID-IL. There were nights when the team fretted about its ability to field a full complement of players, and each day seemed to bring news of another case, further threatening the club's ability to compete on a nightly basis.
During this stretch, the Sox seemed, at once, overwhelmed and undermanned. Career minor leaguers filled in, some made their major league debuts, but the loss of talent couldn't be totally overcome. There were nights in which their sloppy play marked them as a doomed team.
Along the way, however, the Sox slowly began welcoming players back. Some trickled back in Chicago, even as others were testing positive and further thinning the depth. The Sox managed a .500 trip to Chicago and Seattle, all the while figuratively circling their last homestand of the season as their safety net.
On Wednesday, the second series on that homestand was completed, and like the first one, it resulted in a tidy sweep of the opponent. The Sox trampled the New York Mets 12-5, to move 23 games over .500 and maintain a two-game lead over the Yankees and two-and-a-half game edge over Toronto.
Every win, coupled with every day off the calendar, gets them closer to their playoff goal. And on Wednesday, they did so at nearly full strength. For the first time since the end of August, the Red Sox did not have a single player in quarantine. However symbolic that might have been, it had real consequences.
As they've welcomed back key players, the Sox' play has, unsurprisingly, improved significantly. It wasn't that long ago the Sox were kicking the ball around defensively, getting spotty pitching and generally hardly resembling a professional team, much less one worthy of a spot in the postseason. On Wednesday night, by contrast, the team's defensive play stood out on several occasions They got an acrobatic double play started by second baseman Jose Iglesias and standout throw to third by Kike Hernandez to cut down a runner attempting to advance.
Now, healthy again, the Sox appear to be well-positioned, though they've clinched nothing.
Manager Alex Cora has at his disposal more players than he knows what to do with. On Wednesday, he took the unusual step of sitting the league's hottest hitter for the last seven weeks, Bobby Dalbec, in favor of Kyle Schwarber, who took over at first for the night and proceeded to club two mammoth homers in his first two trips.
Chris Sale, though hardly in vintage form yet, saw his velocity tick up from his last outing, when he was returning from his own COVID-induced absence.
"For everything we went through a few weeks ago,'' said Cora, "to be in this position, it's great. But we don't get caught up in the moment.''
That's a wise approach, with nothing guaranteed. But by winning their next series against the Yankees, the Sox could boost their lead to three with just six games remaining. A final road trip beckons for the Sox, though it involves visits with two teams who cannot end their schedules fast enough -- the Orioles and Nationals.
Maybe the weakened competition has clouded the picture as the Sox have averaged better than eight runs per game in the last five wins. But after emerging from their own pandemic, the Sox welcome all wins, regardless of the degree of difficulty.
They control their own fate with a week and a half to go which is an achievement in and of itself. Such a notion seemed impossible to contemplate at the start of this month.