When the Red Sox finished the regular season eight full games behind the American League East champion Tampa Bay Rays, the gap between the two organizations seemed sizable.
After all, while the Rays were making it all the way to Game 6 of the 2020 World Series, the Red Sox were occupying last place in the division. And after the Sox stunned the Rays with an April sweep at Fenway that served as a catalyst for the team's early-season turnaround, the Rays went on to win 11 of the final 16 meetings between the two.
Finally, when the Rays won Game 1 of the Division Series 5-0 at Tropicana Field, it seemed to encapsulate the gulf that existed between the clubs. In that game, the Rays displayed their versatility and athleticism, while the Red Sox looked staid and overwhelmed.
But in the last five days, a lot has changed. The Red Sox roared back from a 5-2 deficit in Game 2 to out-slug the Rays 14-6 before taking two more games -- both walk-off wins -- at home to send the Rays home for the winter while the Sox prepare for their first ALCS appearance since 2018.
Left unclear: does the Sox three-game winning streak to seal a postseason series win suggest that the Sox have caught up to -- or even surpassed -- the Rays? Or is a best-of-five ALDS too small a sample size to make any such generalizations?
"In the postseason, short series, a lot of different things can happen,'' said Red Sox chief baseball officer Chaim Bloom in the aftermath of his team's 6-5 win to seal a Division Series win Monday night. "Our guys did the work. They deserved to win this series. That says a lot about who they are. (But) the Rays are built to last and that's what we've set out to accomplish here. If we all do our jobs, this October thing might be a regular meeting.
"I've no doubt that they're going to back next year. They have a great team. Our hope is to be on this stage every year.''
If there's one word that Bloom has continually uttered in relation to his primary goal, it's "sustainability'' -- the opportunity to compete for a pennant every season, without the maddening boom-bust cycle that has seen the Red Sox reach the postseason five times and win two World Series since 2013, but also finish last on three other occasions.
To reach his desired sustainability, Bloom knows it will take more than advancing from one postseason series to another. Ultimately, it will be dependent on a holistic, top-to-bottom restructuring of the organization, depending on drafting and developing in order to provide the Red Sox with a deep pool of homegrown talent. Such a scenario will enable the Sox to continually replenish their major league roster.
The Rays have qualified for the postseason three straight seasons, in large part due to a fertile minor league system that has frequently been ranked among the handful of best in the game. In recent years, that system has yielded such talents as shortstop Wander Franco, Shane McClanahan and others. The Rays have also strongly benefited from trades, which landed them Randy Arozarena, Austin Meadows, Tyler Glasnow and Shane Baz -- the latter three, incredibly, obtained in the same trade.
More homegrown talent -- led by infielder/outfielder Vidal Brujan -- is poised to make an impact soon.
Meanwhile, the Red Sox have made progress of their own. When Bloom took over their baseball operations two years ago, the system was ranked in the bottom third of MLB's 30 organizations; Now, it's regarded as part of the top third. Over the course of the 2021 season, Bobby Dalbec, Rule 5 pick Garrett Whitlock and Tanner Houck made significant contributions to the parent club and Jarren Duran and Triston Casas could do so next year.
The Red Sox also own one important distinction over the Rays in the battle for A.L. East supremacy -- financial resources. While the Sox have remained under the CBT (competitive balance tax) two years running, they spent approximately three times the amount the Rays dedicated to payroll and will always enjoy a substantial edge there.
Bloom was asked if, having worked for the Rays for 15 seasons prior to joining Boston, there was additional satisfaction in beating his former organization.
"Only because I respect them so much,'' he said. "I know everything that goes into it, I know how talented the people are. To come out on top in a series of any length is a really special thing. I like to win and we won the series. I love those (Tampa Bay) folks on a personal level. But when we're competing, we all have a job to do and I'm glad we came out on top.''
Winning a best-of-five series -- with one win coming in extra innings and another in the final at-bat -- isn't about to unilaterally change the balance of power in the division overnight. For that matter, it's not as if the Rays and Red Sox have the A.L. East to themselves. The Yankees will always be a force to be reckoned with, the Toronto Blue Jays narrowly missed a spot in the playoffs and boast a young core that will be together for a while. Even the Baltimore Orioles, divisional doormats in four of the last five seasons, have a highly-regarded pipeline of talent and will improve.
And for the Sox, eliminating the Rays from this postseason is hardly tantamount to eliminating them from contention in the future. But it was certainly a significant step in the right direction.
