The Sox Have Finally Turned A Corner
It truly is amazing what you can accomplish in week. In this specific case, we are talking about 2017 Boston Red Sox. Going into the home stand last week, the Red Sox continued struggle and the David Price-Dennis Eckersley story was still pretty strong. Then Price and Dustin Pedroia both went on the DL. So it didn’t look too promising for a group of players that are pretty weak minded. But since then, they have gone on to prove us dead wrong.
Over the entire home stand and last night in Tampa Bay, the Red Sox have gone 8-2 in their last 10 games and 7 straight wins in total. But it’s not how many games they’ve won, it’s HOW specifically they have won them. During those 8 victories, they have had 3 walk-off wins. One of those walk-offs has been said by many, including me, the win of the year. In fact, I went to that game (you’re welcome Boston)! Of course I’m talking about that come from behind walk off win against the Indians. They came back multiple times in that game against the defending American League Champs and of all people; Christian freaking Vazquez hit the walk off homer. What made it even more impressive was the fact that Chris Sale pitched terrible as well. It was the first time all year that Red Sox showed some balls and heart. We’ve known about the talent, but we finally saw some grit from this team.
What has also made this stretch even more impressive is the players leading the charge. Those two are Eduardo Nunez and Rafael Devers; two players who weren’t on the roster two weeks ago. What they have done so far has been nothing short of incredible. Starting with Devers, the rookie has been on the eyes of many Red Sox fans for a while but many were surprised he actually got called up. But the 20 year old has passed all expectations thus far. His defense is better than what people thought and his power has lived up to the hype. Many people have compared him to Vlad Guerrero and rightfully so.
While Devers’ success was somewhat expected, no one saw Eduardo Nunez coming. In less than 10 games, he already hit as many home runs (4) as he hit all year with the San Francisco Giants. I mean, he’s also hitting above .400! Not even the most optimistic Sox fan could have predicted that. What Nunez has also brought to Boston has been flexibility. He can play any infield position and can bat at any part of the order. Now will Devers and Nunez keep this success up? Of course not, but what they have done is change the mindset of the Red Sox. They dark cloud of the Eckersley issue is finally gone and the Red Sox are rolling. Just don’t fall off the wagon guys.
Written By: Steven Santoro (SVS_1993)
