It’s hard to believe, but after Easter weekend, you could hardly find anyone in town with a good thing to say about the baseball franchise that plays on Jersey Street. The Red Sox opened up a 2021 season that many fans (myself included) hoped would be better than the last one. However, they immediately lost in disastrous and embarrassing fashion, getting swept at home by the perennially basement-dwelling Baltimore Orioles. The recriminations almost immediately began. The Dead Sox were at it again, and it seemed they were going to have an awful season. 98.5’s “The Sports Hub” host Matt McCarthy semi-seriously demanded that they leave the city. It all seemed to be going wrong. Until it wasn’t.
Since McCarthy demanded that they leave the city, the Red Sox have been, arguably, the best team in the city. They subsequently ripped off six wins in a row as of writing this article and are currently two games in the lead for first in the American League East. They swept the defending AL champions, the Tampa Bay Rays, at home, whom they had not beaten in a series in almost three years. In an act of sweet revenge, they went on to sweep the Orioles in their home stadium in Baltimore. Where did this explosion of good baseball come from? It’s not that surprising when you think about it.
JD Martinez was, at one point, among the best power hitters and run producers in baseball. In his first two years in Boston, he hit 79 home runs, and drove in 235 runs. However, he struggled in the COVID-shortened 2020 season, hitting just .213 with a .680 OPS. Martinez never seemed that engaged with the shortened season, and it showed on the field. Whatever his disgruntlement with 2020 was, it didn’t carry into 2021. JD got off to one of the most absurd starts in Red Sox history, batting .472 with a 1.583 OPS, blasting five home runs and driving in 16 runs in just eight games. Returning manager Alex Cora seems to have fixed whatever was wrong with JD last year, and the results have been spectacular.
Another Red Sock worth mentioning is Nathan Eovaldi. Eovaldi, whose legendary performance in the 2018 playoffs en route to a championship will forever be etched into Red Sox lore, has been terrific for the first two starts of the year, striking out 11 batters for a 1.46 ERA (earned run average). Starting pitching might be what makes or breaks this team. Eduardo Rodriguez missed all of 2020 due to heart problems he developed after contracting COVID-19. Chris Sale is another name to watch, as he missed all of 2020 due to Tommy John surgery, but might return as early as June or July.
As for the rest of the team, it’s been a concerted effort. Xander Bogaerts has been batting a cool .375 through six games, de facto closer Matt Barnes has yet to allow an earned run through five innings, while striking out 11 and walking just one batter. Catcher Christian Vazquez, known more for his defense behind the plate the last few years, has emerged as a bona fide offensive threat, hitting .382 with a 1.064 OPS so far. They’ve gotten solid contributions from the rest of their roster as well, such as newcomers Nick Pivetta, Franchy Cordero, Garrett Whitlock, and Hirokazu Sawamura, just to name a few.
The Red Sox have a unique opportunity this season. We Boston fans have been spoiled with an embarrassment of riches the last two decades, but that looks like it might be on the verge of ending. The Boston Celtics have been frustratingly inconsistent and underachieving this year, and despite what some delusional Green Teamers might think, they probably aren’t going to magically turn it around and become a title contender anytime soon. The Boston Bruins are decent, if not great, but probably not a legit Cup contender. The New England Patriots are coming off their worst season in years, but did spend big in free agency. Will it make them good or at least relevant again? We’ll see in five months.
With that being said, Boston’s boys of summer, if they continue to play well, could recapture the city’s attention. When I was a young lad in grade school back in the 2000s, it is no exaggeration to say the Red Sox absolutely ran the city from April to October. Everyone else was a distant afterthought. It really hasn’t been the same the last few years, even when the team has been good. I do hope that the 2021 Sox can provide the fans with something to get excited about.