The Only Thing That Matters Is…
You guessed it
The All-Star team rosters were announced and once again there’s gnashing of teeth in Boston. Ranger Suarez and Aroldis Chapman made the team, but Willson Contreras and Sonny Gray were left off the squad. So, you’re probably expecting this to be an article quoting statistics that support the inclusion of Contreras and Gray on the roster. It is not.
I’ve been alive for 24 championships in Boston, although I really only remember 16, starting with the 1981 Celtics. That was the 25th championship for the City of Boston, going back to 1903. After the three rings won by the Larry Bird Celtics, there was quite a drought. Bird retired early due to back problems. The Patriots drafted their savior in Drew Bledsoe and went to a Super Bowl but lost. Between 1972 and 2010, the Bruins went to five Stanley Cup finals and lost them all.
And then there’s the Red Sox. After a crushing World Series defeat in 1986, they brought in Dan Duquette to build a winner. He inherited a team with Roger Clemens and Mo Vaughn. Nomar Garciaparra would break into the majors in 1996. The following year, Duquette allowed Roger Clemens to sign with the Blue Jays, thinking he was on the downside of his career. All Clemens did was win four more Cy Youngs. He also let Mo Vaughn walk in 1999, a year after trading for Pedro Martinez. He would then go on to sign Manny Ramirez. Can you imagine a team with Clemens, Pedro, Manny, Mo, and Nomar? John Harrington and the Yawkey Trust could not, and they certainly didn’t want to spend the money for that type of talent. So that was the landscape of the Red Sox leading up to the sale to John Henry.
Since 2001, Boston fans have been treated to 13 championships, starting with the Patriots led by that skinny QB they drafted in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft. Believe it or not, Los Angeles just surpassed them with the most championships in the 21st century, with 14. New York just won their fourth. That’s cute.
My point is this: we are spoiled. In most cities, it’s exciting just to see your team compete. Tampa Bay is loving the Rays’ great season. Oklahoma City, Seattle, Las Vegas, and Kansas City rejoiced in their championships, and they probably won’t see another one any time soon. But in Boston, we now expect excellence each and every year.
The only question that matters is: “How does this get you closer to winning a championship?” Ask this question every time an owner or GM announces a move or goes on TV and extolls the virtues of the team. The Jaylen Brown trade? I’ll let you draw your own conclusions on that one, but you can probably guess where I stand.
The Red Sox haven’t been a championship contender since Dave Dombrowski was fired in 2019. This year they have the starting pitching, but Craig Breslow failed spectacularly at building an offense. At this point in my life, I don’t care about beating the Yankees. I don’t care about All-Star games, MVPs, Cy Youngs, Silver Sluggers, aura, or vibes. I care about building a championship caliber roster and competing for a World Series. For me, the sooner Craig Breslow is fired, the sooner the Red Sox can get on with the business of accomplishing that goal. Will the next guy be able to do that? I don’t know but I do know that the current guy cannot.