Last weekend felt like October baseball at Fenway Park, and ownership needs to respond accordingly at the trade deadline
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Those games — particularly after the Rafaela and Crochet star turns on Friday and Saturday — felt like October games in July. Rafaela's home run was reminiscent in style if not magnitude of Manny Ramirez's walkoff moon shot off Angels closer Francisco 'K-Rod' Rodriguez in Game 2 of the 2007 American League Division Series. The fan response — total and complete jubilation — wasn't much different, either. All that was missing was Dennis Drinkwater getting a great jump and making a beeline for the exit as soon as the ball headed toward the stratosphere.
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(Allow me to note that my favorite moment of that Rays series was when Cora came to get Bello, poked his chest and pumped him up, and sent him off to get his well-deserved ovation. The most poignant moment of 'The Clubhouse' Netflix doc on last year's Red Sox was Cora's heart-to-heart with an emotional Bello about his pitching struggles and his aching loneliness without his family, who remained back in the Dominican Republic last season when his wife couldn't get a visa. The scene made Bello very easy to root for and Cora's people skills — bilingually, no less — very easy to appreciate.)
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It was remarkable — and telling, too — that Red Sox fans lingered in the ballpark, especially after those Friday and Saturday wins. No one wanted to leave. No one wanted to abbreviate the moment. The crowd stood, and cheered, and basked. It did not go unnoticed by anyone that it has been a long time — perhaps as far back as October 2021 — since Fenway has felt so alive, and hope for a satisfying season with a truly likable team has been as realistic and vivid.
Or, perhaps we should say, it
better not
have gone unnoticed by the certain someones that make the personnel and financial decisions with this team.
Breslow and his bosses cannot allow this 10-game winning streak and the return of pure joy to Fenway Park to be the pinnacle of this season. Breslow must be allowed to take advantage of this moment — when the starting rotation has found its groove,
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If that means paying the steep price to acquire Twins righthander Joe Ryan — who would slot perfectly as the No. 2 starter behind Crochet — then go for it, absolutely, because he is ideal. If that means adding an expensive arm or two to the bullpen or rotation, yeah, do that. Go spend some of that money that was saved with the Devers deal. This team doesn't need that much help, but Breslow cannot hesitate to go get anyone who will fill a void and help the cause.
Breslow's trade deadline maneuvers failed last year. He wasn't as indecisive as predecessor Chaim Bloom, but the decisions he did make resulted in picking up an assortment of spare parts, the Lucas Sims All-Stars. Please, no more James Paxtons or Luis García Jrs. or Danny Jansens this year. This team deserves more than patchwork. In winning 13 of its last 15 games — and
The brain trust knows that Fenway will fill up even if the team isn't particularly compelling. That chilly truth has felt like the basis for their business model since the Mookie Betts trade. But they also know that a winning team, one that plays hard and for each other, brings a whole different vibe to Fenway. The old place develops a pulse of its own. It comes to life, and it's something to behold and cherish.
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That's how it felt last weekend. It's how it needs to feel going forward this season. The Red Sox, and Fenway, are back to life. Reward these fans, Breslow, for putting up with the nonsense of the last three seasons. Do what it takes to assure that
this team
makes the playoffs, and perhaps sticks around a while.
Last weekend felt like October in July. And suddenly, it's not that hard to imagine what real October baseball might feel like.
CEDDANNE RAFAELA HITS IT OUT OF FENWAY 😤
THE
— MLB (@MLB)
Maybe those Netflix folks should have stuck around to follow this year's team, too.
Chad Finn can be reached at
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