There’s a month left in the 2025 regular season and the Red Sox are currently in a playoff spot. That’s good! Of course, with all the baseball that’s left to play, the club’s ultimate fate still hangs in the air. What would a successful playoff push would look like…and how could disaster unfold?
How It Goes Well
Remember those concerns we had about the starting pitching towards the end of July? How we weren’t sure that there were enough horses for our push?
Yeah, there were enough horses for our push.
Brayan Bello and
Lucas Giolito continue to initiate crappy contact and provide legitimate volume–six innings here, a start into the seventh there—to offer this pitching staff some much needed stretch. Garrett Crochet makes the Cy Young conversation a legitimate talking point instead of the foregone conclusion that is typically is. Payton Tolle doesn’t crash-and-burn, while Dustin May provides some exciting upside and juice in the latter half of the rotation.
The lineup, for it’s part, keep the party going by doing what they’ve been doing best since the ASG: having some of the supporting cast chip in. It’s lovely when the guys who aren’t the usual suspects–your Ceddys, your Romys, your Refsnyders, for example–are able to make the lineup that much deeper.
The magic continues. The power of friendship propels us to October. Maybe—just maybe–that series against the Blue Jays is one that could decide the American League East.
How It Doesn’t Go Well
Remember those concerns we had about the starting pitching towards the end of July? How we weren’t sure that there were enough horses for our push?
Yeah, there weren’t enough horses for our push.
Brayan Bello and Lucas Giolito cool off during a pivotal stretch that features team directly in competition with us for one of three Wild Card slots. They can’t reel in the hard contact, they make some early exits, and the offense can’t quite pick them up. Garrett Crochet still isn’t capable of pitching every single game (complete dud of a contract, thanks Breslow!!!!) and Dustin May disappoints when the pennant chase really picks up.
Speaking of the offense: far too many nights where they’re only logging one or two runs. Roman Anthony and Alex Bregman have yet to be cloned, meaning that the rest of the lineup tries–but ultimately fail—to keep the line moving on a consistent basis.
Considering that they’re dropping opportunities to put up crooked numbers against teams interspersed with the sets against the Jankees and the Guards, September presents the oh-so-familiar summer swoon of recent years, though just a few weeks late. Perhaps there’s a puncher’s chance that the Sox make the postseason come the final week of September, but the Blue Jays and Tigers—-who are jostling for the AL’s top seed—make quick work of us to put us to bed for another long winter.
