With the Red Sox sitting at 81-66 on the season, I decided to go back and look at how our staff predictions have held up.
Dean predicted 86 wins, which was the lowest number of the crew, and it feels like it would take a monumental failing to end up there by the evening of September 28th. Mike, you were right there at 87 wins. The rest of the crew was anywhere between 89 and 92 victories for the 2025 campaign. And that actually sounds reasonable.
Fitzy and Matt Gross nailed it on the head that Ceddanne
would break out this season, though little did any of us know how hot he would end up getting in July. Bryan Joiner—wow, did Garrett Crochet come through to be the face of this pitching staff beyond frankly my wildest dreams. The dude is a certified pig, straight up. I thought Marcelo would have earned his shot later in the season than he did, and though his 2025 is done, he flashed a lot of promise. Mike also correctly called a strong season from Quinn Priester, though that hasn’t unfolded the way we would’ve hoped.
Matt, I’m calling you out on the Aroldis Chapman prediction. Mr. “I need a GPS to find home plate” as you so aptly said has had one of the best seasons not just of his career, maybe by a closer in general. This is also to say that I…also called Chapman my most expectant disappointment of the season too. Shame on me.
But what we all nailed—and what this piece is really about—is what this 2025 season would mean to this iteration of the Boston Red Sox. The Big Three all in fact did make their debuts—one showing incredible consistency, one looking like a flash in the pan, and the other getting hurt. The starting rotation has an anchor, finally. Even more of the prospects have come up and made a positive impression— including cameos from Jhostynxon Garcia, Payton Tolle and Connelly Early — instilling a confidence that there’s more in the pipeline. There’s still a chance not just for October baseball, but for the division on September 12th.
I said all the way back on March 27th that “there’s a swagger about this team not earnestly felt in a long time,” and that has held up by and large the entire season. The Wally helmet has become such a fitting tradition for this season’s squad. The numerous walk-off victories have been absolutely unbelievable. Going on a 10-game winning streak before the All Star break absolutely cemented it for me. I’ll even combine those thoughts that Ceddanne’s walk-off blast against the Rays is my moment of the season, at least for now.
Granted, there have been drawbacks and disappointments on the team, some expected and some infuriating. The bullpen has been an absolute roller coaster all season (and, looking at the roster in Spring Training, we all knew this was going to be a bumpy ride). Starting the season 6-17 in one-run games may be the make-or-break “bang your head against the wall” stat heading down the stretch. If they went .500 in that stretch, this team is in the division lead. The Rafael Devers trade threw the largest monkey wrench on the season, just not in the way anyone expected. It honestly righted the ship into the team they’ve become now.
The job isn’t done. Getting to hose the Yankees at Fenway this weekend and playing a series north of the border in Toronto mean that any outcome remains possible. We could feasibly end up anywhere between winning the AL East and falling out of playoff contention entirely. Both the division and the Wild Card are well and truly up for grabs.
As for the next two weeks, it’s time to hold onto our butts. This is edge of your seat baseball that will tell us if we’re really closer to Mike’s prediction or how Jacob Roy capped that piece off, calling 2025: “The year the Red Sox won the World Series. Why not?”
