Baseball made a couple of dreams come true
The about-face the Tampa Bay Rays executed on June 5, 2008 has been well-documented. Players. Managers. Fans. They all haven't hesitated in looking back at that brouhaha involving Coco Crisp and then-Rays pitcher James Shields as the moment Tampa Bay put on its American League East big-boy pants.
Joe Maddon's team suddenly offered the impression that it could actually hang with the division's big boys, a reality that was punctuated a few months later with a trip to the World Series.
Now, is it the Red Sox' turn to mark their territory?
Nobody is suggesting that a bench-clearing brawl needs to be part of the equation when the Sox attempt to execute a similar about-face, this go-round against the Blue Jays.
Sure, there is some obvious spiciness between the teams, highlighted with Alex Verdugo's recent comments regarding his disdain for Alek Manoah's approach on the 'Baseball Isn't Boring' podcast. The Red Sox' outfielder relayed, "I’ll say it right now, I think Alek Manoah goes about it the wrong way. 100 percent I think he does. You can find videos, footage of him in Triple-A going like this (gesturing) to hitters, last year, telling [Red Sox players], ‘Go sit,’ s—t like that, and looking right at them. So it’s s—t like that just pisses me off. It’s not the way it should be played. ... It should be played like you’re celebrating it with your team, you’re not f—ing disrespecting another player who is — at the end of the day we’re just trying to compete, that’s it." (For what it's worth, Manoah is slated to pitch against the Red Sox Wednesday.)
When looking to define dominance, it certainly doesn't hurt when you are able to get the better of an opposition who you have a recent history of animosity towards. Just ask the Blue Jays.
While the teams found themselves with a few back-and-forth verbal exchanges over the past couple of seasons, it was Toronto's absolute obliteration of the Red Sox in 2022 that stood out the most.
There were 19 meetings, with the Blue Jays winning 16 of them. Basically, this one team buried the Red Sox' hopes of making September meaningful.
But because of the dynamic, these Red Sox are being presented a gift.
This is a Red Sox team seemingly on the verge of finding its way back into the conversation as a contending team, creeping up over .500 (15-14) with the series win over the Guardians. It is finding its way. And now the biggest step of all can be executed thanks to the presence of Toronto for the next four games at Fenway Park.
Even though the Blue Jays are coming off a Sunday loss to Seattle, you aren't going to find many more talented and feel-good-about-themselves clubs than Toronto. It is coming to down carrying an 18-10 mark, having won eight of its last 11.
If not for Shohei Ohtani, the Jays would probably be carrying a couple key contenders for both American League MVP (Matt Chapman) and Cy Young (Kevin Gausman). Chapman leads all of the A.L. in OPS (1.152) while hitting .384 with five home runs, while Gausman has a 2.33 ERA, striking out 54 and walking just six.
Oh, and there is also Whit Merrifield (.320 batting average), Bo Bichette (.863 OPS, 6 homers), Vladimir Guerrero Jr. (.885 OPS, 5 HR) and more than a few others to contend with. And, just for good measure, it sure seems like Toronto made a pretty shrewd move in dealing outfielder Teoscar Hernandez for yet another lock down reliever in Erik Swanson (.093 BA against in 14 appearances).
It was true before the season started, and it remains a very real reality: The Red Sox need to find a way to get the better of this Blue Jays team in order to start completing this conversation shift.
Now, they get their chance.