The birds are chirping a bit perkier, the heat isn’t quite as oppressive and summer fun’s not fading into fall nearly as quickly.
There is an entirely different feeling in the air of the New England sports world. It’s called hope.
That hope burst back onto the Boston sports scene in less than 48 hours over the weekend. Between Thursday night and Saturday afternoon it arrived via the right arm of a newfound star and the lanky left of a rekindled one.
Thanks to Mac Jones’ debut at Gillette Stadium in the Patriots preseason opener and Chris Sale’s return to the Fenway Park mound for the first time in two years, massive voids in both teams’ championship-chasing plans are now seemingly very much filled.
Franchise QB and ace starting pitcher are arguably the most important positions in professional sports, certainly atop the list of needs to compete for a title in the NFL and Major League Baseball, respectively.
And in Boston -- where guys like Tom Brady and Pedro Martinez were the foundation upon which rings were won -- those roles have been empty for the better part of a year.
But not anymore.
Sale is back.
Jones is here to stay.
And all is right in the sports world.
Gas up the duck boats. (OK, maybe we’re getting a little bit ahead of ourselves?)
Sale’s resurgent return from Tommy John surgery on his left elbow could not have come at a better time for Boston. The Red Sox had been reeling since the trade deadline, dropping in the standings from a World Series contender on a 100-win pace to struggling to stay in even Wild Card contention.
They were physically getting beaten on the field and mentally mired in a state of post-deadline depression.
Now, though, Sale has swaggered back into the clubhouse and onto the mound. Put up five innings of two-run ball with eight strikeouts in a 16-2 win.
His manager compared the atmosphere to a World Series. His lineup broke out for five home runs. Always honest and seemingly on-point with his thoughts, Sale has a new perspective on his role as the Red Sox ace. And we all just might have a new appreciation for him.
Maybe Sale’s not ready just yet to pump out eight innings or 15 strikeouts. Maybe he needs these ramp-up games against also-rans like the Orioles.
But he’s back. He’s an ace in every sense of the word, on the field and off. He makes everyone’s job easier and injects life into a squad that was seemingly lifeless and left for dead just days earlier.
Which brings us to Jones, the upstart rookie quarterback from Alabama competing with fading fill-in Patriots 2020 starter Cam Newton for the New England QB job.
Jones took to the Gillette Stadium turf Thursday night amidst a standing ovation from the Foxborough Faithful who felt the magnitude of the moment. The No. 15 overall pick then went out and very much looked the part of a starting quarterback, dare we say a franchise QB, in his first taste of live professional action.
Jones was poised, prepared, accurate and under control. He displayed what fans have come to expect in the New England offense over the last two decades.
Jones indeed clearly represents what all young first-round quarterbacks are supposed to represent – potential success. That’s why they were drafted after all.
That’s not to say Jones is the next Brady. He won’t be and doesn’t have to be. He just has to be better than Newton for now and build from there. He may not even be a superstar on the level of Patrick Mahomes. But, as Belichick once said about Brady way back in 2001, Jones certainly appears like he’s the Patriots quarterback for the foreseeable future.
Two guys. Two August debuts. Stability at the two most important positions in Boston sports.
The Red Sox once again have an ace in the rotation, in the line of names like Clemens, Martinez and pre-injury Sale himself.
Whether he takes over the job officially in time for Week 1 or slides into the role shortly thereafter, Jones is now on the list with Brady, Drew Bledsoe and Steve Grogan, Patriots passers who were more than just passing through town.
Two reasons for hope.
Hope that the Red Sox may still actually be a World Series contender this season.
Hope that the Patriots will be contending for Super Bowl glory again much sooner than later.
Sale and Jones just reignited the present and future of Boston sports.
Hope you felt it.
