A GM's view of promoting players quickly
When the ball landed 308 feet from home plate, a few feet to the right of the Pesky Pole and a couple of inches away from a curled up fan, reactions across the board were unusual for a walk-off home run.
Most at Fenway Park were seemingly just kind of cruising along, fully expecting yet another one-run loss. Not only didn't most not see Ceddanne Rafaela's happen because of the landing spot's proximity, but the vast majority didn't see it coming.
Brayan Bello said the night before that the most important the Red Sox could make was to simply win. Up until the umpires confirmed that this was indeed a game-ending home run, that seemed like an almost unreachable goal.
Sure, the story of getting to that point in the series finale against the Angels - a tie game in the ninth - offered intrigue. There was the fracas between the teams before the game due to some sign-stealing controversy. There was also the comeback from a four-run deficit in the first inning, and a two-run hole a frame later.
But the Red Sox had been through this grind before, hence the 17 one-run losses. This time - thanks to Rafaela's most bizarre walk-off homer - the Red Sox landed with a two-run win, beating the Angels, 11-9, and sliding up to four games under .500 heading into what seems like a fairly important series against the Yankees.
There was a somewhat confused celebration. There was the image of Alex Cora in a full embrace with both hitting coach Pete Fatse and pitching Andrew Bailey. And there was the early-June feeling that this team had just been gifted another day to figure out what truly ails them.
"Yeah it was a grindy one," Jarren Duran said. "It felt like we played two games out there. I'm really proud of this team for keeping at it. We could have easily gotten down on ourselves after taking a lead, giving it up. Taking the lead. Giving it up. But as a team, we came together and we pulled off a W."
It made for a happy plane ride to New York. It made for a more palatable off day in downtown Manhattan. And it allowed this team that is still taking on plenty of water plug a few holes for the time being.
The Red Sox managed 12 hits and just six strikeouts. Rafaela is doing everything he can to change the Roman Anthony conversation, riding an eight-game hit streak in which he has hit .412 with a 1.236 OPS (after going 3-for-32 leading up to the streak). And the bullpen once again did their part, limiting the Angels to just two runs after Lucas Giolito's 1 2/3-inning, seven run outing.
There is still so much to figure out.
Cora knows that. Red Sox chief baseball officer Craig Breslow does as well. And while this allowed the Red Sox to push aside all those concerns for a few hours, the Yankees await with the ultimate reality check.
Maybe this one opposite field pop-up was a sign that the Red Sox' reality is about to change. It is only 314 feet down the Yankee Stadium right field line.