As it has been rightfully pointed out many times this season, it's a results business, and, for the Red Sox, business has not been great.
Even after the Sox's 5-2 win over the Angels in Anaheim Friday night, they stand 10 games under .500 and 5 1/2 games out of a wild-card spot. It's why Craig Breslow's performance as chief baseball officer has come under scrutiny.
But while the big picture of this club remains a whole lot murkier than Red Sox followers would like, zooming in on the two key pieces for this latest win should allow for a pat on the back for Breslow. He signed Aroldis Chapman and traded for Jake Bennett. Enough said.
Let's start with the starter.
When Breslow dealt one of the organization's top pitching prospects, Luis Perales, for Bennett, it was the kind of trade that simply doesn't happen all that often. Not only was it one-for-one, but it was also the rare instance where a modern-day front office didn't obsess over needing insurance; they would win the trade by a hefty margin.
They believed in the player, so they got the player. Their belief has paid off.
Bennett has been a revelation, as the lefty proved once again in Anaheim. The Sox's starter owns a 3.10 ERA after his first seven big league starts, having allowed three runs over 20 innings in his last three appearances, striking out 18 and walking just two.
Bennett's chase rate (39.1 percent) is better than any starter in baseball, with hitters simply not managing to hit hardly any balls hard against the southpaw. As MLB.com points out, his line-drive rate (13.5 percent) is the best in baseball, with batters barreling up the ball the second-fewest times of any pitcher.
All of this is to say that while Perales continues to try to figure things out in Triple-A, Bennett has already proven to be a potentially huge part of the Red Sox's major league solution.
And then there is Aroldis Chapman, who can not be classified as the relief pitcher with the most strikeouts in baseball history.
Chapman's latest example of excellence came with his record-breaking strikeout, the 1,364th of his career, passing Hoyt Wilhelm for the most punch-outs of any reliever. (And, unlike Wilhelm, Chapman didn't have to wait until his 49th year on this planet to manage the feat.) The accomplishment was celebrated after the Sox's win, with the team playing a highlight reel of the lefty over the years.
"I feel very happy, very proud of what I've been able to accomplish," Chapman told reporters through an interpreter. "I was just focused on doing the job day in and day out. ... I try to stay positive throughout, keep a positive mindset and know that when God wants it to happen, it's going to happen. God wanted it to happen today."
It seemed commonplace to watch Chapman record the final out for his 17th save of the season. It should be noted, however, that when the reliever signed with the Red Sox on a one-year, $10.75 million deal, some eyebrows were raised. He certainly didn't represent a no-doubt-about-it avenue toward replacing Kenley Jansen as closer. But that's exactly what he became, and then some.
Since joining the Red Sox, Chapman has the third-most saves in MLB (49), having blown just four opportunities. Opponents have just a .454 OPS against him during this two-season stretch, with the hurler managing 118 strikeouts and just 27 walks in 87 innings. The Red Sox are now 70-24 in games the closer has pitched.
And to top it off, Chapman is pitching under a very reasonable contract that pays him $13 million, with the option to be locked into another $13 million for 2027, with 14 1/3 more innings.
It was a good night for Bennett. It was a good night for Chapman. It was a good night for the Red Sox. And it was a great night for the team's chief baseball officer.
