How On Earth...?

Last we saw the Boston Red Sox, they had issued an historic collapse at the end of the 2011 season, fired their popular manager, replaced him with the worst hiring decision this side of Hitler's election, sowed discord in the clubhouse, endured a string of injuries, traded away several of their best players and brought up the rear in the AL East with a dismal 69-93 record.

That's the team, that team, won the 2013 World Series.

And they didn't slink into the postseason like the '06 Cardinals and then get hot for two weeks to win the championship. The 2013 Red Sox dominated baseball's toughest division, won the most games in the Majors and pounded their playoff foes.

Huh? How on Earth...?

To answer this question, only ex post facto explanations need apply. No one saw this coming. How could they?

First we have to recognize, as Boston's front office did, that this was not a 93-loss team. Injuries and throwing in the towel led to last year's results. A contending core remained.

Second, the Injury Fairy moved on. In 2013, the Sox remained unexpectedly healthy. David Ortiz swaggered to the plate 600 times. Dustin Pedroia played a full season despite flinging his body around the field. Jacoby Ellsbury continued his odd-year good health pattern. Among the 14 everyday and pitching starters, only pitcher Clay Bucholz failed to dress for a significant chunk of the season. (Of course, both closers brought in by Boston got stung. Andrew Bailey missed most of May and the entire second half; Joel Hanrahan threw seven innings before Tommy John came calling.)

Third, everyone hit. Big Papi led the way with 30 homers and a .959 OPS, but the rest of the lineup, including ostensible backups Daniel Nava, utility man Mike Carp, and even rookie shortstop Jose Iglesias, posted OPS at least 10% above league average. (GM Ben Cherrington, realizing that Iglesias was a mirage who would soon be replaced by Xander Boegarts, flipped him mid-season for prospects.) Only Will Middlebrooks and his .271 OBP faltered, and even he raised that to .329 upon returning from the Minors in August.

Fourth, a couple of key signings worked out reasonably well. Shane Victorino hit .294, stole 21 of 24 and carried a Gold Glove to rightfield. Between strikeouts, Mike Napoli pounded 23 homers and 40 doubles/triples.

Manager John Farrell brought calm to the storming clubhouse and oversaw the team's norming and performing.

And they scooped up a big heaping wad of luck in the bullpen. After Hanrahan and Bailey flamed, Farrell was forced to hand the ball to sophomore righty Junichi Tazawa, veteran southpaw Craig Breslow and 38-year-old castoff Koji Uehara. The trio put the final three innings off limits for opposing teams, with Uehara twirling 74 frames of exquisite futility. Only 43 baserunners managed to get aboard while 101 fanned against him.

Was this all a grand design by Boston brass? Not mostly. They kept their heads after handing Bobby Valentine his and brought to camp a solid nucleus, some complementary parts and a full sentence of question marks. It didn't hurt that all of Yankee Stadium, including the ball boys and Lou Gerhig's monument, got hurt in 2013, and that the Blue Jay experiment crashed like a sack of potatoes. But the real story of the 2013 World Champs is 1-9 hitting, 1-5 pitching, a shutdown bullpen and good health.

As the Red Sox showed, you can do anything if you have your health.

If You Think It's Over You Haven't Been Paying Attention

With the Sox of Red now ahead 3-2 in the World Series, I'm sure you've heard the following:

"Boston's one win away."
"They're going home with the lead."
"It's over."
"Cardinals would have to win two in Boston." 
...and the like.

Anyone expressing these sentiments should have their junior high school diploma burned. Let's review:

The home team has lost three of five games.
The best pitcher in the series has been beaten twice.
The winning run in Game 3 scored on an esoteric rule infraction.
The hero of Game 4 was a fourth outfielder who hadn't hit safely in the Series.
Game 4 ended when a pinch runner type got himself picked off.
The hero of Game 5 was a backup catcher who was batting .111 in the Series.
The Red Sox manager blundered horribly in Game 5 by allowing his pitcher to bat with second and third, one out in the seventh inning of a 2-1 game. His team won anyway.

The World Champions, whoever that will be, must win at least one of the last two games. To do so, they will have to defeat the best team in the other league, a team stacked on the mound, in the bullpen and at the plate. You'd rather be the Sox than the Cards right now, but that could change after the first inning of Wednesday's game. 

Let's instead appreciate the beauty of this World Series:

The best two teams are playing.
They are a pair of high-character teams. 
They represent two great baseball cities -- maybe the best two in America (and Southeastern Canada.) 
Every game but the first has been a nail-biter.
Each team has a charismatic leader -- David Ortiz and Yadier Molina. 
The pitchers on both sides, nearly without exception, have mastered their craft. Nearly every pitch has creased the lower edge of the strike zone.
The fickle late-October weather has cooperated.
Two players -- Big Papi and Carlos Beltran -- are using this showcase to burnish their Hall of Fame cases.
 

The Fat Lady isn't even in costume. Enjoy the last day or two of the 2013 baseball year.