Are the Red Sox for real?
17-year-old is number 1 pick. HR Derby odds. Flagg iced. Chelsea wins. Giolito going to WNBA game
Good morning, all. I hope your Monday and new, work week is off to a terrific start!
The Boston Red Sox are red-hot. Once given up for dead in the A.L. East, the club enters the All-Star break on a 10-game winning streak. Boston completed a four-game sweep of Tampa Bay on Sunday with a 4-1 win. Once again, their starting pitching was outstanding, as Brayan Bello pitched 6 1/3 innings for the win. Ceddanne Rafaela continued his hot hitting with another home run. He belted a walk-off HR in Friday night’s win. It is the first time the Red Sox have won 10 straight since 2018, which just happened to be the last time they won the World Series.
This was a team that trailed the then-first place Yankees by 11 games in the loss column. Less than a month ago they were being buried for trading star player Rafael Devers. How quickly the tables have turned. The Yankees are no longer in first. The Toronto Blue Jays are and they have cooled off. That leaves the Red Sox as the beneficiaries.
When the season resumes on Friday night, the Red Sox will be just three games behind the Blue Jays and one behind the Yankees. Skeptics will say Boston has gotten back into it by loading up on the tomato cans, sweeping the Nationals and the Rockies. However, the Tampa Bay Rays are not tomato cans and the Sox just swept them four games at Fenway.
How real are the Red Sox? We are about to find out. Coming out of the break, they will play three games at Chicago against the first place Cubs, followed by three at Philadelphia against the contending Phillies, before returning home for three against the defending champion Dodgers. After that stretch, we should get a better read on the red-hot Red Sox.
As for the Yankees? They continue to stumble, and as I have written numerous times in this newsletter, I do not see the Yankees being an American League juggernaut. I thought they would win the A.L. East but not going away, as some had predicted. Now the division is not a given and the defending league champions have sprung more leaks than the Titanic. Their fans say they must make some major trades before the trade deadline on July 31. In fact, if they wait until the 31st, it may be too late. The Yankees next 13 games, from July 18-31 are three at Atlanta, three at Toronto, three vs. the Phillies at Yankee Stadium and four vs. Tampa Bay in the Bronx. Forget the Red Sox. The question might be are the Yankees for real?
The Blue Jays you ask? They return hosting the Giants for three, the Yankees, who they swept four games in Toronto earlier in the month, then visit the Tigers for four. Those four games at Detroit will be huge for the Jays. Detroit is, IMAO, the best club in the league and arguably the best team in baseball.
Fasten your seat belts. The last two weeks of July are shaping up to be a lot of fun.
Nationals make 17-year-old number 1 pick
Washington has made a 17-year-old, high school shortstop from Fort Cobb, OK the overall number one pick in MLB’s draft. Eli Willits of Fort Cobb-Broxton High School was selected by the Nationals. He is a 6’1,” 180lb. switch-hitter whose slot value is $11.08M. The first 16 picks of the draft were either pitchers or shortstops, proving even with all of today’s metrics, you still win by being strong up the middle.
Here is the link to the MLB draft tracker.
Here are links to some other DAN ON SPORTS top stories for Monday, July 14, 2025:
Dodgers, Yankees, Mets don’t have first round picks. Here’s why
Home Run Derby tonight. Here are the odds
Second-round NFL picks holding out as camps open
Chelsea becomes Club World Cup Champs. Beats PSG in Jersey
Gotterup defeats McIlroy at Scottish Open
Bam! Cooper Flagg shut down for rest of NBA Summer League
Clark, Fever clip Wings, Bueckers
Forget MLB All-Star game. With rumors abounding that a big-money investor (Is there any other kind?) wants to buy the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun and move them to Providence, the Sun will host Clark and the Fever Tuesday night at TD Garden in Boston. Red Sox pitcher Lucas Giolito will be taking his family to the game, according to the Boston Globe. Just don’t tell the baseball commissioner.
Sinner knocks off defending Wimbledon champ Alcaraz
A-Rod says time for new arena for his Timberwolves
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DAN